Energy Ratings.

In 1996, the Australian Government attended the Kyoto conference on global warming. Australia was set a target for the year 2010 of 108% of its 1990 Greenhouse gas emissions. (Australia has not endorsed this Protocol yet, but attempts to achieve these targets through the National Greenhouse Strategy). Approximately 12% of these emissions result from activities in the residential sector. In order to minimise these Greenhouse Gas emissions from this sector, house energy rating systems (HERS) have been developed to rate the energy efficiency of new and existing housing to allow the comparison of the heating and cooling needs of different houses.