As Australia strides towards its 2050 net zero emissions target, various aspects of everyday life, including the construction industry, are adapting. Whether you're constructing a new home from the ground up or renovating an existing one, changes are underway.
As Australia’s leading home builder, Metricon is committed to designing affordable dream homes that help you love where you live. It’s what we know best and what we're passionate about.
Metricon adheres to the National Construction Code, which outlines the standards for all home builders. With the recent adjustments (NCC2022) being implemented nationwide, Metricon has diligently applied these new standards, ensuring minimal disruption and providing clarity on how they'll affect how we do business with you.
Here are the four key areas outlined in the NCC2022:
- 7-Star Home Energy Rating
- Whole of Home Performance
- Livability Standards
- Condensation
We’ll walk you through each of these changes and what they mean to you...
7-Star Home Energy Rating
Probably the most significant change is that all homes, going forward, will have to meet an impressive seven-stars in the ten-star Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS), up from the previous six-star requirement.
This advancement ensures that each home design is optimised to deliver exceptional year-round comfort, naturally maintaining cooler temperatures in summer and warmer ones in winter. This not only reduces reliance on air-conditioning and heating but also minimises carbon emissions.
Much of this is achieved passively, through the orientation of your home and by increasing insulation, optimised glazing, shading and cross-ventilation.
This system applies to our customers in Victoria and Queensland from 1 May, 2024, and South Australia from 1 October, 2024. In New South Wales the similar Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) scale is in effect and has been updated to meet higher standards.
Whole of Home Performance
Another crucial benchmark that all new homes must meet under the NCC2022 requirements is the Whole of Home Performance Rating. Rated out of 100, this scale considers all energy-consuming aspects of your home.
This encompasses heating and cooling systems, hot water, lighting, appliances, and amenities such as pools or spas. It also factors in the benefits provided by features like photovoltaic solar panels and storage to generate an overall rating of your home's energy efficiency.
With the new NCC2022 requirements, all new homes or renovations must achieve a minimum rating of 60. You can actually score over 100 if your home's solar produces more energy than the fixed appliances.
Again, this affects our customers in Victoria and Queensland from 1 May, 2024, and South Australia from 1 October, 2024, with the similar Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) in place in New South Wales.
Livability Standards
In recent years, the conversation around accessibility has gained significant momentum across various facets of life, and this extends to the NCC2022 regulations. The aim is to enhance the ease of movement within homes, thereby elevating safety standards and comfort levels – an integral part of Metricon's pledge to create homes that are both livable now and more easily adapted in the future to life's changing circumstances.
NCC2022-compliant homes are required to provide step-free access, featuring wider doorways and halls to accommodate individuals with diverse mobility needs. For homes with two storeys, the inclusion of a ground floor toilet with more spacious dimensions is mandated.
Moreover, a step-free shower is now a requisite. Bathroom and toilet walls will also be reinforced to support the potential addition of guardrails in the future, ensuring robust safety measures. After all, we're all aging!
Although these changes are specifically outlined for Victoria (effective from 1 May, 2024), Queensland (effective from 1 October, 2023), and South Australia (effective from 1 October, 2024), Metricon will uniformly embrace these modifications in New South Wales to ensure equal benefits for all our customers.
Condensation
A healthy home, safe for your entire family, is one free from the menace of condensation and the subsequent mould and rot that can jeopardise your home's structural integrity or indoor air quality.
Metricon has embraced the enhanced ventilation standards mandated by the NCC2022, reducing humidity levels and enhancing the overall breathability of your living space. These updates entail improved exhaust systems in some wet areas such as internal bathrooms, which now must be ducted directly outside through either the wall or roof, accompanied by a 10-minute run-on timer.
Depending on the type and pitch of your roof, homes with insulated (sarked) roofs in Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia within climates 6, 7, and 8, as indicated on this climate map, will necessitate additional ventilation at both the eaves (low level) and roof ridge (high level). This may require the installation of a powered whirley bird ventilation fan.
These requirements are enacted in Victoria on May 1, 2024, South Australia on 1 October 2024, and were adopted on October 1, 2023 in New South Wales and Queensland.
What does all this mean for my home?
As with any increase in standards and benefits to home owners, there inevitably comes a parallel increase in building costs. However, Metricon has diligently been preparing for months to implement these changes while minimising the impact on our valued customers' budgets.
Our friendly Metricon New Home Advisors are here to guide you through the transition to the new NCC2022 regulations as seamlessly as possible. They have extensive knowledge and the only industry tool to enable the best home to be selected and sited on your block.
Together, we'll explore options to ensure your project aligns with both your budget and the NCC2022 requirements. Ultimately, our aim is to not only deliver a home that meets these standards but also potentially reduces your ongoing bills, while creating a healthy and joyful living environment for you and your family.
And isn’t that the dream?
For more information about the NCC2022 changes and how this will impact your build, contact our friendly team today or visit the National Construction Code website.
