Release History


1.6.1

These changes went live 25 January 2020.

User Interface Changes

  • Unconditioned Spaces - Two new building classes have been introduced into BESS - Unconditioned Showroom/Machine shop and Unconditioned Warehouse/factory. These are for large unconditioned spaces without heating and cooling and without requirements for thermal building envelope under the NCC.

  • Non-potable water sources & recycled water - In the water section under "Water fixtures, fittings and connections", if a reticulated third pipe or on-site water recycling system is in use, it appears as an option for "Connected to which Non-potable water source". Note that if recycled water is selected for a given dwelling then "Non-potable water source connected to Hot Water System" will be forced to be set to "No". Additionally If a Rainwater tank is connected to a third pipe or onsite water recycling system, then that tank will not be available to be connected to a hot water system. Users are alerted to this when selecting this option in the Rainwater tank editor.

  • No Gas Supply - In Energy section, when "No gas connection" is selected, there are a number of related options that are hidden or removed.

    1) "Are you installing a cogeneration or trigeneration system" question is hidden.

    2) Non Residential Spaces Energy Profiles - Gas related inputs are hidden.

    3) Dwelling Energy Profiles - Heating System, Hot Water Systems and Clothes Dryer inputs disable the gas related options.

    4) Existing gas appliances will be changed to the first non-gas appliance option in these grids when "No gas connection" is selected.

    5) Users will be prompted to confirm change to "No gas connection" and informed about these impacts.

    6) Energy credit 2.4 and Energy credit 4.1 are scoped out when "No gas connection" is selected.

  • User updates & notices - New updates and notices for users are now documented at a dedicated Updates page. A banner alert will show at the top of all pages when new notices are published. This page can also be accessed via the footer under the "Updated - [Date]" link showing when BESS was last updated.

  • Dwelling Types - Dwelling Types - In project details, some dwelling types are restricted based on the project type. Specifically:

     1) Single Dwelling, Boarding/Guest House and Townhouses are the only available dwelling types for a Multi Dwelling site type

     2) Single Dwelling, Boarding/Guest House, Townhouses and Apartments are the only available dwelling types for a Multi Unit site type.

  • No Gas Supply - In Energy section, when "No gas connection" is selected Energy credit 2.4 and Energy credit 4.1 are scoped out.

Scoring & Credit Changes

  • Unconditioned Spaces Deemed-to-Satisfy - All unconditioned spaces qualify to use the Energy DTS methodology to earn credits Energy 2.1 Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Energy 2.3 Electricity Consumption, Energy 2.4 Gas Consumption (if applicable) and Energy 3.2 Hot Water.

Other Minor Changes

  • Terminology: "Gas Supply" question in Energy has been renamed "Gas supplied into building" for clarity.