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Homestar Designer

Have you completed the Homestar Fundamentals/Practitioner and want to move on to the next Level of your Accreditation? This is the right course for you if you want to use the v5 Certified Tool for design purposes. 

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What you need to know

The Homestar Designer course focuses on teaching an in-depth understanding of the theory and application of the Homestar rating tool and principles of sustainable design. The course will include the use of the Homestar Energy and Carbon Calculator for Homes (ECCHO).

The use of ECCHO requires a Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) licence and this is included in the course fee. If you already have a current PHPP license, let us know and we can discount you this off the course fee.

This course is facilitated by our amazing external trainer Joe Lyth from WEL Architecture. Joe supported the revamp of our new designer course and Homestar Design Guide.

Please check out our FAQ's below to understand more about the exam element (to be done post course) & maintaining your accreditation.

Sign up today, more details & course resources will be sent to you via email a week prior.

 

pricing
Pricing (excl. GST)

$1,694 Member price
$2,541 Non Member price
$1,567 Future Thinkers

Register now
timing
Timing

29/04/25
10am-12pm

where
Where

Online via our training platform

nzgbc-fe-points
NZRAB CPD Points

80 NZRAB points available

Send us your NZRAB profile number post course completion and we can allocate these points to you!

Homestar Designer course FAQs

These are technical accreditations that require an understanding of how homes are designed and built in Aotearoa. Attendees must be able to read and interpret house plans and have a basic understanding of building science. Therefore, one of the following qualifications and/or experience is required to attend either of these courses:

  • Architectural designer, architect
  • Engineer
  • Building scientist/technologist
  • Quantity surveyor
  • Licensed Building Practitioner Level 2 and 3
  • Completion of the Homestar Fundamentals or Practitioner course is required.

If you feel you have an equivalent experience, please contact us.

This course is delivered via two formats, either over two days condensed in person or over 7 weeks, consisting of online 2-hour sessions weekly. We will provide an overview of the changes to Homestar (v4 vs v5) and an in-depth step through the ECCHO tool as well as an overview of the new scorecard and Homestar calculators. If you choose the 7 week format you will be required to complete homework every week and peer review other's homework, please make sure to have time set aside for this outside of the 2-hour weekly sessions. 

*note that your PHPP license is included in the course fee.

In order to attend the Designer training, every attendee will need to have completed the fundamentals/practitioner course.

An online exam needs to be completed in order to achieve accreditation as a Homestar Designer. The online exam will require additional time investment beyond attending the course and must be completed within 4 weeks after the course date. As such, please ensure that you have sufficient time.

If you have exam questions, you can send these to us at education@nzgbc.org.nz. Please note we may not be able to advise on the exam in every instance, due to the professional integrity of our assessments.

The course is targeted at those who will be working on the design of a Homestar v5 project. They will need to comply with the prerequisite requirements mentioned above.

To maintain you Homestar Designer accreditation, you will need to gain 10 CPD points per year and pay the renewal fee.

The annual fee of ECCHO use is already included for the first year of being a Homestar Designer. Afterwards, to continue using ECCHO, you will be required to pay an annual license fee which is outlined on our website.