As the property industry grapples with the need to decarbonise, NABERS and Green Star have drawn lines in the sand. Green Star has effectively banned gas and other fossil fuels in new buildings (‘highly efficient, fossil fuel free powered by renewables, addressing embodied emissions, offsetting with nature’), and NABERS is already incentivising moving away from reliance on fossil fuels.
The implications for new buildings can be somewhat challenging but the implications for existing buildings can be huge.
Last month, NABERS Integration Manager, Liam McCann, and NABERS Assessor / WT Partnership Consultant, Steve Hennessy, FCIBSE presented to a sold-out audience in Adelaide, as part of joint CIBSE and RICS event.
NABERS has introduced a Renewable Energy Indicator as part of their update of NABERS Energy Certificates. It now shows the amount of renewable energy used by buildings that are assessed.
Also, NABERS will be weighing gas use in buildings more heavily, as a prompt for buildings to de-carbonise.
The presentations explained how this will affect properties over the coming years, (particularly with buildings looking to get net zero certification), and how to mitigate this by replacing gas-fired equipment with electric alternatives.
Another key message was the need to move to low GWP (Global Warming Potential) refrigerants. Scope 1 emissions from fugitive refrigeration leakage will need to be offset if seeking net zero certification, and the choice of refrigerant can increase the associated offset cost by as much as 200,000%
And with that in mind, the closing question was “in the near future will you be considered negligent putting gas equipment in new buildings, or using high GWP refrigerants when there are low GWP alternatives?” – makes you think….
CIBSE would like to thank WT Partnership in Adelaide for hosting the event, Liam & Steve for their time and expertise, and the CIBSE SA Committee for organising the event.
If you would like to understand some of the implications of these changes, read more here