Warm homes rated highly

Work continues at our new homes on Willard Street. They’ve just received a 7 Homestar Design rating.

Our soon-to-be newest community is the latest ŌCHT development to get a 7 Homestar Design rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council.

We'd aimed to deliver homes designed to achieve at least 6 Homestar. This assessment, confirmed this week, blows that out of the water and sets Willard St alongside the likes of the Brougham St lanes, Gowerton Place, Coles Place and Glovers Road.

Homestar 7 suggests our tenants will live in warm, dry homes that are built well-above the basic requirements of the New Zealand building code. Relative to other modern homes, Homestar 7 homes are typically cheaper to heat and cool, resulting in lower power bills.

Willard Street is on target for opening in September. It's a community of 35 homes that'll will cater to individuals, couples and families. The terraced homes are in seven blocks, comprising 18 one-bed homes in two, three-storey blocks; seven two-bed homes, nine three-bed homes and one five-bed home.

What's Homestar again?

Homestar is a comprehensive, independent national rating tool, run by the New Zealand Green Building Council, that measures the health, warmth and efficiency of houses.

A home is rated on a scale from 6 (the minimum rating) to 10.

Homestar awards points across seven categories: energy, health and comfort; water; waste; materials; site; home management; and an optional innovation category.

There are mandatory minimum requirements focussed on keeping the home, warm, dry, well ventilated and operating efficiently. The home needs at least 60 points to achieve a 6 Homestar rating.

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 Building Code.

A 10 Homestar rating indicates a market-leading home.