National Energy Efficient Building Project
Promoting energy efficient buildings.
The “Improving Energy Efficiency Compliance” Project is supported by funding from the COAG Energy Council National Energy Productivity Plan through a project managed by the Government of South Australia.
Stage 3: Design and pilot audit protocol
Stage 4: Pilot analysis and reporting
Stage 1: Establishing the Foundation
Stage 2: Communication and Action
Project Stages
The project involved the following stages:
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A scan of current compliance inspection practice.
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Recruitment of Councils/building authorities to pilot the inspection approach.
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Consultation with the pilot Council group to review a ‘proof of concept’ inspection checklist.
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Onsite piloting of the inspection checklist by authorised Building staff (note: the focus was on class 1 residential buildings at two key points during the construction cycle, generally a post-frame inspection and a near final inspection).
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Establishment of a pilot evaluation system to capture energy compliance/non-compliance data as well as feedback from Councils on their experiences.
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Analysis of the inspection and pilot evaluation data.
Our team started with a review of the relevant legislation and development assessment processes in each state and territory. This helped inform the development of audit resources which recognise the approval systems and the adoption of the NCC across each jurisdiction.
A tabulated summary of the legislative review and the adoption of the NCC is provided here.
The piloting of the inspection checklist took place between the 4th May 2015 and the 12th June 2015. Nine pilot Councils committed to undertaking a number of site inspections (based on their available resources during this period). A further two Councils provided input into the inital checklist development. The checklist aimed to assess construction compliance at two key points in the building process (generally a post-frame inspection and a near final inspection). However, due to the project timeframe it was not always feasible to test both of these inspection on the same property. Different housing developments of similar construction type were chosen.
The Pilot Council participants provided significant contribution to the project through the completion of 86 inspections across 59 homes within the piloting timeframe. The Pilot testing process was used to inform the development of a final Inspection Checklist recommended for further development.Through the Pilot, participating Councils provided important qualitative feedback on options for improving construction energy efficiency compliance in Australia. For details of the pilot findings download the final project report at this link.
Our Project Team obtained useful feedback from Councils during the recruitment process.
The project team liaised with the nine pilot Councils through telephone meetings, webinars and the project website.
Webinars were held on the following dates to review the 'proof of concept' inspection resources before commencing the trial:
· Webinar 1 - 31st March 2015
· Webinar 2 - 28th April 2015
