Houses with 7-star ratings in Victoria, Australia, meet the National House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) standard for energy efficiency. With very little heating and cooling, a house’s comfort levels can be maintained. More stars, better energy efficiency for this house.
Currently, the building codes in Victoria under the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 from October 2023 require that all new homes meet at least a minimum of 7 stars. With this rhetoric, houses constructed are generally friendlier to nature and cheaper to live in. Shifting from the previous 6-star benchmark to 7 stars has the potential to reduce house heating and cooling energy consumption by nearly 24%.
A 7-star house in the State of Victoria is purposely built to make the best use of natural light and air to improve comfort. Some of the important features may include an appropriately oriented house, quality insulation, double-glazed windows, draught sealing, and energy-efficient building products. Passive solar design captures the winter sun while shading the home from the summer sun, one of the important features in obtaining this rating.
While the initial cost of building a 7-star home may be higher because it involves better materials and more intelligent design, occupants will benefit from reduced energy bills and more comfort throughout the year. In addition, such homes help meet the goals of net-zero emissions in Victoria by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The new law of mandatory 7-star standards has made energy-efficient houses the norm.