With people growing more aware of environmental conservation and ecological living, demand for energy-efficient homes rises. Energy-efficient and water-efficient homes are better for the health of your family. It saves your energy bill expenditure and is kinder to the environment.
That's not the only reason energy-efficient buildings are on the rise. Certain building standards make it mandatory to maintain specific energy and water efficiency levels. BASIX is one such regulatory standard introduced by the NSW Government.
Every new home requires incorporating specific sustainable measures to comply with the BASIX standards. The energy efficiency, water efficiency and thermal comfort measures are included in the BASIX report and certificate.
How To Achieve BASIX Compliance With Sustainable Project Features?
BASIX promotes sustainable development. Therefore, BASIX compliance protocols allow developers and project owners to determine which measures they wish to incorporate to meet the targets.
Technology-based- double-glazing, 3.5 stars reverse cycling air-conditioning technology, rainwater harvesting systems, gas appliances and so on.
Design based- building orientation, landscape details, cross ventilation facilities, ceiling fan installations.
In this article, we'll discuss the various design and technology-based ideas to help you achieve BASIX compliance easily.
Sustainability Integrations For BASIX-Compliance Homes
Energy Efficiency
In most cases, design features will help achieve energy compliance.
- 6-star gas instantaneous hot water system
- Reverse-cycle air-conditioning facilities
- LED/Fluro lighting fixtures
- Gas cooktop
- Installation of a clothesline
- Adequately ventilated fridge space achieves 2%
- External clothesline for reduced energy from driers
- Indoor clothesline
- Make provision for natural lighting and ventilation.
- Adding ceiling fans in a living room, bedroom and wherever possible.
- If failing your BASIX compliance is falling by more than 5–6%, you can incorporate other features such as a 3-4.5 KW PV system or implement a 1.5KW PV system.
All these components help improve energy standards and fulfil the energy section of the BASIX. These alterations can also be considered for increasing your NABERS rating.
Water Efficiency
- Try to maintain minimum landscaped areas.
- Implement low-water plants.
- Installing water-efficient systems including WELS-rated 7.5 - 9 litre/min showerhead, 3-star rated sink and kitchen taps and 4-star toilets.
- Upgrading to 5-star tapware
- Developing alternative water sources such as rainwater tanks supplying water for irrigation, toilet flushing and clothes cleaning.
Water-efficient systems help you pass the water section of the BASIX report.
Thermal Efficiency
Airtight Construction
- Wooden window frames, insulated concrete formworks, structural insulated panels, cross-laminated wooden frameworks, etc., are certain efficient construction techniques to ensure quality airtightness.
- In brick and block construction, the quality of airtightness can be improved through special tapes and membranes.
Insulation
Irrespective of your construction technique, complementing your airtight features with robust insulation is necessary to improve the energy efficiency of your residential dwelling.
- The more airtight your construction, the better thermal comfort you'll achieve with less dependency on artificial heating and cooling systems.
- The more warm air or cold temperature the interior of your residential swelling can retain, the less will be energy consumption.
Glazing Specifications
- Windows contribute to about 90% of a home's heat gain and loss. Glazing is a vital factor affecting a residential structure's thermal comfort and energy efficiency. While glass is a great tool for maximum utilisation of natural light, it is not a good insulator.
- Therefore double-glazing or triple-glazing windows can improve your home's heat-retaining capacity. The glazing should complement the climatic condition of the area.
- The correct glazing type ensures an adequate supply of heat and light while preventing your interiors from getting too warm in the hot season and too cold during winters.
- The natural heating effect of the sun is known as solar gain. Your design should aim to enhance the solar gain during cold weather and reduce it during the hot season. The correct combination of glazing, orientation, and thermal mass needs to be factored in to achieve this aim.
In the BASIX report, you'll need to specify your glazing details.
Orientation
Depending on the location and climatic zine of your residential project, you can significantly improve the efficiency of your glazing components. The orientation controls the level of sunlight a dwelling receives since the direction and angle of the sun varies throughout the year.
Thermal Mass
The capability of your residential dwelling to store and regulate heat internally is defined as the Thermal Mass. If your residential structure has a high thermal mass, it requires a greater duration to heat up or cool down. This ensures a steady and internal temperature. Similarly, a building with thermal mass will experience considerable fluctuations in its internal heat.
Materials that contribute to the maximum thermal mass of a building include brick, concrete and stone.
Therefore select a quality building fabric to ensure a better thermal mass of your residential dwelling.
The thermal comfort levels are not just applicable for BASIX but also improve the NABERS rating for energy.
Conclusion
Sustainable homes are not just good for the environment but for human health as well. The health-conscious and eco-friendly mindset has made people more inclined towards sustainable building designs.
Additionally, an efficient home requires reduced operation costs. Thus occupants can make substantial savings on the utility bills. All these factors increase the financial value of sustainable building in the market.
