NSW Part J1 Energy efficiency performance requirements

The Objective of this Section is to—

1. reduce energy consumption and energy peak demand; and
2. reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
3. improve occupant health and amenity.

A building must—

1. reduce the energy consumption and energy peak demand of key energy using equipment; and
2. reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that occur as a result of a building’s energy consumption and energy source; and
3. for a sole-occupancy unit of a Class 2 building or a Class 4 part of a building, improve occupant health and amenity by mitigating the impact of extreme hot and cold weather events and energy blackouts; and
4. for other than in a sole-occupancy unit of a Class 2 building or a Class 4 part of a building, protect occupant health and amenity by ensuring the building envelope assists in the maintenance of acceptable internal conditions while the building is occupied; and
5. be able to accommodate the future installation of distributed energy resources.

A building including its services, must have features that facilitate the efficient use of energy appropriate to—

1. the function and use of the building; and
2. the level of human comfort required for the building use; and
3. solar radiation being—
   1. utilised for heating; and
   2. controlled to minimise energy for cooling; and
4. the energy source of the services; and
5. the sealing of the building envelope against air leakage; and
6. for a conditioned space, achieving an hourly regulated energy consumption, averaged over the annual hours of operation, of not more than—
   1. for a Class 6 building, 80 kJ/m².hr; and
   2. for a Class 5, 7b, 8 or 9a building other than a ward area, or a Class 9b school, 43 kJ/m².hr; and
   3. for all other building classifications, 15 kJ/m².hr.

A building must have features that facilitate the future installation of on-site renewable energy generation and storage and electric vehicle charging equipment.

(1) Thermal insulation in a building must be installed in a manner and have characteristics, which facilitate the efficient use of energy for artificial heating and cooling.

(2) A building must have, to the degree necessary, thermal breaks installed between the framing and external cladding, to facilitate efficient thermal performance of the building envelope.

A building must have, to the degree necessary, a level of building sealing against air leakage to facilitate the efficient use of energy for artificial heating and cooling appropriate to—

1. the function and use of the building; and
2. the internal environment; and
3. the geographic location of the building.

A building’s services must have features that, to the degree necessary, facilitate the efficient use of energy appropriate to—

1. the function and use of the service; and
2. the internal environment; and
3. the geographic location of the building; and
4. the energy source of the service.

(1) For a Class 5 building, compliance with NSW J1P1 is verified when—

1. a minimum 5.5-star NABERS Energy base building Commitment Agreement is obtained; and
2. the energy model required for (a) demonstrates—
   1. the base building’s greenhouse gas emissions are not more than 67% of the 5.5-star level when excluding—
      1. tenant supplementary heating and cooling systems; and
      2. external lighting; and
      3. carparkservices; and
   2. a thermal comfort level of between a Predicted Mean Vote of -1 to +1 is achieved across not less than 95% of the floor area of all occupied zones for not less than 98% of the annual hours of operation of the building; and
3. the building complies with the additional requirements in Specification 33.

(2) For a Class 3 building, compliance with NSW J1P1 is verified when—

1. a minimum 4-star NABERS Energy for Hotels Commitment Agreement is obtained; and
2. the operating hours of the services are not less than 12 hours per day in bedrooms, dining rooms and conference facilities, 24 hours per day in corridors and foyers and 18 hours per day in back-of-house areas; and
3. the energy model required for (a) demonstrates that—
   1. the greenhouse gas emissions of the services are less than 70% of the 5-star level; and
   2. a thermal comfort level of between a Predicted Mean Vote of -1 to +1 is achieved across not less than 95% of the floor area of occupied zones, excluding indoor swimming pool chambers, for not less than 98% of the annual hours of operation of the building; and
   3. the space temperature in any indoor swimming pool chamber is maintained at 2°C above the pool temperature during occupied hours of not less than 12 hours per day; and
4. the building complies with the additional requirements in Specification 33.

(3) For a Class 6 shopping centre, compliance with NSW J1P1 is verified when—

1. a minimum 4.5-stars NABERS Energy for Shopping Centres Commitment Agreement is obtained; and
2. the building has:
   1. an air-conditioned common area of not less than 20% of the gross lettable area; and
   2. a gross lettable area greater than 15 000 m²; and
3. the energy model required for (a) demonstrates—
   1. the greenhouse gas emissions of the services covered within the scope of NABERS Energy for Shopping Centres ratings are less than 80% of the 4.5-star level; and
   2. a thermal comfort level of between a Predicted Mean Vote of -1 to +1 is achieved across not less than 95% of the floor area of air-conditioned spaces within the scope of the rating for not less than 98% of the annual hours of operation the building; and
4. the building complies with the additional requirements in Specification 33.

(4) The calculation method for (1), (2) and (3) must comply with ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140.

(1) For a Class 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 building, compliance with NSW J1P1 is verified when—

1. the building complies with the simulation requirements, and is registered, for a Green Star – Design & As-Built or Green Star Buildings rating; and
2. the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the proposed building are less than 90% of the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the reference building; and
3. in the proposed building, a thermal comfort level of between a Predicted Mean Vote of -1 to +1 is achieved across not less than 95% of the floor area of all occupied zones for not less than 98% of the annual hours of operation of the building; and
4. the building complies with the additional requirements in Specification 33.

(2) The calculation method used for (1) must comply with ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140.

(1) For a Class 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 building, compliance with NSW J1P1 is verified when—

1. it is determined that the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the proposed building are not more than the annual greenhouse gas emissions of a reference building when—
   1. the proposed building is modelled with the proposed services; and
   2. the proposed building is modelled with the same services as the reference building; and
2. in the proposed building, a thermal comfort level of between a Predicted Mean Vote of -1 to +1 is achieved across not less than 95% of the floor area of all occupied zones for not less than 98% of the annual hours of operation of the building; and
3. the building complies with the additional requirements in Specification 33.

(2) The annual greenhouse gas emissions of the proposed building may be offset by—

1. renewable energy generated and used on site; and
2. another process such as reclaimed energy, used on site.

(3) The calculation method used for (1) and (2) must comply with—

1. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140; and
2. Specification 34.

(1) Compliance with NSW J1P1(e) and NSW J1P6 is verified for building envelope sealing when the envelope is sealed at an air permeability rate, tested in accordance with Method 1 of AS/NZS ISO 9972, of not more than—

1. for a Class 2 building or a Class 4 part of a building, 10 m³/hr.m² at 50 Pa reference pressure; or
2. for a Class 5, 6, 8 or 9a or 9b building, other than a ward area, in climate zones 1, 7 and 8, 5 m³/hr.m² at 50 Pa reference pressure; or
3. for a Class 3 or 9c building, or a Class 9a ward area in climate zones 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8, 5 m³/hr.m² at 50 Pa reference pressure.

(2) In a sole-occupancy unit of a Class 2 building or a Class 4 part of a building, where an air permeability rate of not more than 5 m³/hr.m² at 50 Pa reference pressure is achieved—

1. a mechanical ventilation system must be provided that—
   1. can be manually overridden; and
   2. provides outdoor air, either—
      1. continuously; or
      2. intermittently, where the system has controls that enable operation for not less than 25 per cent of each 4 hour segment; and
   3. provides a flow rate not less than that achieved with the following formula:

      $Q=(0.05\times A+3.5\times (N+1))/p$

      , where—

      1. $Q$

         = the required air flow rate (L/s); and

      2. $A$

         = the total area of the sole-occupancy unit of a Class 2 or Class 4 part of a building (m²); and

      3. $N$

         = the number of bedrooms in the sole-occupancy unit of a Class 2 or Class 4 part of a building; and

      4. $p$

         = the fraction of time within each 4 hour segment that the system is operational; and
2. any space with a solid-fuel burning combustion appliance must be ventilated with permanent openings directly to outside with a free area of not less than half of the cross-sectional area of the appliance’s flue; and
3. any space with a gas-fueled combustion appliance must be ventilated in accordance with—
   1. clause 6.4 of AS/NZS 5601.1; and
   2. clause 6.4.5 of AS/NZS 5601.1.

(3) For the purposes of (2)(c), the volume of the space is considered to be 1 m³ for determining ventilation requirements.