Tool Development

The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC), BRANZ Ltd and Beacon Pathway Ltd collaborated in a joint venture to produce and operate a single residential rating tool - Homestar - for existing and new homes in New Zealand. The Homestar tool assesses the comfort and performance of our homes, provides information for home owners considering improvements to their home and also provides a performance scale that creates value around warm, healthy, and efficient homes. This industry initiative aligns with Government activities to form a public/private sector partnership to create long-term value for all New Zealanders.

Home owners or occupiers performing home improvements which make their home warmer, drier, or more energy efficient will be able to link these improvements to the capital value of their property.

"A rating will help owners compare new and existing homes on the basis of the comfort and performance, in addition to the location, size or aesthetic qualities of the home," says Alex Cutler, NZGBC Chief Executive.

Homestar is based on a number of successful international rating tools and the approaches they have taken but has been developed for New Zealand’s specific conditions in consultation with a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) made up of industry experts from across the building industry value chain.