NABERS Rating for Offices: How Does it Boost Productivity?

1. NABERS Rating for Offices: How Does it Boost Productivity? Most people are familiar with the NABERS rating because it has been compulsory for Australian buildings for several years. Managed by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, the National Australian Built Environmental Rating System (NABERS) measures the performance of homes and commercial buildings. NABERS measures a building’s performance in terms of energy, indoor environment, water, and waste. These four elements are critical to offices because they have been proven to enhance staff and overall building productivity. One fundamental principle of the NABERS Rating is that ‘what gets measured gets managed.’ Therefore, this rating is critical for offices to measure and manage not only their environmental impact but also their productivity. In this article, we will uncover the role of NABERS rating in boosting offices’ productivity. NABERS Rating Boosting Offices Productivity Energy efficiency leads to productivity gains by reducing maintenance costs and increasing production yields per input unit. Moreover, indoor air quality within your office is fundamental

2. to the staff’s health, well-being, and productivity. Improvements in operation and process reliability resulting from energy efficiency gains lead to reduced equipment downtime, shutdowns, or system failures. Now that you know the significance of energy efficiency and indoor air quality in the office’s productivity, let’s learn the role of the NABERS rating in improving your office’s productivity. A NABERS Rating acts as an energy management system for the buildings. It helps you to accurately measure, understand, and communicate your office’s environmental performance in terms of energy efficiency, waste management, water wastage, and indoor air quality. In addition, the rating system helps identify the areas for cost savings and future improvements. A higher NABERS rating for your office means that your office is energy efficient, manages waste appropriately, uses water optimally, and has great indoor air quality. An energy-efficient building with improved indoor air quality will reduce the burden on the heating and cooling system and, thus, lower energy bills. Moreover, occupants in such buildings will be healthier enough to work efficiently for longer hours, increasing overall production and productivity. A commercial building with a higher NABERS (energy efficiency) rating in the NCC BCA Section J report can reap multiple benefits, including improved production, enhanced capacity utilisation, reduced resource use and pollution, lower operation and maintenance costs, resulting in increased productivity, value generation, and improved competitiveness. How Does NABERS Rating Work? ● A NABERS rating will help you measure, understand, and communicate your office’s environmental performance across energy, water, indoor environment, and waste while identifying cost-saving areas and future improvements. ● During 12 months, an assessor accredited for NABERS rating will rate your office’s performance and environmental impact based on technical information like monthly water and electricity bills. They will multiply your office’s energy use by its emission factors (GHG) and adjust it based on the building’s equipment’s operating hours, size, occupancy, and the area’s climate. ● This data is compared to a Benchmark Factor (other commercial buildings within the area), and your office is given an energy score between 1 and 6. A six-star NABERS Rating means that your office has achieved a market-leading status in terms of environmental performance, resulting in reduced energy costs and improved productivity. ● These ratings encourage all commercial building owners to commit to conserving energy, improving productivity, and protecting the environment.

3. How Can You Improve NABERS Rating for Your Office? Now that you know the NABERS rating is key to boosting your office’s productivity, you should make efforts to increase it. You can improve your office’s NABERS rating by changing operational procedures and optimising or upgrading equipment. The following are some examples of how you can improve the NABERS rating: ● Install high-efficiency lighting and controls. ● Install Variable Speed Drives (VSD) on pumps or other mechanical devices used in your office. ● Optimise or upgrade boilers and chillers. ● Optimise or upgrade components of the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, such as air handling units, dampers, and supply fans. ● Improve your office’s thermal insulation via building envelope modifications. ● Use smart meters, sub-meters, and energy-monitoring software. ● Optimise or upgrade the Building Management System (BMS), including automation and setpoints to systems. ● Improve the quality of power supply and distribution via Power Factor Correction and Active Harmonic Filters. ● Utilise renewable energy generation and battery storage system. ● Manage the energy demand of your office. Final Notes The NABERS rating system shows office owners how their management practices can impact the environment. The tools provided by this rating system can help the building managers understand their office’s environmental performance and the solutions they can deploy to become energy efficient while reducing their carbon footprint, saving energy costs, and improving productivity. Aside from the NABERS rating, you can also opt for JV3 Modeling- a holistic energy modelling approach allowing maximum flexibility and cost saving in terms of energy construction costs. Therefore, deploying an appropriate energy efficiency rating for your office can significantly reduce energy costs and enhance productivity.

4. Contact Us Eco Certificates Website: https://www.ecocertificates.com.au Email ID: info@ecocertificates.com.au Address: Suite G.03, 23 Ryde Road, Pymble NSW, Australia- 2073 Phone Number: +61 1300162436