BCA Section J Compliance

BCA Section J Compliance

BCA Section J Compliance is required by all non-residential buildings (Class 2 – 9) in all states of Australia. Local councils and building authorities require a BCA Section J Report to verify that the proposed building achieves compliance with the energy efficiency provisions of the BCA Volume 1, prior to issuing a building permit or Construction Certificate (CC).

Proposed developments, as well as works to existing buildings which require a building permit or CC will need to demonstrate BCA Section J Compliance. Only a suitably qualified and experienced energy efficiency consultant can assess the building plans and prepare a BCA Section J Report for this purpose.

There are two options to demonstrate BCA Section J Compliance for a building:

BCA Section J Compliance: Deemed-to-Satisfy (DTS)

This is the most common and generally the most straight forward method of compliance. The building and its services must be designed in accordance with all relevant provisions of BCA Section J, Volume 1. This includes items such as minimum insulation R-Values for the building envelope, performance of external glazing, and maximum lighting loads.

BCA Section J Compliance: Verification using a reference building (JV3)

This method involves the calculation of the expected annual energy consumption of the building using advanced thermal modelling software. The calculated annual energy consumption must be equal to or less than that of the reference building (which is normally of the same design, but varying only in that it meets all DTS provisions).

Contact Green Rate for advice on the best compliance method for your particular project.