The BASIX Certificate or BASIX, known as the Building Sustainability Index is an NSW Government planning requirement that is mandatory for all the builders who wish to submit a DA, S96 or CC Building Application in NSW when it comes constructing a new house, renovations, additions, villa, units, swimming pools, townhouse and/or outdoor spa. Let’s now look at the three aspects that constitute this certificate.
Water Efficiency
If you wish to construct a new building, it is imperative to see that its water consumption is minimum 40% in comparison to a standard house for new houses/townhouses and 30% when compared to a standard apartment for apartments. Sometimes there is also a restriction on water usage for apartments of 40%, which is totally contingent on the size of the department, suburb, etc.
You can increase the water efficiency through the use of rated water appliances, including taps, showerheads, cisterns and the utilisation of rainwater tanks for garden watering usage and sometimes even for toilets and laundry as well as pools, if applicable.
Thermal Comfort
In NSW, it is mandatory to follow NatHERS, a national scheme which is not so for all states in the country. Here, the ratings of the dwellings are done based on their thermal performance during summer and winter. This can be achieved through the simulation of the proposed dwelling by using software packages like Firstrate, Bers and AccuRate.
The entire geometry of the subject building, including neighbouring buildings for location, shading, orientation and building constructions are entered in the software. With the help of all these parameters, it is possible to predict cooling and heating loads. BASIX has already set a benchmark for these loads which is totally dependent on the building type and its location. You also need to consider secondary parameters.
Once the software derives the predicted loads, it is compared with the BASIX benchmarks. In case the loads are higher than allowed, the construction specifications like window types, colours, wall types, insulation levels, etc. are changed or optimised to make the dwelling meet the standards.
Energy Efficiency
Similar to the water efficiency section, it is imperative that electric appliances, including a/c, lights, water heaters and others like solar photovoltaic systems get a 30% to 40% energy usage reduction in comparison to standard dwelling units. You should also be careful of the fact that the thermal comfort section can negatively affect the energy efficiency performance too as a well-performing dwelling will require little to no a/c usage. This is the positive thing about this section.
When all of these are combined together in a single document, it is known as a BASIX certificate. It is then employed as a specification sheet for builders and architects during the building phase. The checklist helps the building certifiers to comply with the norms and get the Occupation Certificate issued. All the information contained in the certificate and the HSTAR universal certificate must get 100% represented in the building.
Final Words
There are certain states where BASIX is not applicable, and they solely consider BCA. However, when it comes to thermal comfort, NatHERS is the only scheme available. To know more about BASIX certificate cost, contact Eco-Certificates, your ever-reliable BASIX Certificate Consultant today!
