Homestar for professionals

Whether you're a builder, architect, designer and/or accredited Homestar professional, you'll find the information you need to assist you with the Homestar process.

Homestar is a holistic tool that awards points across various credits to rate a home’s performance and environmental impact. There are mandatory minimum requirements to recognise design elements and appliances that provide options for keeping the home, warm, dry, well-ventilated and resource efficient. Once the mandatory minimums have been met, you can choose any other combination of credits to reach the points required for your targeted rating. 

The home needs at least 60 points to achieve a 6 star rating, which is the minimum standard that can be certified. A 6 Homestar rated home will be easier to keep warm and healthy, more cost effective to run, and more environmentally friendly than a home built to the current standards set by the New Zealand Building Code. A 10 Homestar rating rewards a market-leading home.

Climate adaptation and resilience


In response to demand for climate risk information, Homestar now includes a specific Adaptation and Resilience credit. 
This initially gives points for projects that fill out a simple checklist assessment of climate risks in order for the developer to be transparent about those risks, and progresses onto a larger number of points for projects that fully assess climate risks and then go on to implement solutions to mitigate them.

Find out more about this credit in the technical manual within the technical resources section.

Step 1: Registration

Your Homestar Assessor will help you register your project (check out our professional directory for an assessor near you).

You can register via the form below

Step 2: Design and build

Use the Homestar tools and calculators to find what will work best for your home.

Step 3: Assessment

Your Homestar Assessor gathers the relevant documentation and submits it on your behalf.

Step 4: Quality Assurance

Assessments are checked through a quality assurance process.

Step 5: Certification

Once the final assessment is complete and your home is deemed as meeting the criteria, you will receive a Homestar certificate. Congratulations!

Building to a Homestar standard aligns with Metlifecare’s sustainability strategy and vision; to provide quality, innovative and sustainable solutions for the health, safety and wellbeing needs of New Zealand’s ageing population.

Our residents appreciate knowing that, when they reside in a Homestar 7 rated home, they’re minimising their impact on the environment in terms of waste, water, energy and materials.
A Homestar 7 rated unit is built well-above the basic requirements of the New Zealand building code, so it provides a warmer, dryer home for residents to enjoy and typically saves on heating and cooling costs, resulting in lower power bills. Like the New Zealand Green Building Council, we are passionate advocates for sustainable buildings."

Earl Gasparich
Chief Executive Officer, Metlifecare

Continuing to raise the bar

Since launching Homestar in 2010, we have committed to responding to changes in the sector – from improvements in design technique and understanding of New Zealand's changing environmental and climatic conditions, to new products, materials and technologies.  

The latest version of Homestar is version 5.1, it includes:

- a new Resilience and Adaptation credit in recognition of increasing demand for information about climate risks i.e. flooding. 
- an update to the Moisture credit with a simplified process across climate zones - now one single target
- an alternative pathway to reduce moisture and mould growth by commissioning a ventilation system

We've also updated the ECCHO (Energy and Carbon Calculator for Homes) modelling tool so that it includes embodied carbon assessment to assist with calculating the full carbon lifecycle of a home. 

Achieving a minimum 6 Homestar rating under version 5.1 is a significant statement of industry leadership for those choosing to be ahead of the building code.

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Our commitment to best practice


By working to Homestar, you can be assured that you’ll be ready for the upcoming changes to the building code proposed under MBIE’s Building for Climate Change programme. 
We're committed to staying ahead of these changes with the support of our independent industry advisory committee who regularly review Homestar and initiate improvements as they’re identified. 
As a member of the NZGBC, you’ll be notified of industry consultation on Homestar as we continue to update and improve the tool.

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Certification fees and Project Registration

Homestar ratings are carried out by Homestar Assessors who negotiate their own Assessor Fees. As with any professional service, it’s advisable to seek several quotes and compare suppliers before engaging a Homestar Assessor to carry out the assessment.

The below fees calculator provides an estimate of the NZGBC’s Admin and Audit Fee. Please note, all NZGBC fees are GST exclusive.

The Homestar Assessor working on the project will use the calculator to register your project, and NZGBC will provide a confirmed cost once details are finalised.

2024/25 Pricing	Volume Discount (250+)	Standard Pricing Member	Standard Pricing Non-Member
Administration Fee	No Fee	No Fee	No Fee
Fee Per Subsequent Dwelling	$190	$245	$380
Fee Per Typology	$705	$970	$1055

*Volume discount is available by prior agreement only. Eligible companies must have registered more than 250 dwellings in a twelve month period and must be a current NZGBC member.

Additional fees:

Energy modelling audit fee (Homestar v4 projects and where ECCHO is not used): $450

Project amendment fee (where a change is requested after a project has been registered): $160

Additional audit round (beyond the two rounds per rating included in the standard fee): $325

Homestar Assessors will charge their own fees in addition to the ones in the table above. We recommend getting quotes from several assessors.

This form will guide you through registering the project with Homestar. Please read the options carefully. If you have any trouble with the application process please email us on homestar@nzgbc.org.nz

As part of the registration for a Homestar rating, please review the Homestar terms and conditions. Please review these terms and conditions prior to completing the Homestar registration form.

You will be asked to confirm your acceptance of the terms and conditions at the end of the registration process.

All current and future Homestar projects must use the most recent technical manual

Projects registered under the previous versions may certify under that version:
Version 4.1
Version 5.0

The following templates can be used as part of Homestar submissions and certification

- Home user guides

- REBRI waste management plan

- Environmental Management Plan templates

For buildings containing both residential and commercial activities we have issued guidance for how to apply both Homestar and Green Star.

- Download Homestar for mixed-used buildings

Multi-unit registrations must be accompanied by a Typology Breakdown including:

- A site plan with dwelling typologies clearly shown.

- An explanation of how the typologies were defined as per the definition in the Homestar Technical Manual.

This must under simple or complex typology

- Download simple typology

- Download complex typology

The latest version of Homestar includes a credit (EN2: Embodied Carbon) that rewards projects taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the products and materials used to construct a home. While other (third-party) tools may also be used to comply with the EN2 credit, BRANZ has developed the Homestar Embodied Carbon Calculator (HECC) for NZGBC, as an easy to use tool for estimating the embodied carbon content of a typical home.

We are making this tool freely and publicly available to encourage industry professionals to consider the embodied carbon content associated with their projects.

- Download the calculator

HECC is also now available in the Energy and Carbon Calculator for Homes ECCHO

Products and materials can contribute to a Homestar rating, but we rely on third-party certifications and eco-labels rather than endorsing specific products. These third parties test and carry out environmental assessments of products and materials, independent of manufacturers, suppliers and the NZGBC.
Products and materials relate to Homestar in two different ways:

- In the Materials category, points are awarded for healthy & sustainable materials.

- Product may contribute to the overall sustainable performance of the building. For example, low-flow water fittings are recognised in the Water Use credit.

Please refer to the Homestar Technical Manual for more details.

- See all Homestar approved eco-labels and air-quality schemes

The NZGBC may award innovation points as part of a Homestar rating. These recognise initiatives that don’t currently fit into the main framework of these tools but that we believe are important to encourage. They cover environmental, social and economic sustainability initiatives.

- Download previously approved innovations

The NZGBC has published a set of Innovation Challenges for Homestar and Green Star that any project may target.

- Table of Innovation Challenges

Homestar Assessors may suggest new innovations to the NZGBC for approval by independent experts. Please refer to the Innovations section of the Technical Manual to understand how these fit into the framework of the Homestar tool.

Homestar v5 requires some knowledge of building physics. To assist designers and assessors with some of the fundamentals, NZGBC has prepared a brief guide with additional links to useful resources.

- Download the reference document

The following documents are relevant to the High Performance Construction Details Handbook - see below

- Slab NZBC H1 AS1 Rvalues Psi and fRSI - Full

- Slab NZBC H1 Rvalue Psi and fRSI - Firth specific

Mould growth investigation:Risk assessment for mould growth on concrete floor to brick veneer wall detail

In addition, some experience consultants are available to assist with calculating psi and fRsi values. These consultants are listed below:

Elrond Burrell	VIA Architecture Limited	022 416 9499	hello@via-architecture.net
Joseph Lyth	Respond Architects	09 912 9425	joseph@respondarchitects.co.nz
Denise Martin	BEO Building Science	021 0239 4980	denise@beo.co.nz
Jason Quinn	Sustainable Engineering	021 184 6911	info@sustainableengineering.co.nz
Murray Robertson	Robertson Architects	Prefer email	mail@robertsonarchitects.co.nz
Benjy Simmons	Starke Group Limited	09 279 8617	technical@starke.co.nz
Hamish West	Build 3D	027 543 6363	info@build3d.co.nz
The Building Excellence Group (BXG)	BXG	09 889 2190	contact@bxg.co.nz

The High-Performance Construction Details Handbook was written by Jason Quinn on behalf of Passive House Institute New Zealand (PHINZ) with funding from the Building Research Levy and others. The handbook provides ISO standard thermal analysis of the most useful building elements and junctions commonly used in New Zealand. This resource can be used as a reference for thermal bridge performance and fRSI values for junctions.

- Download HPCD handbook

Please note, additional resources are available under the Thermal Bridges: Psi and fRsi Calculations tab above. These include R-Values, Psi and fRSI for slab under H1/AS1

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Search

Popular Content

Homestar for professionals

Climate adaptation and resilience

Certification process

Step 1: Registration

Step 2: Design and build

Step 3: Assessment

Step 4: Quality Assurance

Step 5: Certification

Building to a Homestar standard aligns with Metlifecare’s sustainability strategy and vision; to provide quality, innovative and sustainable solutions for the health, safety and wellbeing needs of New Zealand’s ageing population.

Looking for a sustainable business loan?

Continuing to raise the bar

Our commitment to best practice

Certification fees and Project Registration

Register your project

Read our new Homestar Design Guide

Homestar Technical Resources

Homestar case studies

Homestar training

Get to know the New Zealand Green Building Council

Meet and join our community

Our network for students and young professionals

Keep up to date

Getting started

Certify a commercial building project

Certify a community development

Certify a building's operational performance

Operate at Net Zero

Certify the design and construction of a new home

Improve your existing home

Upcoming events

Professional development

Popular Content

Homestar for professionals

Climate adaptation and resilience

Certification process

Step 1: Registration

Step 2: Design and build

Step 3: Assessment

Step 4: Quality Assurance

Step 5: Certification

Building to a Homestar standard aligns with Metlifecare’s sustainability strategy and vision; to provide quality, innovative and sustainable solutions for the health, safety and wellbeing needs of New Zealand’s ageing population.

Looking for a sustainable business loan?

Continuing to raise the bar

Our commitment to best practice

Certification fees and Project Registration

Register your project

Read our new Homestar Design Guide

Homestar Technical Resources

Homestar Technical Manual

Templates

Multi-unit developments

Homestar Embodied Carbon Calculator (HECC)

Products and materials

Innovation

Thermal Bridges: Psi and fRsi Calculations

High Performance Construction Details Handbook

Homestar case studies

Homestar training