LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Standing Committee on Public Works INQUIRY INTO ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Report No. 53/02 – March 2004 New South Wales Parliamentary Library cataloguing-in-publication data: New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Standing Committee on Public Works Inquiry into energy consumption in residential buildings / Legislative Assembly, Standing Committee on Public Works. [Sydney, N.S.W.] : Parliament NSW, 2004. – p. 126 ; 30 cm. (Report ; no. 53/02 (March 2004)) Chair: Mr Kevin Greene “March 2004” ISBN 0 7347 6894 X 1. Dwellings—Energy conservation. I. Greene, Kevin. II. Title III. Series: New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Assembly. Standing Committee on Public Works. Report ; no. 53/02 720.472 (DDC21) Report on Energy Consumption in Residential Buildings Table of Contents MEMBERSHIP & STAFF ...................................................................................................V CHAIR’S FOREWORD.......................................................................................................VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................VII LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................................XIII CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................1 Background........................................................................................................1 NSW Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Public Works ...................1 Terms of reference and rationale for inquiry .................................................1 What are the issues? ...........................................................................................3 Increased residential energy consumption and infrastructure implications.......3 Associated greenhouse gas issues and renewable energy options ....................4 Sustainable urban growth and urban design .................................................5 Inquiry process and report structure......................................................................6 CHAPTER TWO - NSW RESIDENTIAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION.............................................9 SECTION 1 - Energy consumption characteristics ..................................................9 Increased consumption ..............................................................................9 Peaking demand......................................................................................10 Infrastructure implications .......................................................................11 Greenhouse gas emissions and alternative energy sources............................13 Demand management and policy responses ...............................................14 SECTION 2 - Drivers of residential demand .........................................................16 Population growth....................................................................................17 Poor residential planning, design and construction .....................................17 Lifestyle and appliances...........................................................................18 Air conditioning.......................................................................................19 Standby power ........................................................................................20 Energy pricing .........................................................................................20 SECTION 3 - Overview of energy industry in NSW ................................................21 Conventional energy.................................................................................21 Coal fired electricity.......................................................................................... 21 Gas ................................................................................................................. 22 Renewable energy and distributed generation.............................................22 Report No. 53/02 - MARCH 2004 i Standing Committee on Public Works Table of Contents Hydro electricity ............................................................................................... 23 Wood ............................................................................................................... 24 Solar................................................................................................................ 24 Wind................................................................................................................ 25 Biomass and bio energy..................................................................................... 25 Cogeneration .................................................................................................... 26 Technical responses and new technologies.................................................27 SECTION 4 - Government Agencies and Policies..................................................27 Commonwealth energy related agencies and programs.................................27 Commonwealth Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources ........................... 27 National Energy Market (NEM) ........................................................................... 28 The Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator..................................................... 28 The Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) ............................................................. 29 NSW energy related agencies and programs ...............................................30 Department for Energy, Utilities and Sustainability (DEUS), former Ministry for Energy and Utilities (MEU) ........................................................................................... 30 Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA)............................................... 31 Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) .......................................... 33 State Planning Authorities ................................................................................. 33 Recent initiatives – new targets for sustainable homes ................................33 CHAPTER THREE - NEW HOMES .................................................................................... 35 SECTION 1 - Planning systems ..........................................................................35 The NSW planning framework for residential development .................................... 36 SEPPs ............................................................................................................. 36 REPs ............................................................................................................... 37 LEPs and DPCs................................................................................................. 37 Master plans..................................................................................................... 37 Development approval, construction and certification process ............................... 38 SEDA Energy Smart Homes Policy ...................................................................... 38 SEPP 60 – Exempt and Complying Developments ................................................ 39 SEPP 65 – Design Quality of Residential Flat Developments ................................. 39 Issues in Submissions..............................................................................39 Comprehensive planning of new developments..................................................... 39 Utility integration in the planning process ........................................................... 42 Consistency of requirements across areas ............................................................ 44 Encouraging and rewarding energy efficient design............................................... 46 Conclusions ............................................................................................46 SECTION 2 - Energy standards and energy rating tools .........................................48 The Building Code of Australia (BCA).................................................................. 49 BCA Energy Code.............................................................................................. 49 NSW BASIX Sustainability Index ........................................................................ 50 ii Legislative Assembly Report on Energy Consumption in Residential Buildings Table of Contents Other schemes, rating tools and software packages .............................................. 52 Energy and design tools .................................................................................... 52 Whole building tools ......................................................................................... 52 Life cycle assessment ....................................................................................... 53 Comparison of rating tools ................................................................................. 54 The rating assessment industry .......................................................................... 54 Issues in Submissions..............................................................................55 Adoption of Energy Standards in NSW ................................................................ 55 Proposed minium star level for NSW Energy Code................................................ 56 BASIX Tool and the Energy Code.......................................................................