Pick up where you left off.
Course Content
Beyond 7 Stars: Passive Design Tactics That Actually Work in NatHERS
A house can clear seven stars and still fail its cooling load limit, and the fix is usually passive.
The passive tactics that move a NatHERS result, by how much and in which climate. Orientation, zoning, glazing by facade, shading, thermal mass and airtightness, how the accredited tools read each one, how to check the star rating against the heating and cooling load limits, and three case studies taken past eight stars without high cost materials.
Secure card checkout. Tax invoice emailed.
4 modules, case studies, final quiz and certificate.
Introduction and objectives
Why seven stars is now the floor, and why passive design moves the result before any product or system is chosen.
High-Impact Passive Design Principles
Rank the passive strategies by their effect on the rating, and see how each one shows up in the NatHERS outputs.
Effective Passive Design Strategies
Apply orientation and zoning, glazing by facade, shading to the sun’s geometry and thermal mass where the climate can use it.
Modelling and Simulation in NatHERS Tools
Find the input errors that cost stars, and read the outputs against the star band and the heating and cooling load limits.
Real-World Case Studies: Beyond 8 Stars
Three climates, three routes past eight stars, and the low cost passive decisions that made the difference.
Case Study
A compact Melbourne house on a lot with limited north access, taken to 8.4 stars.
Summary and Key Takeaways
The passive habits that lift a design past the minimum at least cost.
Final quiz and certificate
Ten questions on the tactics, the model and the load limits. Pass and the certificate goes straight into your dashboard.
Intermediate. For assessors who already run NatHERS models and designers who already design to seven stars. Covers passive design tactics by climate, how accredited tools read them, and the star rating and load limits under NCC 2022 and NCC 2025. It asserts no software default values and is not a substitute for the NatHERS Technical Notes.
Written for the assessor at the keyboard and the designer who sets the geometry.
Energy assessors
You see the same design fail its cooling limit on job after job, and need to show the designer why before the joinery is ordered.
Architects
You set the orientation, glazing and shading that decide most of the rating, and want eight stars without buying it in product.
Building designers
You design to seven stars every week and want to know which passive move actually shifts the number.
Residential builders
Eaves, slab edge insulation and sealing decide the rating on paper, and on site they are yours to get right.
Building surveyors
You check the certificate, and need to know when a rating passes the stars but not the load limits.
Where this hour goes on your record.
National Standard of Competency for Architects (NSCA 2021) performance criteria this course aligns with:
Concept design options from research and precedent
Analysing development options against the brief
Building science to optimise design performance
Energy and sustainability over the project lifecycle
Integrating thermal and environmental systems
| If you are | How it is recorded |
|---|---|
| A building designer | 1 CPD point. Your certificate, the learning outcomes, the module outline and your quiz result are kept in your dashboard, so you can show what you studied if your CPD is audited. |
| An architect | 1 formal CPD point. Aligned with NSCA 2021 performance criteria PC18, PC24, PC28, PC31 and PC33. |
| An energy assessor, builder or building surveyor | 1 hour of CPD on passive design and NatHERS modelling, recorded on your certificate for your assessor accrediting organisation, registration body or state scheme. |
CPD On Demand is not a registered training organisation and courses are not accredited by any registration body. Each course is aligned with the relevant competency frameworks and gives you the records to evidence it. CPD rules differ by registration body and state, so check with yours if you are unsure.
Pairs well with.
Getting NatHERS Right Before It Goes to the Assessor
The designer’s side: what to settle and document before the model is built.
Designing for 7-Star Compliance on Difficult Sites: Slopes and Overshadowing
The same passive tactics when the site takes away the north sun.
When a Design Change Triggers a Whole-of-Home Re-Rating
Keeping a good rating when the design moves after it is done.
Before you enrol.
Know which passive moves lift the rating and clear all three limits, in one self-paced hour.
$99, 60 minutes, certificate on completion.