New measures to increase building and appliance efficiency

Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia Josh Frydenberg last week announced a series of measures intended to save Australian households and businesses energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering energy bills by increasing building and appliance energy efficiency.

The changes follow a comprehensive review of the Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) Program and public consultation earlier this year, which showed overwhelming support for the program.

The Turnbull government will lower the threshold of the CBD Program from 2000 to 1000 m², which will see an additional 1000 commercial buildings disclose their energy efficiency when they sell or lease their property. Set to help inform purchasers and tenants of building energy costs, the change will commence on 1 July 2017.

The government has also amended the tenancy lighting assessment requirements. From 1 September, building owners will only be required to undertake these assessments every five years instead of each year.

Through the Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) program, governments will pursue significant energy savings through six priority areas: lighting, non-domestic fans, swimming pool pumps, commercial refrigerated storage and display cabinets, air conditioning, and domestic fridges and freezers. These changes could save Australian households hundreds of dollars on their energy bills by better informing consumers about appliance efficiency.

The Fan Manufacturers Association of Australia and New Zealand (FMAANZ) is particularly pleased with the addition of non-domestic fans to the E3 priority areas, with Chairman Simon Bradwell saying, “This is a critical step in engaging industry and other stakeholders in the development of regulations on minimum energy performance standards.

“Fan producers have long contended that regulation to ensure that Australia accesses highly efficient, high-quality fans is necessary,” said Bradwell.

“Fans are not just those things that sit in a corner and move air in a room, or off a ceiling. They are also critical components in many building air-conditioning systems and are also in motors and other equipment. Some estimates suggest that 20% of all ‘industrial power’ is consumed in fan products.”

The new measures will all contribute to the Coalition Government’s target of increasing national energy productivity by 40% between 2015 and 2030.