NABERS, or National Australian Built Environment Rating System, is a simple, reliable, and sustainable rating for the built environment.
With this rating system, you can accurately measure and communicate your building’s environmental performance and identify areas for cost savings and improvements.
Are you searching for an accredited NABERS assessor to rate the building? Hundreds of NABERS-accredited assessors work in Australia, giving you many choices to choose a NABERS assessor to rate your building.
Each accessor is trained and certified to rate the residential and commercial buildings across NABERS energy, water, waste, and indoor environment. So, any two independent assessors should end up giving the same star rating for a building.
However, still, there are a few vital things you should look for when selecting a NABERS assessor. Let’s dive in to learn more.
What Should You Look For While Selecting a NABERS Assessor?
Active Accredited Status
The first crucial consideration is looking for an accessor holding a current accreditation by NABERS. The official website of NABERS is a reliable source to search for accredited accessors.
A registered assessor will be trained in the NABERS rating tools and understand the building assessment process based on the NABERS guidelines.
When searching for a NABERS assessor, check if the shortlisted accessor is accredited in all NABERS tools you want your building to get a rating for.
For instance, an accessor might be accredited as a NABERS energy assessor but not a NABERS waste accessor. Moreover, ensure that the accessor has an active accredited status, regardless of the rating categories.
They Should Consult Before Rating
A reliable NABERS assessor will always consult you to understand your building’s intricacies and what you want to achieve with the NABERS rating before measuring your building.
Prior consultation can help the accessor identify the dominant factor that could cause a lower NABERS rating just from the building’s description and general operation.
Moreover, the discussion can allow the building owners to investigate and resolve identified issues before the official NABERS assessment, leading to a better overall NABERS rating.
Good Engineering Knowledge and Attention to Detail
Although an individual from any background can become the NABERS assessors, as a part of their accreditation, they must know how to interpret building documentation, such as equipment specifications, as-built drawings, etc.
Working with an accessor with good engineering design knowledge can be a plus point as they will be familiar with typical building designs and interpret them much better.
Moreover, the accessor must visit the site to verify building details. A NABERS assessor with a keen eye for detail can easily identify the areas for improvement during the visit. So, it’s worth choosing the accessor who goes the extra mile to rate a building’s efficiency.
Ask the shortlisted accessors how much time they expect to spend at the site visit. What items would they be looking at? Can they provide suggestions on how to achieve the best NABERS rating?
Having Experience in Previous NABERS Improvement Projects
Every construction project owner hopes to get the highest rating for the buildings, but sometimes, the buildings can fall short of the goal.
For instance, the building might score a lower water rating. In such a case, you might look for ways to improve the NABERS water rating.
If you choose an accessor with good experience in previous NABERS improvement projects, it will be much easier for you to improve your building.
They are Responsive
Choosing a responsive NABERS assessor is always a good idea to avoid unanswered calls or emails, especially when needing your NABERS rating fast.
Commercial real estate developers often seek a fast turnaround on their NABERS energy rating as a part of commercial buildings disclosure for selling or leasing the buildings.
In these instances, it pays to work with a responsive accessor who will get back to you with quick building ratings.
Offering Ongoing Monitoring Services
You might be thinking you are done after receiving the NABERS rating. But it’s not the end. Instead, it will help if you look for a NABERS assessor offering ongoing monitoring services.
With ongoing monitoring of your building’s NABERS rating, you can easily track your building’s existing resource usage and potential further savings and renew your NABERS rating.
Wrapping up it all
With the built environment having a significant global environmental impact and contributing to climate change, it has become imperative to construct energy-efficient buildings. And NABERS rating is one of the best ways to know how energy efficient a building is.
Only a trained and certified assessor accredited as NABERS water rating, energy, waste, and indoor environment accessor can accurately measure and rate a building.
There are many trained and certified NABERS assessors out there. But working with the one having the right qualities can make a big difference to your NABERS rating experience and even lead to a better rating for your building.
So, consider all the above-discussed factors to find and choose the right NABERS assessors.
