Other Resources

This section contains information on New Zealand’s building rating tools.

The Green Homes Scheme

BRANZ’s Green Homes Scheme can be used by architects and designers to rate the sustainability of their designs and show the benefits of the design to the homeowners. It is New Zealand's only independent method of assessing the environmental performance of new home designs and has been used by accredited assessors for 10 years.

The Green Homes scheme offers a ‘points based’ system that covers primarily environmental issues, but also includes health and safety issues. Areas covered include:

• space heating and cooling
• energy use of main appliances
• water efficiency and conservation
• sustainable materials
• indoor air pollutants
• waste disposal.

A certificate is provided for designs that are assessed as having a good environmental performance. The certificate gives the design’s overall rating (fair, good, very good or excellent).

TUSC

TUSC – Tool for Urban Sustainability: Code of Practice – provides web-based tools for sustainable urban planning. These include:

• a site scoping tool – allowing you to access council GIS databases to view a site and details its infrastructure
• a site tool – which evaluates the amount of energy and water the house potentially will use
• a neighbourhood tool – for evaluating a proposed neighbourhood's transportation/roading, amenities, parks, green space, water use, stormwater and wastewater, social issues and economics to decide if it will be sustainable.

TUSC has been developed with support from the Waitakere City Council and the Ministry for the Environment.

HERS

The Home Energy Rating Scheme (HERS) is being developed by EECA with support from other government departments. Under the scheme, an accredited assessor will evaluate a home’s energy performance – including water heating, solar water heating, and space heating. The home will be given an energy rating, similar to the star ratings used for home appliances. Home owners will also be given information about how to improve their home’s energy performance.

HERS is currently scheduled for implementation in December 2007, initially on a voluntary basis, but it is anticipated that ultimately HERS will provide a means of measuring energy efficiency compliance with the NZ Building Code.

International tools

There are a number of overseas energy-related tools which have some application in New Zealand, such as the Canadian-based online software programme RETScreen.

RETScreen can be used to evaluate the energy production and savings, life-cycle costs, emission reductions, financial viability and risk for various types of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies (RETs). The software is free to download and the website includes data and case studies. Energy studies include technologies such as wind energy, solar hot water, solar space heating, biomass heating, passive solar heating, ground source heat pumps, photovoltaics and wind energy. Climate data for various locations in New Zealand is available.