Whole of Home is a new rating system that measures the energy use of the whole home including its appliances, solar panels and batteries. This rating system will be in addition to the current NatHERS star rating assessment.
The Whole of Home assessment is the biggest update to the building code for over 30 years. It will support important energy efficiency improvements for new homes across Australia. By designing and building new energy efficient homes the industry will support Australia’s transition to net zero emissions by 2050.
The Whole of Home rating provides an easy to use rating system which will rate how a dwelling meets or beats an annual energy allowance and also considers the efficiency of the appliances used in the home, along with any solar and/or batteries.
The new assessment builds on the thermal performance assessment by providing information about the energy use of the following appliances:
- Heating and cooling
- Hot water systems
- Lighting
- Pool/spa pumps
- Cooking and plug-in appliances
- On-site energy generation and storage



The rating considers energy used for heating and cooling, and appliances, minus the energy generated from solar panels and batteries, which helps build a useful snapshot of energy use and costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
While the Whole of Home rating scale ranges from 1 to 100 (where 100 is a net zero energy value home), ratings above 100 are possible. One way that a home may rate over 100 is where a home generates more energy than it uses.
To find out more about the Whole of Home assessment, click on the link below which will take you to the NCC website.