About Home Energy Ratings

This page provides a brief introduction to Home Energy Ratings.

Find out how to get a rating or search for an assessor in your area in the section Get a Home Energy Rating assessment.

For a more details on how ratings are generated, go to How Home Energy Ratings are calculated.

See a sample Home Energy Rating report in the section The Home Energy Rating report.

To find out more about assessors, including how to become an assessor, go to Home Energy Rating assessors.

On this page

• What is a Home Energy Rating?
• Who should get a Home Energy Rating?
• The assessment process
• Who developed the scheme?

What is a Home Energy Rating?

Having an energy efficient home is simply good sense – it uses less energy, is warmer, healthier, more comfortable, costs less to run, and has less impact on the environment. But how can you tell whether a home is energy efficient, or what needs to be done to make it a better home to live in?

A Home Energy Rating can give you the knowledge you need to make better decisions about what is probably your biggest asset – your home. It is an assessment of the energy efficiency performance of a home, including comparative star ratings and professional recommendations on the most cost-effective ways to improve the home’s energy performance.

The assessment includes:

• How well the building’s design, construction and orientation enables it to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature.
• The efficiency of a home’s two biggest energy users: the space heating system and the water heating system.

The assessment can be completed on any home:

• from apartment to stand-alone home;
• from an old villa to a home that is still at the design stage (i.e. off plans);
• from simple homes to complex designs.

The energy efficiency of New Zealand’s housing stock is poor compared with other developed countries, but a Home Energy Rating can help you bridge this gap into a warmer, healthier and more cost-effective home, whether you’re buying, building, renting, renovating or otherwise.

Who should get a Home Energy Rating?

Getting a Home Energy Rating is voluntary but it’s beneficial at almost any stage – for example:

• People designing, building or developing new homes – a Home Energy Rating assessment at the design stage can identify potential changes for a higher standard of energy efficiency. These changes can then be incorporated into the final home design before construction begins, when more effective energy performance improvements are easier to incorporate and for considerably less cost.
• People looking for a measure of a home’s energy efficiency – for example, potential buyers or renters wanting to factor a home’s energy performance into their purchasing or leasing decision, or sellers wanting to demonstrate the energy performance of a home.
• Homeowners looking for the best and most cost-effective way to incorporate energy efficiency features into their existing home.

The assessment process

The general process for getting a Home Energy Rating assessment involves contacting a trained and accredited assessor to:

• Conduct an assessment of your home or home plans (pre-construction) including the building itself, plus space heating and water heating systems.
• Consult with you on what you want from your home (to help inform recommendations for the home).
• Provide expert advice and information in a report which contains star ratings and practical recommendations.

If the home is at the pre-construction stage the home is rated directly off plans. If the home already exists the assessor will make an on-site visit to the home for an on-site assessment.

To find an assessor go to Find an assessor.

Who developed the scheme?

The Home Energy Rating programme is one of a range of government initiatives targeted at improving the energy efficiency of New Zealand’s homes.

It has been developed by EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), in conjunction with the Ministry for the Environment and the Department of Building and Housing.