WHAT DOES THE NCC 2022 SECTION J9D3 MEAN TO YOU?

The new National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 is set to come into full effect in May 2023, including new requirements for renewable energy equipment, electric vehicle charging and battery systems.

The Australian Building Codes Board produces and maintains the NCC on behalf of the Federal Government and each state and territory government. Its purpose is to outline the minimum performancebased requirements for a new and refurbished building’s safety, accessibility, health, amenity and sustainability.

Incorporating Renewables Into The New Code

In this iteration of the NCC, Section J8 Facilities for energy monitoring has been moved to Section J9 and renamed Energy monitoring and on-site distribution of energy resources. This new section adds requirements for electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment, solar panels and battery systems within buildings. This also necessitated the addition of requirements for monitoring additional load.

New criteria in Section J9D3 ‘Energy monitoring’ now requires the recording of individual time of energy data use, for on-site renewable energy equipment, EV charging and battery systems.

The energy data gathered from this equipment must now be centralised onto the same single monitoring user interface as the rest of the loads on site.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ENERGY MONITORING?

A single-user interface must be able to collate information from various types of energy meters/equipment. This includes loads such as HVAC, lighting, power, central hot water, internal transport and other ancillary plans, as well as the new addition of on-site solar, EV charging and battery systems.

The information captured must be time-stamped, easily identifiable and the single-user interface must have the facilities to store energy consumption information for a reasonable period of time.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR EV CHARGING EQUIPMENT?

Electrical distribution boards dedicated to EV charging are now required in accordance with Table J9D4. The distribution boards are required to have the capacity to support the delivery and monitoring of the minimum power specified in J9D4 (2).

Time-stamped energy data collected from EV charging needs to be centralised in the same user interface as the energy meters from other individual loads on site.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC AND BATTERY SYSTEMS?

For new buildings without solar and battery systems at the time of completion, the main electrical switchboard is required to contain at least two empty three-phase circuit breaker slots and four DIN rail spaces labelled to indicate the use of each space for solar and battery systems.

These empty spaces must be sized to accommodate the installation of solar photovoltaic panels producing the maximum electrical output on at least 20 per cent of the building roof area.

Solutions To Aid Councils In Ncc Compliance

NHP has worked diligently to help provide seamless solutions for NCC compliance, offering a wide range of energy meters to monitor all types of loads.

Communication options such as MODBUS and BACnet are available across the NHP range of energy meters, and all of NHP’s energy meters can fit into its Concept Plus distribution boards.

These Concept Plus single, double or triple-metered distribution boards are fitted with NHP’s dual energy meter EM270, which is capable of monitoring 2 x 3-phase loads or 6 x single-phase loads within the single meter.

Practical, efficient and fast, the Delta AC Max 22kW is a market leader in both function and appearance and is well suited for both commercial and residential requirements. It is also a single and three-phase compatible EV charger in one, meaning greater flexibility.

Finally, the SMART eBox can centralise all energy monitoring devices to a single user interface, and be utilised as a data logger, gateway or controller for various meters, environmental sensors and other SMART power distribution devices.