Section J Reports for Commercial Energy Efficiency
Section J Reports
Most states and territories in Australia require a Section J Report to be included in the documentation for a Building Approval, Development Approval or Construction Certificate application. With minor variations, each state uses the Energy Efficiency requirements that are laid out in the National Construction Code. “Section J” is the part of the National Construction Code (formerly BCA) that deals with Energy Efficiency.
We use Section J to assist architects, designers, builders and project managers to develop designs that are thermally comfortable and compliant with the code requirements.
What is a Section J Report?
A Section J report is a document obtained from a Section J consultant which highlights the Energy Efficiency requirements for a specific building or design. The requirements are defined by Section J in Volume 1 of the National Construction Code (formerly called the Building Code of Australia, or BCA).
A Section J Report is required for all commercial (non-residential) buildings in Australian states and the ACT. If your design is for a residential building, different legislated requirements apply and are published in the separate Volume 2 of the National Construction Code. Each building may have different requirements depending on its design, so each requires an individual Section J report. The report will list a summary of the specific NCC/BCA Energy Efficiency requirements for your building.
Usually, this will include requirements for building fabric (walls, roofs, floors, etc.), glazing, building sealing, air-conditioning, lighting, power and energy monitoring/distribution measures.
The assessment method used to write a Section J report can vary depending on the building and client requirements – typically, it will use either the Deemed to Satisfy (DTS) or JV3 assessment methods, both of which are approved methods in the National Construction Code. The report will show you how these Energy Efficiency requirements have been calculated using the selected method. For more on NCC Section J assessment methods, see our helpful article here: https://www.bera.com.au/what-energy-efficiency-report-do-i-need-for-my-commercial-project
What is the point of a Section J report?
Good question! The NCC Section J legislation is explicitly designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Australia by improving the energy efficiency of Australia’s building stock. It does this by ensuring the new buildings in Australia meet basic energy efficiency standards.
There are also many benefits to the owners and occupiers of buildings. Energy efficiency means buildings are more comfortable for their occupants, and for most buildings, it will mean substantially lower energy consumption across the life of the building. One study by the UNSW showed that modern energy efficiency measures can reduce a building’s energy consumption by up to 84%!
(Reference: https://www.unsw.edu.au/content/dam/pdfs/unsw-adobe-websites/arts-design-architecture/built-environment/our-research/energy-efficiency-training-information-project/2022-07-B07-Aitkenvale-Library.pdf)
When do you need to get a Section J report?
A Section J report forms part of the approval documentation for your project. Your Certifier or Building Surveyor will typically ask for it (and any associated certificate) as part of the package you submit to them for Development Approval, Building Approval and/or Building Certification. That is the only ‘hard’ deadline that requires a Section J report.
Many projects find it is best not to wait for the approval process before getting a Section J report. Section J requirements can have an impact on building design, which can be disruptive at the 11th hour of a project’s design process. Many projects involve a Section J Consultant from the initial design phase to help identify and anticipate these potential impacts on design – for simple designs, we can provide this initial feedback quickly and at a low cost.
What Building Classes require a Section J report?
All commercial buildings require a Section J report. This includes these classes:
- Class 5 – Offices and buildings used for professional/commercial purposes
- Class 6 – Shops, restaurants and cafes
- Class 7 – Carparks, warehouses, storage buildings
- Class 8 – Factories, workshops, abattoirs
- Class 9a – Hospitals
- Class 9b – Buildings where people assemble – theatres, town halls, churches, sports facilities, schools, childcare centres, etc
- Class 9c – residential care buildings
Some residential-like buildings are also assessed as commercial buildings under building Class 3. These can include hotels, motels, backpacker accommodation, dormitories, workers’ quarters – any building where unrelated people live but which isn’t a residential apartment. All of these buildings will require a Section J Report to demonstrate compliance with Energy Efficiency requirements.
Class 2 Sole Occupancy Units and Class 4 parts of buildings (sole dwellings in non-residential buildings) are special cases. They are assessed under NCC Volume 1 as commercial buildings but have different assessment requirements to building classes 5 to 9. In most cases, you don’t need to worry about this, as your Energy Efficiency consultant will know the appropriate assessment requirements for your building class.
Do I need a Section J report for building alterations?
The requirements for Section J compliance for building alterations vary from state to state. Victoria and Queensland have specific sections in their building acts that provide explicit rules for building alterations. Western Australia has issued an Alteration and Additions Protocol for Energy Efficiency requirements. In NSW, there is no specific legislation covering alterations, and often, the whole of the altered building must be brought up to current NCC Energy Efficiency requirements – this can sometimes be made easier using a JV3 or performance solution.
In most cases, a Section J report will still be required. Any new work will generally need to meet the current Section J Energy Efficiency requirements. For existing elements of the building, you can then review the Section J report with your Certifier/Building Assessor, who may be able (depending on the state-based legislation) to remove some or all of those requirements.
Contact your Section J consultant or building certifier if you’re unsure.
What is in a Section J report?
BERA’s Section J reports provide an easy-to-use summary on the first page of the report, highlighting any changes that need to be made to the plans to comply with Section J requirements. The requirements reported will match the Energy Efficiency requirements of the BCA/NCC sections:
- J4D4: Building Fabric – Roof and Ceiling Construction
- J4D5: Building Fabric – Roof lights
- J4D6: Building Fabric – Walls and Glazing
- J4D7: Building Fabric – Floors
- J5: Building Sealing – Chimneys, roof lights, windows, doors, exhaust fans, building fabric construction
- J6: Air-Conditioning and Ventilation – Controls, fans, ducts, pumps, pipework
- J7: Artificial Lighting and Power – Interior artificial lighting and power control, decorative lighting, external lighting, boiling and chilled water storage units.
- J8: Heated Water Supply, Swimming Pool and Spa Pool Plant
- J9: Energy Monitoring and On-Site Distributed Energy Resources – facilities for energy monitoring, car charging, solar panel systems and battery storage systems
Not every Section J report will cover every part of the code, as some areas, like air conditioning and lighting, are often looked after by the project’s design engineers. The rest of the report shows how the requirements have been calculated.
How are Section J requirements for a building calculated?
The detailed contents of the report (after the summary page) will depend on which assessment method has been used. The National Construction Code specifies a number of different methods that can be used to demonstrate compliance with Section J – and different methods can suit different buildings and projects. The most common are the “Deemed to Satisfy” and the “JV3” methods. BERA provides assessments using both methods and can provide info that will help you decide which is best for your project.
Deemed to Satisfy (DTS)
For most simple commercial buildings, DTS is the method that should be used. It is the lowest cost and quickest of the methods. DTS compares the thermal performance elements of the building design to a series of benchmark requirements listed under the 9 categories in the NCC Section J shown above – if a building meets or exceeds these minimum requirements, it is ‘deemed to satisfy’ the NCC Energy Efficiency requirements.
Specifically a Section J DTS report will specify these building requirements against benchmarks that vary with each building class in each climate zone:
- Roof and ceiling insulation, as well as roof colour
- Roof light specifications
- “Walls and Glazing” are assessed as a single construction. Wall insulation requirement is calculated based on the climate zone and the % of overall glazing. Glazing specifications are determined using formulas listed in the legislation and a “Glazing Calculator”, which takes into consideration the size, orientation and thermal performance of the glazing, as well as the ratio of glazing to wall area.
- Flooring – floors must reach a minimum thermal performance (usually R 2.0), which for most suspended floors means added insulation. Most slabs on the ground (since NCC 2022) no longer require under-slab insulation.
- Building Sealing – the construction of the building and its elements must minimise leakage of air; the code lists requirements to ensure that, including window/door sealing.
- Lighting specifications – a lighting calculator will calculate compliance based on the wattage of lights used (relative to the floor area used) as well as light colours, lighting controls, sensors, etc., that are used in the building.
All insulation calculations take into account ‘thermal bridging’ – the leakage of heat through a building frame that ‘bypasses’ the insulation.
JV3
Sometimes, the DTS method is too inflexible – the benchmark requirements have to be met – and this doesn’t always suit the project design. A Section J JV3 assessment allows much more flexibility and allows you to vary the building design outside the DTS benchmark requirements by offsetting the change with something else – e.g. less expensive glazing can be used if the change is offset by adding more roof insulation. JV3 assessments are more expensive and take longer than DTS reports, so they are typically used only for buildings where specific non-DTS-compliant designs are required.
For more on DTS vs JV3 and other assessment methods, check out our helpful guide here: https://www.bera.com.au/what-energy-efficiency-report-do-i-need-for-my-commercial-project/
FAQs
How much does a Section J report cost?
The cost for a Section J report depends on the building’s size and complexity and on the assessment method used (DTS or JV3). Simple and small designs assessed with DTS can cost as little as $500; large multistorey buildings will likely cost several thousand dollars. Send us your plans, and we will provide you with a quote and a delivery timeframe. You will usually get a quote from us within a few hours of your request.
How long does a Section J report take?
It will typically take 2 to 5 working days to produce a Section J DTS report once you confirm approval to proceed. A JV3 report will typically take 5-15 working days. Reports can take longer if we need to ask for additional information not in the plans provided or for large and complex buildings.
If there are Section J requirements that we think are likely to adversely affect the design, a good Section J consultant (like BERA!) will let you know early so that you’ve got time to consider the options available.
We happily work with clients who have urgent jobs and can turn around Section J reports for many building designs within 24 hours if requested.
What do I need for a Section J report?
All you need to provide for a Section J Report is a current set of plans. The plans don’t need to be finalised (it’s often best if they’re not). If there is more information that’s not in the plans which we need for the report, we’ll just get in touch with you.
Who can conduct a Section J report?
A Section J report should be conducted by a competent Energy Efficiency consultant. Energy Efficiency consultants are experts in the thermal performance of buildings and their mechanical and electrical services and how designs can be most effectively configured to meet legislated Energy Efficiency requirements. We have seen many Section J reports that contain significant errors when conducted by people who aren’t experts in the Section J requirements and building elements required to meet them.
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What happens from here:
- We’ll review your plans and get back to you with a quote – usually within 24 hours.
- Confirm you’re happy with the quote and we’ll get started.
- We might ask for additional information if the plans are incomplete.
- We’ll send you the report typically within 1-3 days (DTS) or 1-2 weeks (JV3) – but let us know if you need it quicker.
- Once you’ve reviewed the report we can incorporate any feedback, or discuss alternative solutions with you. Options analysis is included in our fee.
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From when I was just a one man operation to now being a medium sized building company, I have used BERA over several years for all our design and construct projects. We have always found the team to be professional, prompt and super easy to deal with. I can happily recommend them with absolute confidence.
Tim Maughan