As demand for infrastructure and urban development grows, one of the Australian design and construction industry’s biggest challenges is implementing an effective strategy for reducing built environment emissions.
The National Construction Code (NCC) of Australia – a performance-based code that sets the minimum requirements for all new buildings and building work – plays a critical role, setting mandatory minimum requirements for energy efficiency and sustainability.
In 2019, the updated version of the NCC came into effect, which included the biggest overhaul of the decade of the energy efficiency provisions that apply to commercial and residential buildings. Modelling has shown that buildings constructed under the NCC 2019 could see a 30% increase in energy efficiency compared to buildings constructed under the NCC 2016.
Rewritten almost in its entirety, Section J Energy Effciency is the energy efficiency compliance benchmark for modern Australian buildings. Among the more notable changes are the new provisions impacting the external facade, including windows, doors and wall-glazing construction, that apply to commercial buildings in Classes 2-9.
In this whitepaper, Alspec take a closer look at the changes to Section J, with a particular focus on the new requirements for external facades. We also discuss in detail how these changes impact specification and building design.
