The NABERSNZ process assists agencies and landlords with assessing the energy performance of a building. Make sure to get the right type of assessment and rating for your buildings.
Agencies and landlords must follow the NABERSNZ process to assess their buildings and offices. A self-assessment does not meet our minimum standards; you'll need an assessment from a registered assessor.
How to get a rating – NABERSNZ
NABERSNZ assessor directory – NABERSNZ
EECA's NABERSNZ Getting started video – YouTube
There are three types of energy assessments.
Electric vehicles energy use is excluded from a NABERSNZ rating as long as a compliant electricity meter is being used, as the energy consumed by the vehicle is outside the building envelope.
A base build rating measures the energy performance of the core services in a building which an agency will have little or no control over, such as lifts, stairwell lighting, common toilets, air conditioning and ventilation.
Improvements to a building’s NABERSNZ rating can be achieved with collaboration between the tenant and landlord to minimise wastage, such as after-hours air conditioning use.
A tenancy assessment measures the energy performance of the floors and areas occupied mainly by the tenant, including computers, lighting, server rooms, and staff kitchens.
Research shows that tenancy energy use accounts for around 42% of total energy use in a building.
A whole building assessment gives a combined rating of both base building and tenancy ratings. We do not recommend them, except in buildings solely occupied by government agencies.
Whole building assessments can skew results, especially where building space is shared with non-Government agencies like crèches, retail or commercial premises. In these multi-tenanted buildings common areas are allocated on a pro-rata basis to more than one tenant. Separate assessments provide agencies with better control over making improvements, and this approach also provides a more accurate reflection of energy usage.
In almost all situations, agencies can achieve greater benefits if they carry out separate base building and tenancy assessments, rather than completing a whole building assessment. If you decide to do a whole building assessment, let us know before you start.
You can use the co-assess process to complete tenancy ratings at the same time as a base building or whole building assessment. This process can be applied to both single or multi-tenanted buildings.
The co-assess method is designed to help building managers, building owners, and tenants to better understand their energy use and work together to improve the performance of their building and tenancies, while reducing assessment costs.
Tenancy assessments are usually paid for by the agency.
We would expect a Base Building assessment to be paid for by the landlord; this can be negotiated between the tenant and the landlord.
Assessment costs – NABERSNZ
Work out which assessment you should get by answering the questions below.
With the broad range of lease arrangements in government office accommodation, it can be hard to work out which type of assessment you need. Answer the following questions to confirm the requirements for your accommodation.
|
Assessment type |
Single tenancy |
Co-tenancy |
Co-location |
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Base building |
Is the entire Lease Term (including renewals) longer than 4 years? (Yes / No) NLA ≥ 2,000m², and occupation between 50-100% of the building’s total NLA (Yes / No) If yes, do a base building assessment. |
Is the entire Lease Term (including renewals) longer than 4 years? (Yes / No) Note: If no, the agency is not included in the combined occupancy or minimum area thresholds. NLA ≥ 2,000m², and combined agencies NLA between 50-100% of the building’s total NLA (Yes / No) If yes, agency with largest NLA arranges a base building assessment. |
Is the entire Lease Term (including renewals) longer than 4 years? (Yes / No) Note: If no, the agency is not included in the combined occupancy or minimum area thresholds. NLA ≥ 2,000m², and combined agencies NLA between 50 -100% of the building’s total NLA (Yes / No) If yes, the lead agency arranges a base building assessment. |
Landlord |
|
Tenancy |
Is the entire Lease Term (including renewals) longer than 4 years? (Yes / No) NLA ≥ 5,000m² (Yes / No) If yes, do a tenancy assessment. |
Is the entire Lease Term (including renewals) longer than 4 years? (Yes / No) Note: If no, the agency is not included in the combined occupancy or minimum area thresholds. Combined agencies NLA ≥ 5,000m² (Yes / No) If yes, do a tenancy assessment. |
Is the entire Lease Term (including renewals) longer than 4 years? (Yes / No) Note: If no, the agency is not included in the combined occupancy or minimum area thresholds. Combined agencies NLA ≥ 5,000m² (Yes / No) If yes, do a tenancy assessment. |
Tenant |
|
Whole building |
If your agency falls within the base building criteria, but the utility metering cannot be measured separately, carry out a whole building assessment. |
If your agency falls within the base building criteria, but the utility metering cannot be measured separately, carry out a whole building assessment. |
If your agency falls within the base building criteria, but the utility metering cannot be measured separately, carry out a whole building assessment. |
Tenant and landlord |