Living in 7-star energy-efficient homes would cut Australian energy bills by an average of $450 a year and help address climate change by reducing emissions, according to a new report from the Climate Council.
The Climate Council’s Tents to Castles report has found an 7-star all-electric house would save households an average of $450 a year (between $119 and $945) on heating and cooling, compared to the current building standard of 6-stars.
State and territory ministers will meet in July to review the 11-year-old laws that set the minimum energy efficiency standards in new home builds.
The Climate Council is calling on ministers to change the National Construction Code (NCC) to increase the 6-star standard to 7-stars.
The NCC is a set of minimum standards for Australian buildings which covers safety, health, amenity, accessibility and sustainability of certain buildings. The code's building standards are due to be updated later this year.
The Climate Council's report found adding an extra star to each new home would result in a 25 per cent cut in emissions, or the equivalent of one car, compared to a 6-star home.
Climate Council economist Nicki Hutley said Australian homes were energy-guzzlers compared to those built to higher minimum standards overseas.
"A Tasmanian home built today uses more than double the energy of a similar-sized house built in Ireland," Ms Hutley said.
The Climate Council report analysed the cut in emissions in individual states.
In Victoria alone, increasing the energy efficiency standard in the NCC would result in a reduction of 72,000 tonnes of CO2 being emitted each year.
An increase in the standard would cut 46,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in New South Wales, and 31,000 tonnes in Queensland annually.
This would amount to an annual 12 per cent reduction of residential emissions nationally by 2030, according to the Climate Council.
Ms Hutley said even a short delay in implementing this change will result in higher bills and emissions for decades to come.
“Australians cop some of the most expensive energy bills in the world, with as many as 85 per cent of us experiencing bill shock last year," Ms Hutley said.
"Greater energy efficiency means fewer greenhouse gas emissions, which is essential for tackling climate change.
"But that’s not where the benefits of making homes more comfortable to live in stops: we can also improve people’s health and wellbeing, reduce electricity bills, strengthen our energy grid and create jobs."
Smaller energy bills and carbon footprints
At the moment around 16 per cent of new housing, or 9.6 per cent of standalone houses, in Australia is built to the 7-star standard, according to a 2022 report from CSIRO.
Homes account for 22.8 per cent of electricity use and are responsible for about 11 per cent of Australia’s emissions, according to the Climate Council report.
Changing the code would improve the energy efficiency in 1.1 million houses, townhouses and apartments expected to be built between 2022 and 2025, according to the Climate Council's analysis of ClimateWorks data from 2018.
Howard and Libby Elston moved into their new 8.4 star house around two years ago.
The house was built on a concrete slab and uses a passive solar design.
The Elstons' monthly energy bill for the 150 square metre house, which also covers the cost of charging their electric car, is about $15.
"We had the opportunity to try and shrink our carbon footprint to as small as possible," Mr Elston said.
"It comes back to if you get the design right and you put efficient devices, you don't need a lot of electricity."
Matthew Kosnik, his partner Katherine and their two children swapped their 90 square metre weatherboard house for a new 180 square metre passive house in Sydney's suburbs.
"We'd had enough of living in a house where in the wintertime we woke up with condensation and frost on windows," Mr Kosnik said.
"Even though I'd lived in Chicago, where it actually does get ridiculously cold, one of the most uncomfortable and cold nights I've ever had in my life was actually in an Australian house, because they're just not designed or hadn't been built for the conditions," Mr Kosnik said.
Mr Kosnick said despite roughly doubling the size of their house, the family's energy bill had halved.
"We wanted to live in a comfortable house but we also wanted to live in a house that wasn't going to be crazy expensive to actually operate."
Housing industry split
The push to change the NCC code to a 7-star standard has the backing of the Property Council of Australia, but is not supported by the Housing Industry Association.
Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said the organisation strongly supported the proposed changes in the NCC to increase the energy performance of new homes to 7-stars, as well as changes for net zero emissions buildings.
“Improving energy efficiency makes people’s homes cheaper to run, more comfortable to live in and reduces emissions," he said.
"Introducing the changes currently proposed would save home owners up to $576 a year according to the [federal] government’s own cost benefit analysis.
“The Property Council calls on building ministers to commit to implementing these changes, the first meaningful upgrade to energy standards for new homes in over a decade.”
HIA executive director of building Simon Croft said increasing the energy efficiency standard to 7-stars would add to the cost of new homes.
"HIA has advocated for an alternate approach that allows a true whole of home assessment," Mr Croft said.
"This type of approach would provide the home owner with a choice of products including on-site renewables, on-site storage systems, higher performing building services and in-house monitoring in combination with either the current 6-star fabric or a higher performing fabric whether that be 6.5-stars, 7-stars or more."
