FR5 Software

FirstRate5® house energy rating software

FirstRate5® is an easy-to-use interactive tool with a graphic user interface that enables designers and thermal performance assessors to generate energy ratings for a home by tracing over floor plans. The software integrates the AccuRate calculation engine to estimate the annual heating and cooling energy and can be used to rate an existing design or as an interactive tool to optimise the design beyond compliance.

Latest news

Announcement of changes to FirstRate5 certificates, credits, and terms of service

by FR5 | Jul 12, 2021

On 12 July 2021 (9am), Sustainability Victoria (SV) implemented the following major changes:

  • Introduction of 12-month replaceable certificates
  • Introduction of a new $30 credit type and conversion of currently held credits to the new credit type
  • Changes to the FR5 website’s Terms of Service​
Should you have questions about the recent changes, please contact the FirstRate5 (FR5) help desk by submitting a query through the online contact form or via email - [email protected].

Introduction of 12-month replaceable certificates 

SV is pleased to announce that 12-month replaceable NatHERS Certificates are now available on the FR5 website.

Certificates issued from 12 July 2021 (9am) will be able to be replaced free of charge within 12-months of the issue date. This new feature will allow FR5 customers to update issued certificates at no additional cost to reflect design changes and correct data entry errors.

Customers can view a training video explaining the use of the 12-month replaceable certificate functionality.  A second training video has been created explaining the process of issuing Existing Home and Alteration & Addition certificates for a renovation rating.

Replaceable Certificates

Replaceable Certificates - Alt and Ads

Introduction of a new credit type and conversion of existing credits

A new single $30 (ex GST) credit type called FR5 Credit has been introduced. The new FR5 Credit type will now be used to issue all types of NatHERS certificates (i.e. New Home, Existing Home and Alteration & Addition certificates).

New Home credits have been automatically converted to the new FR5 Credit type at a 1-for-1 basis (i.e. one New Home credit will be converted to one FR5 Credit) and have been added to customers’ credit balances.

Existing Home and Alteration & Addition credits will be manually converted to the new FR5 Credit type at a 1-for-2 basis (i.e. two Existing Home/Alteration & Addition credits will be converted to one FR5 Credit). This conversion process will be complete by Friday 16 July 2021 and customers will receive a confirmation email once converted credits have been added to their credit balance.

The introduction of new $30 (ex GST) FR5 Credits will mean that $15 (ex GST) Existing Home/Alteration & Addition credits will no longer be available on the FR5 website.

Users should note that the introduction of 12-month replaceable certificates will still allow users to generate the two certificates required for an alteration rating for a total cost of $30 (ex GST).

To find out more about this change, view the FAQ document.

Changes to FR5 Website's Terms of Service
 
The introduction of 12-month replaceable certificates and the new FR5 Credit type required changes to the FR5 website’s Terms of Service (ToS).

The updated ToS come into effect on 12 July 2021 (9am). Users can view the updated ToS by clicking on ‘Terms of Use’ at the bottom of the FR5 website or by clicking here. SV has also prepared a schedule of amendments explaining the changes.

Users should review the updated ToS, as continued use of the FR5 website will be deemed as acceptance.

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