Configuring NABERS

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Before you can use the IBM® Envizi ESG Suite Building Ratings and Benchmarks module for a location, you must capture building rating attributes, apply tags to accounts and meters, and capture previous and current accredited NABERS rating details. You must also ensure to enter the correct location address with a postcode.

Ongoing NABERS attribute reviews

To obtain a more accurate indicative rating, ensure that you continuously review the NABERS building rating attributes and tags on a monthly basis. Enter the latest accredited NABERS rating details into the system annually when a new certificate has been obtained. The location address is usually an one-off setup and is unlikely to change.

Capturing building rating attributes

Building attributes such as rated area and weekly hours are required for a NABERS indicative rating calculation. To capture building attributes, create a building attributes account with account style Nabers Rating Attributes - v9. You must create different building rating attributes accounts for different rating types. For example, if a location needs to do both NABERS base building and NABERS whole building ratings, then you must create two building rating attributes accounts in the same location, with a different account name and different NABERS tag assigned to each.

Note: You must tag NABERS building Rating attributes accounts for the indicative rating algorithm to work correctly. For all NABERS related accounts, apply the Use of Building tag type.

The following table outlines the required building rating attributes accounts for each rating type:

Table 1. NABERS rating types and associated building attribute accounts
Rating type	Required building rating attributes accounts	Account style	Required attributes	Tag
NABERS Base Building Energy	NABERS Building Rating Attributes - Base Building	Nabers Rating Attributes - v9	NABERS Rated Area (m2) Hours of Operation (hrs)	Base Building
NABERS Whole Building Energy	NABERS Building Rating Attributes - Whole Building NABERS Building Rating Attributes - Base Building NABERS Building Rating Attributes - Tenancy Note: To do NABERS whole building rating estimation, you need to have three accounts to capture building attributes separately for a whole building, a base building and tenancy spaces.	Nabers Rating Attributes - v9	NABERS Rated Area (m2) Hours of Operation (hrs)	Apply the appropriate tag to each of the three accounts: Whole Building Base Building Tenant
NABERS Water	NABERS Building Rating Attributes - Water or use the same as the Whole Building account	Nabers Rating Attributes - v9	NABERS Rated Area (m2) Hours of Operation (hrs)	Whole Building
NABERS Tenancy Energy	NABERS Building Rating Attributes - Tenancy	Nabers Rating Attributes - v9	NABERS Rated Area (m2) Hours of Operation (hrs) Number of personal computers (PCs) Note: Number of PCs is compulsory only for NABERS tenancy rating	Tenant

Building rating attributes are time-stamped just like other utility accounts, e.g., each record has start period and end period fields. A NABERS rating is always based on a 12 months rating period and the rated area is most likely different for each month. Therefore, the system calculates an average rated area for the 12 months period and then use it for the NABERS indicative rating calculation.

Applying NABERS tags

Apply the Use of Building tag to both consumption and building attributes accounts for all energy and water accounts and meters that are applicable to the NABERS indicative rating calculation. For example, the system needs to know whether an account should be included for a base building rating calculation, or whether it is an exclusion. Also tag the NABERS building rating attributes account that captures rated area in m2 and weekly hours info.

To apply or edit a tag, display the account's or meter's preview panel and expand the Tags section. For information about which tag value to apply based on rating types, see the previous NABERS rating types and associated building attribute accounts table.

When you create a tag in the user interface, by default the reporting percentage is populated as 100%. However, if the account or meter is a subtraction, then a negative 100% reporting percentage needs to be specified in the tag, for example, to obtain the base building usage, subtract tenant usage from whole building usage .

Generally, data required for NABERS tagging is captured in various utility accounts. Envizi ESG Suite supports the following data types:

NABERS Office Energy rating

Electricity [kWh], Electricity - Green Offsets [kWh], Electricity [kWh] - Scope 3
Natural Gas [GJ], Natural Gas [MJ], Natural Gas [kWh]
Diesel Stationary [L], Fuel Oil Stationary [L]

NABERS Office Water rating

Water [kL]

Capturing accredited NABERS ratings

Capturing previous and current accredited NABERS rating information enables you to use the NABERS portfolio dashboard to check average portfolio ratings. Use the following steps to capture the ratings after you obtain the NABERS official rating results and NABERS rating certificate report:

In the Location Summary or Location Ratings grid page, click Benchmark > Location Ratings.
To capture a new rating, click Create New.

Choose the correct rating body, complete all compulsory fields, and then click Save.

Table 2. Location rating create new dialog fields and descriptions
Location rating fields	Description
Rating Body	The NABERS rating type, e.g. Base Building, Water.
Certified On	The date when the certificate was granted.
Period From	Rating period starting date, normally the first day of a month, e.g. 1-July-2017. The date can be found in the NABERS certificate document.
Period To	Rating period ending date, normally the last day of a month, e.g. 30-June-2018 and it should be 12 months after the rating period from date. The date can be found in the NABERS certificate document.
Score	The decimal rating of the NABERS score. If decimal rating is unknown, input the star rating. The value must be numeric and within the range 0 - 7.
Rating	The star rating that is shown in the NABERS certificate, e.g. 4.5
Description	Any additional notes or supporting information for this rating (optional).
Renew On	Date the rating should be reviewed and consider for a renew (optional).
Location Rating Type	Choose Certified to indicate that the rating is a certified rating rather than an indicative one.
Certificate Expiry	The date the rating expires, as shown in the NABERS certificate document.
Rated Area	The rated area of the building or tenancy, as shown in the NABERS certificate document.

Attach any documents related to the location rating through the preview panel.

Note: For buildings that have both Excluding Green Power rating and Including Green Power ratings, both ratings should be captured separately:

Excluding Green rating should be captured first before Including Green rating can be captured.
The rated area for both Excluding Green and Including Green ratings must be the same.

Location address format

Ensure a street address with a valid Australian Post Code, e.g. 2000 is captured for the location. The NABERS algorithm requires a valid Australian post code for the location to effectively incorporate the weather elements into producing a rating that can be bench marked across all states. If a post code is missing for the location, no indicative rating will be calculated.

To edit a location's address, In the Location Summary page, click More > Addresses.