Homestar
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| TopAbout Homestar™ |
 Homestar™ helps you improve the performance of your home – making it better. Better to live in, better for the planet and better value in the market.
There are 1.6 million homes in New Zealand that can be improved – made more comfortable, warmer in winter, cooler in summer and healthier, while using less energy and water. We know what works to create high performance homes. Homeowners know what they need, but need help to achieve it. That’s why we created an online application that asks all the right questions, rates the performance of your home and inspires people to take action.
Homestar™ is a Joint Venture partnership between BRANZ and the New Zealand Green Building Council. Led by these two organisations, industry professionals across the entire building and construction sector including from government, contributed time and expertise in order to develop a single residential rating tool for New Zealand’s new and existing homes.
Funding partners have been critical in order to bring the tool to market.
Homestar™ is independently administered by the New Zealand Green Building Council, a not for profit, industry owned association.
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| Top Homestar™ Services |
Homestar™ is the best place to start to find out how well your existing home is performing for you and your family, in terms of energy, health and comfort, water, waste and more.
There are four different Homestar services available, depending on your needs:
Self Assessment – is a free online tool to assess your own home, providing a Self-Assessment report and provisional rating that provides a list of recommendations on how you can improve the ability of your home to perform.
Homecoach Assessment - Homestar offers you the chance to have your home assessed by a qualified Homecoach who can assist you in completing the online assessment with some expert input.
Homestar Practitioner – If you are planning a major renovation or building a new home, a Homestar Practitioner can provide you with professional advice about incorporating good environmental design and help you get the appropriate Homestar rating.
Certified Assessment - If you are ready to have your Homestarrating certified, an independent Homestar Assessor can inspect your home and provide you with a certified Homestar rating. This provides you with the assurance of a credible assessed Homestar rating. |
| Top Home Performance |
| The condition of your home, how it is constructed and renovated, the appliances and systems you install and how you use it all contribute to how well your home performs.When you look at improving how your home can perform, you need to look at all aspects of your home. This means looking beyond saving energy, to considering whether your home is warm and dry inside, how you can use less water, reduce waste and even what you plant in your garden. This is because each system (such as heating or water heating) in a house affects how the other systems work.Here are some examples of how one part of your home can affect others: If you install insulation but do not have an efficient heater, your insulation will keep the cold in – just like a fridge! If you have an efficient heater but badly fitting windows and gaps under your doors, the heat will escape, you will feel colder and you will spend more energy heating your home. You could have efficient water heating but, without appliances and taps which use less water, you will be spending more than you need on both energy and water bills.This is why Homestar™ looks at the performance of your whole house. |
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