Households are better off with higher energy standards, finds a recent report by Renew.

With the National Construction Code set to be updated in 2022, Renew modelled the energy use, energy bills and upfront costs of homes to test the impact of better energy performance.

Modelling was conducted using business-as-usual homes with a range of scenarios that are under consideration for the 2022 NCC, as well as other efficient options such as all-electric homes. Analysis was undertaken for a typical medium-large sized detached home in four locations: Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth.

The findings, contained in the new report Households Better Off: Lowering energy bills with the 2022 National Construction Code include:

• In all scenarios, improvements to energy efficiency meant lower bills and lower carbon emissions.
• In nearly all scenarios, improving standards meant more money in residents’ pockets on a monthly basis because energy savings were higher than increased mortgage repayment costs.
• Households choosing to use the savings of better home energy performance to pay off their mortgage faster can cut years off the life of their home loan.

More information here