| Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)

Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)

The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) is a star rating system (out of ten) that rates the energy efficiency of a home, based on its design.

By providing a ‘measuring tape’ to estimate a home’s potential heating and cooling energy use, NatHERS helps to make Australian homes more comfortable for their inhabitants and also helps residents to save on energy bills through smarter design choices. Often good design can reduce the amount of energy needed to keep a home comfortable with no or little additional construction cost.

Download Video

Video Transcript

(Animations depict the voice over)

(music plays)

Many of the things we buy are classified with Star Ratings.

They can help us choose a hotel, a movie - even a fridge.

Even with the most expensive things we buy, our homes, there’s also a star rating.

The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme, or NatHERS for short.

NatHERS uses software based on scientific research by the CSIRO, and has been refined over many years.

The software models your house plans to estimate the amount of energy it will need for heating and cooling.

Taking into account hundreds of factors, such as the building’s construction, local climate and orientation, our national star rating system scores your house between zero and 10 stars.

Builders often use a NatHERS rating to show a new home or renovation meets the minimum energy efficiency requirements in your state or territory.

But if you want more than the minimum, it’s best to get a NatHERS assessment at the planning and design stage. This is when a NatHERS assessor can give you expert advice on how to build or change your home to improve its energy use.

Take this house for example. Through careful design, it has been made more comfortable to live in and requires less energy to heat and cool.

Its kitchen, lounge and living areas are on the north side of the house.

Its windows, eaves and awnings let sunlight in, or block it out at different times of year, which helps keep the inside temperature comfortable throughout the seasons.

Insulation, well placed ventilation and careful material choices also help to keep the temperature right.

All these design choices increase this home’s NatHERS rating and make it more energy efficient... perhaps at no extra cost.

Remember, the more stars your home has, the more you can potentially save on energy bills, the higher its resale value could be

And of course, by reducing your energy needs, you’re also helping the environment too.

Just search ‘NATHERS’ to get started.

NatHERS – Ratings you can feel comfortable with.

(For more information visit nathers.gov.au , yourhome.gov.au )