A Holistic view on sustainable buildingHomestar is a residential building certification from the New Zealand Green Building Council. It takes a holistic look at the overall building - it's performance, site and context, and the wider impact, to mitigate the energy use and impact of each project.
Homestar Certification is split up into star bands, from 6 to 10. To achieve each band there are mandatory minimum requirements that must be met - if you miss one, you don't achieve the rating. This ensures a minimum level of performance and comfort for each project. When it comes to performance, Homestar uses a slightly simplified version of the same energy modelling software as Passive House. This provides confidence around the performance and comfort outcomes, as this software has been proven to work around the world, for decades. |
Adding valueHomestar not only gives you better comfort and performance outcomes, with lower ongoing bills and maintenance for the life of the building, it can also get you money off your mortgage.
Many of the main banks offer discounts off their mortgage rates if a home is Homestar Certified, and we have seen valuers add a 12% value increase for the ' green credentials' More information here: Homestar Services 
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Homestar at WEL
Director Joe is a Homestar Designer and Assessor, and was the lead author on the Homestar Design Guide - A Practical Design Guide to Lower Carbon, Healthier Homes. He was also the co-author of the Homestar Designer Course, which he teaches for the New Zealand Green Building Council. Joe's own home Lower Saddle Passive House was also the second Homestar v5 10* dwelling in the country - when it comes to Homestar, there aren't many people who know it better!
The Homestar process is one of the best ways to ensure all facets of a project have been considered. Due to this all WEL projects review the Homestar Mandatory Minimums during the design process, to assess which star band would be achievable. While going through the Homestar Certification process is the ideal outcome, we also recognise not every client will have achieving Certification on their list and may prefer to put those funds elsewhere - we can work with you through this process.
The Homestar process is one of the best ways to ensure all facets of a project have been considered. Due to this all WEL projects review the Homestar Mandatory Minimums during the design process, to assess which star band would be achievable. While going through the Homestar Certification process is the ideal outcome, we also recognise not every client will have achieving Certification on their list and may prefer to put those funds elsewhere - we can work with you through this process.
