Homestar Technical Resources

Homestar technical manual

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

Projects registered under the previous version may certify under that version available here

Templates

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

Home user guides

REBRI waste management plan 

Environmental Management Plan templates

Homestar Embodied Carbon Calculator (HECC)

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.

Products and Materials

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. 

Multi-Unit Developments

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 Technical Manual. 

Download simple typology
Download complex typology

Innovations

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. 

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

Download previously approved innovations

High Performance Construction Details Handbook

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.

Thermal Bridges: Psi and fRsi Calculations

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.