Most people, when they think about an electrical company, think about switchboards, solar installations, and getting the lights to work. Helcro Electrical does all of that. But a few years ago, we made a deliberate decision to go further — to become NatHERS-accredited thermal performance assessors.
It wasn’t the obvious move for an electrical and energy upgrades business. But it turned out to be exactly the right one. Here’s why we did it, and what it means for our customers.
The problem we kept running into
As Melbourne’s focus on home electrification and energy efficiency intensified — driven by rising energy costs, the Victorian Energy Upgrades program, and growing awareness of climate impact — we found ourselves having more and more conversations with homeowners about their energy bills. And time and again, we’d identify that the issue wasn’t just the appliances. It was the building itself.
A heat pump hot water system is an excellent upgrade. But if your home has no ceiling insulation and single-glazed windows, your reverse cycle air conditioner is working against the building’s thermal performance just to keep up. You can install the best appliances in the world and still have a home that’s uncomfortable and expensive to run. We needed to be able to see the full picture.
What NatHERS accreditation actually involves
NatHERS — the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme — is Australia’s framework for assessing the thermal performance of residential buildings. Accredited assessors use approved software to model how a home performs in its local climate zone, taking into account orientation, construction materials, glazing, insulation, and more. The output is a star rating out of 10, along with detailed information about where the home loses or gains heat across each season.
To become accredited, our assessor completed a Certificate IV in Home Energy Efficiency and Sustainability — the nationally recognised qualification for NatHERS assessors — along with accreditation through a recognised Assessor Accrediting Organisation. It’s ongoing, too: accreditation requires continuing professional development and quality assurance audits to maintain.
NatHERS will soon be expanded to cover existing homes — not just new builds. This means Helcro will soon be able to provide a formal energy rating and report for your existing Melbourne home, identifying exactly where heat is being lost and what the highest-value improvements would be.
The global context that made this urgent
The decision to pursue NatHERS accreditation was also shaped by a broader shift happening globally. Around the world — governments are moving toward mandatory energy disclosure for homes. Australia is following a similar trajectory. The National Construction Code now mandates a minimum 7-star NatHERS rating for new homes, and the direction of travel for existing homes is clearly toward greater transparency and higher standards.
In this environment, having NatHERS-accredited assessors in-house provides a fundamental capability for any business that wants to genuinely help homeowners navigate the energy transition — rather than just sell products into it.
What this means for Helcro customers
In practical terms, NatHERS accreditation means Helcro can now offer something most electrical companies can’t: a whole-home energy perspective that combines electrical expertise with formal thermal performance assessment. We can tell you not just which heat pump to install, but whether your home’s insulation levels will limit its effectiveness — and what to address first to get the best return on your investment.
It also means we can produce formal NatHERS certificates for existing homes — useful for homeowners who want to understand their property’s energy performance, landlords with obligations under incoming disclosure requirements, or sellers who want to demonstrate energy credentials to buyers.
Victoria’s energy landscape is changing quickly. Bills are rising, rebate programs are evolving, and the expectations on homes — from both regulation and the market — are increasing. We became NatHERS accredited because we wanted to be genuinely useful in that environment, not just present.
Interested in a NatHERS assessment for your Melbourne home? Or want to understand how thermal performance fits into your energy upgrade plans? Talk to the Helcro Electrical team — we’re here to help you see the full picture.
