About energy star rating
The concept is from NatHERs and their 7 star house plans. The full name is 7-star Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) rating, which the purpose is building an energy efficient home. According to their rules, an ideal energy efficient home should have several energy-saving attributes, especially for brand new house, including location, orientation, lighting, climate, ventilation, shading and livability. Minimise energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce unnecessary energy waste.
Some details of evaluation ranges
(1) Ensure your home or design has sufficient unshaded north-facing roof area due to installing enough solar panels for renewable electricity or solar hot water system.
(2) Ensure your home is keeping a good thermal comfort with specific wall materials, finishes and double-layered glass windows.
(3) Effective shading should be added outside your home such as external blinds, eaves, pergolas, natural vegetation.
(4) Ensure your home appliances are water-efficient or energy-efficient
(5) Use energy savings lights in all area as possible as you can
(6) Use water-efficient taps and bathroom fittings, which minimise mains water consumption
(7) Keep water reuse and garden water efficient. Use water tank to harvest rain water, and flush toilet with rainwater
(8) Keep smooth ventilation to minimise the use of air conditioner, and use ceiling fans to generate natural wind for cooling
In fact, getting a 7-star residence is not a difficult thing to achieve, it can be achieved with some changes, and it does not necessarily require expensive construction costs to achieve. Of course, the sooner you make changes to your home, the better. If you are the owner of a new home, you are fully capable of changing it to a 7 star, for example by consulting a professional and certified accessor.
What are the benefits from 7 star house?
How to manage your home appliances?
Appliances and equipment – including kitchen and laundry appliances, televisions, home entertainment and office equipment – are key factors in home energy use. Household appliances and equipment use an average of 25% of home energy.
However, this proportion will vary by household depending on the climate, the types of appliances in your home, and the way they are used. Heating and cooling uses around 40% of household energy use.
Most appliances must carry an energy rating label which tells you how efficient the model is compared with others of the same type and size. The more stars an appliance has, the more efficient it is.
Some ducted Air conditioner is also an energy killer that can consumes 3~4 kWh per hour when opening continuously.
| Appliance’s name | Percentage of energy consumption |
|---|---|
| Fridges and Freezers | 8% |
| Dryers | 10% |
| Pool pump | 18% |
| TV&Home entertainment | 5% |
Other electric heating devices such as electric blankets, hair dryers, fan heaters, kettles, etc. consume a lot of electricity.
When you are not at home, some appliances will still keep running, such as refrigerator, TV standby, etc.
If you can install a solar system and use more self-generated electricity during the day, or buy batteries to save electricity, it will save you a lot of money.
Do you know where to see load consumption?
How do you know the electricity you use during the morning, afternoon and evening? Also, how do you know how much power to be exported to the grid when your state has a Solar Feed-in Tariff? All of the answer will from the Solar Monitor APP after you installed solar systems or you can take a meter reading when energy retailer help you to change a smart meter for your home solar generation.
Zero energy homes
It means that over a year home total energy production minus their total energy use equals zero when using renewable energy systems with energy saving. So zero energy home focuses on operational energy use.
If your home has any renewable energy systems, such as solar systems, you have the potential to be Zero energy homes.
By offsetting energy use with energy production, zero carbon and carbon positive homes can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Always consider your home planning
As mentioned above, big north facing roof is the best option to generate most power, and east / west roof is also good as well in your new house design.
Meanwhile, Ensure effective orientation and layout to maximise sunlight. Click to learn about how to design solar panels in rooftop?
Review your home energy demand and improve energy efficiency in all areas of your home such as choosing energy saving appliances, installing renewable hot water system and water-efficient shower heads, considering the layout of pipework to minimise heat loss.
