Understanding the NCC › - › media › Files › Resources › ... · 2 State and Territory variations and additions to the NCC are located in the NCC. The NCC is available at

The information in this document is intended to be used as guidance material only, and is in no way a substitute for the NCC and related State and Territory legislation. The information in this publication is provided on the basis that all persons accessing the information undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of the information to their particular circumstances.

UNDERSTANDING THE NCC

ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROVISIONS FOR BUILDING SERVICES

The Performance Requirements of the National Construction Code (NCC) can be met by either using a Performance Solution1, a Deemed-to-Satisfy (DtS) Solution (i.e. complying with the DtS Provisions) or a combination of both. The following is a general representation of the DtS Provisions in the NCC and their relationship to service installations in buildings. It is based on a national perspective and does not contain any State or Territory variations2. This information is useful for electricians, plumbers and other on-site trades.

The energy efficiency requirements for commercial and residential buildings are in Volume One and Volume Two of the NCC. The plumbing requirements are located in Volume Three (i.e. the Plumbing Code of Australia). The requirements for building cover areas such as building fabric, sealing of the building, air-movement, air-conditioning and ventilation, artificial lighting and power, swimming pool (or spa pool) plant, and facilities for energy monitoring. The requirements for heated water supply are covered in Volume Three. Note: there are also energy efficiency requirements for glazing in the NCC which do not form part of this document.

BUILDING FABRIC NCC Volume One (Part J1)NCC Volume Two (Part 3.12.1)

CONSIDER THIS…Is the wiring likely to be covered by insulation?

If so, the joint Australian and New Zealand Standard, AS/NZS 3000 provides the operating temperature limits for wiring. Consult this document for further guidance on suitable wiring for situations when wiring is covered by insulation.

The NCC includes requirements for insulation to be installed in various circumstances to varying degrees. The installation of this insulation material must not interfere with the safe or effective operation of a service or fitting. Generally bulk insulation should not be compressed, however where crossed by electrical cables, water pipes or the like, some compression is allowed.

Installing exhaust fans, flues, recessed downlights, or similar fittings in the ceiling, may lead to gaps or holes in the ceiling insulation. This may be needed to allow for the safe operation of the fittings. Where it cannot be avoided, the loss of insulation needs to be compensated for by increasing the Total R-Value of the insulation in the remainder of the ceiling.

Essentially, the more fittings that are recessed into an insulated ceiling, the greater the insulation loss. Therefore the R-value must be increased for the remaining ceiling insulation.

1 Previously known as an ‘Alternative Solution’2 State and Territory variations and additions to the NCC are located in the NCC. The NCC is available at the ABCB website.


© 2016 Commonwealth of Australia and States and Territories of Australia The ABCB website is www.abcb.gov.au

http://www.abcb.gov.au

http://www.abcb.gov.au/



BUILDING SEALING NCC Volume One (Part J3) NCC Volume Two (Part 3.12.3)

Exhaust fans, chimneys, flues, air-conditioners, evaporative coolers or the like need to be fitted with a sealing device, such as a self-closing damper, when serving conditioned spaces or habitable rooms. The purpose of the sealing device is to limit the amount of heat lost or gained through such openings. This requirement varies depending on which climate zone the building is located in.

AIR MOVEMENT NCC Volume Two (Part 3.12.4)

Ceiling fans require a speed controller and need to be sized appropriate to the ventilation needs of the space.

AIR-CONDITIONING & VENTILATION SYSTEMS

NCC Volume One (Part J5) NCC Volume Two (Part 3.12.5)

There are three system types covered by these provisions: air-conditioning, mechanical ventilation systems, and miscellaneous exhaust systems. The components of these systems have specific requirements covering controls, fans and pumps, space heating, energy efficiency ratios (EER), time switches, and the insulation of ductwork, piping, and vessels.

Some key points to be aware of are:

• deactivation of systems when the building (or the part of the building serviced by the system) is not occupied;

• closing motorised dampers when the system is not in use;

• deactivation of an air-conditioning system when any external door opening to a balcony is open for more than one minute and serves a sole-occupancy unit (SOU) in a Class 3 building (e.g. motel/hotel);

• thermostatic temperature control of each zone/area served by an air-conditioning system (in certain circumstances);

• not mixing actively cooled air with actively heated air to control the temperature;

• stopping the water flow to multiple water heater, chiller and coils in the system when not in use;

• not adversely affecting smoke hazard management or ventilation systems.

Fans and pumps have load based requirements. They are specified as a maximum power consumption allowance.

Material R-Values for the insulation of ductwork, piping, vessels, heat exchangers and tanks that are part of an air-conditioning system are specified for certain installations. In housing, central heating water piping also requires insulation based on the joint Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4859.1.

The energy source for indoor space heating is specified and if a fixed outdoor space heater is installed it must be capable of automatic shutdown.




ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING & POWER


Maximum allowable Lamp Power Density (LPD) or Illumination Power Density (IPD) of artificial lighting is specified for new buildings. This applies to a range of applications and covers all types of buildings. The maximum IPD may be increased if a control device as specified in the NCC is used (i.e. motion detectors, dimming switches, daylight sensors, etc.).

All artificial lighting of a room or space must be individually operated by a switch or other control device.

Interior decorative and display lighting is required to be switched and controlled separately from other artificial lighting. In certain instances time switching will be required.

Outdoor lighting (i.e. artificial lighting around the perimeter of a building) must be controlled by a daylight sensor or time switch and in certain instances must be controlled by a motion detector.

The ABCB has developed a series of lighting calculators to assist users with the calculations required by the DtS Provisions. These can be downloaded from our website.

WORKING ON A HOTEL OR MOTEL PROJECT?In an SOU of a Class 3 building (i.e. a motel room) an occupant activated device such as a room security device, a motion detector, or the like, must be installed to cut power to the artificial lighting, air-conditioner, local exhaust fans, and bathroom heater when the SOU is not occupied.

HEATED WATER SUPPLY NCC Volume Three (Part B2)

The requirements for the design, construction, installation, replacement, repair, alteration, and maintenance, of any part of a heated water service, are detailed in NCC Volume Three, the Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA).

A water heater in a heated water supply system in a new Class 1 or 10 building must be:

• a solar or heat pump heater with a set number of Small-scale Technology Certificates, or an energy saving of not less than a system specified under AS/NZS 4234;

• a gas water heater rated not less than 5 stars in accordance with the Australian Standard AS 4552;

• an electric resistance water heater with no storage, or a maximum heated water delivery of 50 litres if the building has only one bedroom (see clause B2.4 of Volume Three for more details); or

• a wood-fired thermosiphon or direct fired water heater complying with the joint Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 3500.4.

DID YOU KNOW?Depending on the number of bedrooms a new house has, the minimum Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) or the percentage of energy saving in accordance with the Australian Standard AS 4234 is different. This applies to solar or heat pump water heaters installed.





SWIMMING POOL (& SPA POOL) PLANT


If heating is provided for a swimming pool or a spa pool it must be:• a solar heater (not boosted by an electric resistance heater if

heating a swimming pool);• a heater using reclaimed energy;• a gas heater or heat pump (see the NCC for further detail); or

• a combination of the above.

In addition to the above a time switch must be provided to control the operation of a circulation pump for a swimming pool (or a spa pool greater than 680 litres).

POOL COVERS, PUSH BUTTONS & TIME SWITCHESWhen using a gas heater or heat pump, the swimming pool must have a cover (or be located in a conditioned space). The heater must also have a time switch to control its operation.

A spa pool heated by a gas heater or heat pump must have a cover, and be controlled by a push button and a time switch.

FACILITIES FOR ENERGY MONITORING NCC Volume One (Part J8)

Once a commercial building exceeds a floor area of 500 m2 it must have facilities to record the consumption of gas and electricity. If the same building exceeds 2 500 m2 it must be provided with facilities to record the energy consumption of air-conditioning plant, artificial lighting, appliance power, central hot water supply, internal transport devices (i.e. lifts and escalators) or other ancillary plant. This may include an automatic logging device or be a device that allows for the manual recording of this information.

These requirements do not apply to a residential SOU or housing.

OTHER NCC REQUIREMENTS NCC Volumes One, Two & Three

Electricians, plumbers and other trades also need to be aware of other requirements in the NCC that are not related to energy efficiency. These include, but aren’t limited to:

• fire separation and construction of substations, conductors, switchboards and emergency equipment;

• fire-fighting equipment including pumping systems, alarms, sprinkler systems, fire-control centres;

• fire and smoke detection and warning systems, smoke exhaust systems, emergency lighting, exit and direction lighting and emergency warning and intercommunication systems;

• hearing augmentation systems and the location of lighting switches for people with a disability;

• lift installations;• artificial lighting for safe movement;• mechanical ventilation for health including

Legionella control;• floor waste; requirements contained in Volume One• Construction of sanitary and other facilities

including those intended for people with a disability;

• Waterproofing, such as for shower installations.

See the NCC for further details. The NCC is available on the ABCB website.


http://www.abcb.gov.au/

Understanding the NCC › - › media › Files › Resources › ... · 2 State and Territory variations and additions to the NCC are located in the NCC. The NCC is available at

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