NCC 2022 Volume One - Building Code of Australia Class 2 to 9 buildings
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J9

Part J9 Energy monitoring and on-site distributed energy resources

Part J9 Energy monitoring and on-site distributed energy resources

Introduction to this Part

This Part contains Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions for compliance with Part J1. It sets out provisions that enable the monitoring of energy use (other than for billing purposes) and facilitate easy retrofit of renewable energy and electric vehicle charging equipment.

Notes

From 1 May 2023 to 30 September 2023 Section J of NCC 2019 Volume One Amendment 1 may apply instead of Section J of NCC 2022 Volume One. From 1 October 2023 Section J of NCC 2022 Volume One applies.

Notes: New South Wales Section J Energy Efficiency

  1. For a Class 2 building or a Class 4 part of a building, where a relevant development consent or an application for a complying development certificate requires compliance with a BASIX Single Dwelling or Multi Dwelling Certificate issued under Version 3.0 or earlier, NSW Section J of NCC 2019 Volume One Amendment 1 applies.
  2. For a Class 2 building or a Class 4 part of a building, where a relevant development consent or an application for a complying development certificate requires compliance with a BASIX Single Dwelling or Multi Dwelling Certificate issued under Version 4.0 or later, Section J of NCC 2022 Volume One applies.
  3. For a Class 2 building or a Class 4 part of a building, where a relevant development consent or an application for a complying development certificate requires compliance with a BASIX Alterations and Additions Certificate, NSW Section J of NCC 2019 Volume One Amendment 1 applies.
  4. For a Class 3 building or Class 5 to 9 building:
    1. From 1 May 2023 to 30 September 2023 NSW Section J of NCC 2019 Volume One Amendment 1 may apply instead of Section J of NCC 2022 Volume One.
    2. From 1 October 2023 Section J of NCC 2022 Volume One applies.

Notes: Tasmania Section J Energy Efficiency

In Tasmania, for a Class 2 building and Class 4 part of a building, Section J is replaced with Section J of BCA 2019 Amendment 1.

Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions

(1) Where a Deemed-to-Satisfy Solution is proposed, Performance Requirements J1P1 to J1P4 are satisfied by complying with—

  1. J2D2; and
  2. J3D2 to J3D15; and
  3. J4D2 to J4D7; and
  4. J5D2 to J5D8; and
  5. J6D2 to J6D13; and
  6. J7D2 to J7D9; and
  7. J8D2 to J8D4; and
  8. J9D2 to J9D5.

NSW J9D1 Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions2019: J8.0

Delete subclause J9D1(1) and insert J9D1(1) as follows:

(1) Where a Deemed-to-Satisfy Solution is proposed, Performance Requirements NSW J1P1 to NSW J1P7 are satisfied by complying with—

  1. NSW J2D2; and
  1. NSW J3D2 to J3D10; and
  2. NSW J4D2 to J4D7; and
  3. NSW J5D2 to J5D8; and
  4. NSW J6D2 to J6D13; and
  5. NSW J7D2 to J7D9; and
  6. J8D2 to NSW J8D4; and
  7. J9D2 to J9D5.

(2) Where a Performance Solution is proposed, the relevant Performance Requirements must be determined in accordance with A2G2(3) and A2G4(3) as applicable.

To clarify that the requirements of J1P1 to J1P4 will be satisfied if a building complies with Parts J2 to J9.

Where a solution is proposed to comply with the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions, J2D1 clarifies how compliance with Parts J2 to J9 achieves compliance with J1P1 to J1P4.

Where a Performance Solution is proposed, the relevant Performance Requirements must be determined in accordance with A2G2(3) and A2G4(3) as applicable. (See commentary on Part A2).

The Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions, including those related to house energy rating software, described are limited to the most common forms of construction and the simplest forms of buildings. It is expected that the more innovative construction techniques and the more complex buildings will be designed and assessed using a performance approach.

A major consideration in developing the measures was the likelihood of a building being heated or cooled by an air- conditioning system, and whether the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions should assume this to be the case, or only apply the provisions if a heating or cooling system is installed. It is recognised that most Class 3, 5, 6 and 9 buildings and some Class 7 and 8 buildings are heated or cooled, and this is the basis of the provisions. Consideration was also given to the fact that although the first owner may be prepared to ‘manage’ their building in the appropriate manner, the next owner or tenant may not, and instead may install air-conditioning.

Because of the performance-based structure of the NCC, a Performance Solution may be proposed instead of the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions.

The Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions of this Part do not apply—

  1. within a sole-occupancy unit of a Class 2 building or a Class 4 part of a building; or
  2. to a Class 8 electricity network substation.

To clarify that the Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions of Part J9 do not apply to a sole-occupancy unit of a Class 2 building, a Class 4 part of a building or a Class 8 electricity network substation.

Part J9 does not apply to private dwellings, i.e. Class 1 buildings, therefore it is also not applied to the sole-occupancy units of Class 2 buildings, or Class 4 parts of buildings.

The access for maintenance and power monitoring procedures for Class 8 electricity network substations have inherent and critical characteristics that either supersede or vary from the procedures adopted and applied to other buildings. Therefore, Part J9 does not apply.

(1) A building or sole-occupancy unit with a floor area of more than 500 m2 must have energy meters configured to record the time-of-use consumption of gas and electricity.

(2) A building with a floor area of more than 2 500 m2 must have energy meters configured to enable individual time-of-use energy data recording, in accordance with (3), of—

  1. air-conditioning plant including, where appropriate, heating plant, cooling plant and air handling fans; and
  2. artificial lighting; and
  3. appliance power; and
  4. central hot water supply; and
  5. internal transport devices including lifts, escalators and moving walkways where there is more than one serving the building; and
  6. on-site renewable energy equipment; and
  7. on-site electric vehicle charging equipment; and
  8. on-site battery systems; and
  9. other ancillary plant.

(3) Energy meters required by (2) must be interlinked by a communication system that collates the time-of-use energy data to a single interface monitoring system where it can be stored, analysed and reviewed.

(4) The provisions of (2) do not apply to energy meters serving—

  1. a Class 2 building where the total floor area of the common areas is less than 500 m2; or
  2. individual sole-occupancy units with a floor area of less than 2 500 m2.

To ensure that the building has the facilities to monitor its energy usage.

In order for maintenance personnel to ensure that active energy efficiency items and systems continue to operate at their required level of performance, they need to know the energy usage of the building over time and also the usage of individual services in a large building. To facilitate this outcome, the data collected by energy meters is to be made readily accessible to personnel without requiring the physical inspection of meters. The data must be transmitted to a communications platform (e.g. a computer) in a format (e.g. a .csv file) that allows for its analysis by maintenance personnel.

(1) Subject to (2), a carpark associated with a Class 2, 3, 5, 6, 7b, 8 or 9 building must be provided with electrical distribution boards dedicated to electric vehicle charging—

  1. in accordance with Table J9D4 in each storey of the carpark; and
  2. labelled to indicate use for electric vehicle charging equipment.

(2) Electrical distribution boards dedicated to serving electric vehicle charging in a carpark must—

  1. be fitted with a charging control system with the ability to manage and schedule charging of electric vehicles in response to total building demand; and
  2. when associated with a Class 2 building, have capacity for each circuit to support an electric vehicle charger able to deliver a minimum of 12 kWh from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am daily; and
  3. when associated with a Class 5 to 9 building, have capacity for each circuit to support an electric vehicle charger able to deliver a minimum of 12 kWh from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily; and
  4. when associated with a Class 3 building, have capacity for each circuit to support an electric vehicle charger able to deliver a minimum of 48 kWh from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am daily; and
  5. be sized to support the future installation of a 7 kW (32 A) type 2 electric vehicle charger in—
    1. 100% of the car parking spaces associated with a Class 2 building; or
    2. 10% of car parking spaces associated with a Class 5 or 6 building; or
    3. 20% of car parking spaces associated with a Class 3, 7b, 8 or 9 building; and
  6. contain space of at least 36 mm width of DIN rail per outgoing circuit for individual sub-circuit electricity metering to record electricity use of electric vehicle charging equipment; and
  7. be labelled to indicate the use of the space required by (f) is for the future installation of metering equipment.

Limitations

J9D4 does not apply to a stand-alone Class 7a building.

Table J9D4 Electric vehicle distribution board requirement for each storey of a carpark
Carpark spaces per storey for electric vehicles Electrical distribution boards for electric vehicle charging per storey
0 - 9 0
10 - 24 1
25 - 48 2
49 - 72 3
73 - 96 4
97 - 120 5
121 - 144 6
145 - 168 7
Table Notes

Where there are more than 168 carpark spaces per storey, one additional distribution board must be provided for each additional 24 spaces or part thereof.

To ensure that the building has the facilities for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

The intent of J9D4 is to ensure that the building is ready for the installation of EV charging equipment, should this be desired by a future user of the building.

J9D4(1) mandates that, subject to J9D4(2), carparks associated with Class 2, 3, 5, 6, 7b, 8, and 9 buildings must be equipped with electrical distribution boards that are solely dedicated to EV charging. The reason this clause states that the number of required distribution boards is “subject to J9D4(2)” is to indicate that the number of boards relates to the number of car spaces required to be ready for EV charging equipment. For example, as 10% of car spaces attached to a Class 5 building are required to be EV ready, the carpark associated with the building would need to have at least 100 car spaces on a storey before requiring one EV dedicated distribution board. Additionally, they must be clearly labelled to indicate their specific use for EV charging equipment.
Note: For the purposes of J9D4(1), a carpark is associated with another building if the carpark is on the same site as the building and is provided to serve that building. i.e., a carpark is considered associated with a building if it shares the same property location and is specifically intended to provide parking for the occupants or users of that building.

J9D4(2) has more requirements for these distribution boards. First, each board must be connected to a charging control system capable of managing and scheduling the EV charging based on the building's overall power consumption and needs. For carparks associated with a Class 2 building, the circuits must be capable of supporting an EV charger that delivers a minimum of 12 kWh from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. Similarly, for Class 5 to 9 buildings, the circuits should support an EV charger delivering a minimum of 12 kWh between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.  The specified hours match the times when EVs are most likely to require charging for each building type. In Class 3 buildings the capacity should be significantly higher, with each circuit supporting an EV charger needing to deliver a minimum of 48 kWh from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. The higher capacity matches the anticipated needs of drivers who are likely to have travelled longer distances to get to a Class 3 building.

Beyond current requirements, the provision also looks to the future. While there is no requirement to install EV chargers from the outset, the electrical boards are to be designed to facilitate subsequent installation of 7 kW (32 A) type 2 EV chargers. The percentage of carpark spaces that must be capable of supporting these future installations varies depending on the class of the associated building. Additionally, the boards must contain enough room—specifically, a width of at least 36 mm of DIN rail for each outgoing circuit—for future installation of individual sub-circuit electricity metering of the electricity use of EV charging equipment. This space is to be labelled to denote its purpose.

Limitations and special cases

The provision exempts stand-alone Class 7a buildings from these requirements. This is due to the typically lighter electrical loads of these structures, making the addition of EV charging facilities excessive and unwarranted. However, all other carparks that exist in connection with specific buildings or groups of buildings should adhere to these requirements. 

(1) The main electrical switchboard of a building must—

  1. contain at least two empty three-phase circuit breaker slots and four DIN rail spaces labelled to indicate the use of each space for—
    1. a solar photovoltaic system; and
    2. a battery system; and
  2. be sized to accommodate the installation of solar photovoltaic panels producing their maximum electrical output on at least 20% of the building roof area.

(2) At least 20% of the roof area of a building must be left clear for the installation of solar photovoltaic panels, except for buildings—

  1. with installed solar photovoltaic panels on—
    1. at least 20% of the roof area; or
    2. an equivalent generation capacity elsewhere on-site; or
  2. where 100% of the roof area is shaded for more than 70% of daylight hours; or
  3. with a roof area of not more than 55 m2; or
  4. where more than 50% of the roof area is used as a terrace, carpark, roof garden, roof light or the like.

Limitations

  1. The requirements of J9D5(1)(a)(i) and (b) do not apply to a building with solar photovoltaic panels installed on at least 20% of the roof area.
  2. The requirements of J9D5(1)(a)(ii) and (b) do not apply to a building with battery systems installed.

To ensure that the building has the facilities for solar photovoltaic and battery systems infrastructure.

J9D5 addresses the infrastructure required for future installation of solar photovoltaic and battery systems. The provision encourages sustainable energy solutions by mandating the necessary setup on the main electrical switchboard and roof area.

Main Electrical Switchboard

J9D5(1) stipulates:

  • The main electrical switchboard should contain at least two empty three-phase circuit breaker slots and four DIN rail spaces, labelled for use by solar photovoltaic and battery systems.
  • The switchboard must be sized to accommodate solar panels that could cover at least 20% of the building's roof area.

Buildings with solar panels covering at least 20% of the roof are exempt from the requirements of J9D5(1)(a)(i) and (b). Buildings with installed battery systems are exempt from the requirements of J9D5(1)(a)(ii) and (b).

Roof Area Requirements

J9D5(2) addresses roof area conditions with at least 20% of the roof area should be kept free for installing solar photovoltaic panels.
Buildings with already installed solar panels covering at least 20% of the roof, or those with 100% shading for more than 70% of daylight hours, or special use cases like terraces and roof gardens, are exempt. These exemptions are intended to cover buildings where the use of rooftop solar panels will be ineffective or impractical.