a BASIX anecdote

So maybe I am in the wrong forum, admins please delete if so.

Planning a new build, nice block, 1:10 slope, southerly aspect, lakefront views, cool temperate. Knocked up a floorplan, quoted it up, fell within budget, 126 m2 of fibro 2 bedroom. Windows quote for standard glazing was $16K for the 20 windows/doors including 5 Clerestory.

Off to the drafstman, he tidies them up a bit, runs them thru BASIX and sends the draft. Before confirming submission to council, ran the window schedule past the supplier for a revised quote. Damn near had a heart attack when the new quote turned up and it is $51,000.

So lots of research later, I have ascertained the following:

• the BASIX website is absolutely useless
• the spreadsheet calculator is really good at telling you that you have failed but provides no feedback as to what you can do the comply
• the rules are targeted towards standard rectangular houses with 2400 ceilings
• there is no consideration for aspect
• there is no consideration for cost benefit

I finally tracked down Vol 2 NCC (thanks to a link on this site) and immersed myself in a bit of light reading, and after a short discussion with the draftsman, managed to cut down on the amoutn of "specialised glazing" by almost 50% merely by extending eaves and substituting a couple of sets of french doors instead of glass sliders onto the south facing alfresco.

Still not at a point where we have come back inside the budget, so a discussion in progress with an accredited NatHERS assessor, reckons $100 if we can't get it back to standard glazing using additional insulation, lining under floor joists etc etc, $500 if they can, worth the punt from my perspective.

Design is set to leverage passive solar, and we intend to have quality drapes.

Still amazed that cost of windows can increase by > 200% or $1850 per window on average. Having built similar in Tasmania 20 years ago I cannot see that much additional energy being consumed per year for the next 20, just saying...........


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