Plumbing (Water and Energy Savings) Regulations
2004
S.R. No. 79/2004
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Regulation
Page
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Objective
Authorising provisions
Commencement
Principal Regulations
Additional modification of document referred to in
AS 3500.1.1—Water supply flow rates
6.
Further modification of document referred to in AS 3500.1.1—
Water supply flow rates
7.
Additional modification of document referred to in
AS 3500.1.1—Rainwater tanks for sanitary flushing
8.
Insertion of new definition into Division 5 of Part 5
9.
Additional modification of document referred to in
AS 3500.4.1—Solar water heaters
10. Insertion of new regulation 31KA
31KA. Modification of AS 4234—Evaluation of solar water
heater performance
11. Amendment to include standard in Schedule
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ENDNOTES
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STATUTORY RULES 2004
S.R. No. 79/2004
Building Act 1993
Plumbing (Water and Energy Savings) Regulations
2004
The Governor in Council makes the following Regulations:
Dated: 29 June 2004
Responsible Minister:
MARY DELAHUNTY
Minister for Planning
DIANE CASEY
Clerk of the Executive Council
1. Objective
The objective of these Regulations is to amend the
Plumbing Regulations 1998 to make further
provision for water savings and energy efficiency
measures.
2. Authorising provisions
These Regulations are made under sections
221ZZZV and 262 of the Building Act 1993.
3. Commencement
(1) These Regulations (except regulation 6) come into
operation on 1 July 2004.
(2) Regulation 6 comes into operation on 1 July 2005.
4. Principal Regulations
In these Regulations the Plumbing Regulations
19981 are called the Principal Regulations.
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5. Additional modification of document referred to in
AS 3500.1.1—Water supply flow rates
After regulation 31D(b) of the Principal
Regulations insert—
'(ba) there was inserted after Clause 3.2.1—
"3.2.1A Water efficient flow rates from
outlets If a new reticulated water supply is
installed to a shower head, the outlet flow
rate from that shower head must not be less
than the relevant minimum flow rate and not
more than the relevant maximum flow rate
set out in Table 3.1A.";
(bb) in Clause 3.2.2, "and Table 3.1A" was
inserted after "Table 3.1";
(bc) there was inserted after Table 3.1—
"TABLE 3.1A
FLOW RATES AND LOADING UNITS
Fixture/appliance
(outlet)
Flow rate,
Litres/minute
Shower heads
75 minimum and
9 maximum
Loading
units
2
Note: This Table only applies to an outlet if a
reticulated water supply is connected to that
outlet for the first time on or after 1 July
2004.";
(bd) there was inserted after Clause 3.3.1—
"3.3.1A Maximum outlet pressure within
buildings The maximum static pressure at an
outlet, other than a fire service outlet, within
a building must not exceed 500kPa.";
(be) in Clause 3.3.3, NOTE 1 was omitted;'.
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6. Further modification of document referred to in
AS 3500.1.1—Water supply flow rates
(1) For regulation 31D(ba) of the Principal
Regulations substitute—
'(ba) there was inserted after Clause 3.2.1—
"3.2.1A Water efficient flow rates from
outlets If a new reticulated water supply is
installed to a tap or shower head specified in
Table 3.1A, the outlet flow rate from that tap
or shower head must not be less than the
relevant minimum flow rate and not more
than the relevant maximum flow rate set out
in Table 3.1A for that tap or shower head.";'.
(2) For regulation 31D(bc) of the Principal
Regulations substitute—
'(bc) there was inserted after Table 3.1—
"TABLE 3.1A
FLOW RATES AND LOADING UNITS
Fixture/appliance
(outlet)
Flow rate,
Litres/minute
Loading
units
Shower heads
75 minimum and
9 maximum
2
Basin (taps)
75 minimum and
9 maximum
1
Kitchen sink and
laundry trough
(taps)
75 minimum and
9 maximum
3
Note: This Table applies—
(a) in respect of an outlet for a shower head, if a
reticulated water supply is connected to that
outlet for the first time on or after 1 July 2004;
(b) in respect of any other outlet, if a reticulated
water supply is connected to that outlet for the
first time on or after 1 July 2005.";'.
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7. Additional modification of document referred to in
AS 3500.1.1—Rainwater tanks for sanitary flushing
(1) After regulation 31D(e) of the Principal
Regulations insert—
'(ea) in Clause 8.1, after "water sources" there
were inserted "but does not apply to
rainwater tanks within the meaning of
Section 8A";'.
(2) After regulation 31D(f) of the Principal
Regulations insert—
'(fa) there was inserted after Section 8—
"SECTION 8A RAINWATER TANKS
FOR SANITARY FLUSHING
8A.1 SCOPE OF SECTION This Section
specifies requirements for the connection of
a rainwater tank to a sanitary flushing system
in a Class 1 building (within the meaning of
the Building Regulations 1994) where a
reticulated water supply from a water
authority is connected, or proposed to be
connected, to the building.
8A.2 DEFINITION For the purposes of this
Section the following definition applies.
8A.2.1 Rainwater tank—a tank or a number
of connecting tanks designed to collect
rainwater from roof catchments for sanitary
flushing in a building.
8A.3 FIRST FLUSH BYPASS A first flush
bypass may be installed on the inlet to the
rainwater tank.
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8A.4 INSTALLATION OF AN
AUTOMATIC OR MANUAL
INTERCHANGE An automatic or manual
interchange device that allows alternate use
of water from the rainwater tank or the
reticulated water supply must be installed to
ensure that there is a continual supply of
water for sanitary flushing.
8A.5 BACKFLOW PREVENTION A
suitable backflow prevention device must be
installed to protect the potable water within
the reticulated water supply in accordance
with Section 4.
8A.6 RAINWATER COLLECTION AND
STORAGE CAPACITY A rainwater tank
installed in a new Class 1 building
constructed under a building permit issued
on or after 1 July 2004 must—
(a) be installed in such a way that it
receives the rainfall from a minimum
catchment area of 50 square metres;
and
(b) have a minimum capacity of 2000
litres.".'.
8. Insertion of new definition into Division 5 of Part 5
In section 31I of the Principal Regulations—
(a) in the definition of "AS 3500.4.2", for
"October 1997." substitute "October 1997;";
(b) insert the following definition—
' "AS 4234" means AS 4234–1994 Solar
Water Heaters—Domestic and heat
pump—Calculation of energy
consumption, as published on
22 August 1994.'.
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9. Additional modification of document referred to in
AS 3500.4.1—Solar water heaters
(1) After regulation 31K(a) of the Principal
Regulations insert—
'(aa) there was inserted at the end of Clause 1.3—
"1.3.5 Heat pump water heater—a system
incorporating—
(a) a compressor (vapour compression);
and
(b) an evaporator exposed to ambient air or
solar radiation or both; and
(c) a wrap around or immersion coil
condenser.
1.3.6 Solar water heater—a system for
heating water consisting of a solar collector
and a container which may be integral, close
coupled or remote, and which heats water by
means of radiant energy from the sun and
may include—
(a) a single container solar water heater
with electric or gas boosting; or
(b) 2 or more solar pre-heat containers
connected to each other and to an
electric booster or a gas booster; or
(c) a solar pre-heater coupled with a
conventional storage water heater; or
(d) any other solar powered heater
configuration that incorporates a heater
referred to in paragraph (a) and a
component referred to in paragraph (b);
or
(e) a heat pump water heater.";'.
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(2) After regulation 31K(d) of the Principal
Regulations insert—
'(da) there was inserted after Clause 5.2.1—
"5.2.1A Solar water heater performance
requirements A solar water heater installed
in a Class 1 building (within the meaning of
the Building Regulations 1994) must comply
with the following requirements—
(a) if the heater is installed on or after 1
July 2004 and on or before 30 June
2005, it must perform to a standard
under which the energy savings relative
to a conventional water heater
calculated in accordance with AS 4234
must be 50% or more;
(b) if the heater is installed on or after
1 July 2005, it must perform to a
standard under which the energy
savings relative to a conventional water
heater calculated in accordance with
AS 4234 must be 60% or more;
(c) the water heater storage container must
be legibly and permanently marked
with the words—
'Compliant to AS/NZS
3500.4.2:1997 as modified by the
Plumbing Regulations 1998
(Victoria)'.
5.2.1B Solar water heaters with booster
heating If a reticulated gas supply from a
gas company is available for connection to a
Class 1 building, any solar water heater
incorporating booster heating that is installed
in the building must be a gas boosted solar
water heater.";
Note: AS 4234 is modified under regulation 31KA.
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(db) in Clause 5.2.2, "Installation of solar water
heater" was substituted for "Solar water
heater";
(dc) there was inserted after Clause 5.2.4—
"5.2.5 Flow and return pipes for solar
water heaters to be insulated All flow and
return pipes connecting a solar collector and
a water heater storage container must be
insulated to achieve a minimum performance
R-value of 03.
In this Clause 'R-value' means the
measurement of resistance provided by
insulation to heat loss from flow and return
pipes and is calculated by using the
formula—
R  x/k (m K/W) where—
R  resistance to heat loss of
insulation material
x  thickness of insulation
material in metres
k  thermal conductivity of
insulation material as measured in
W/mK
m  area in square metres of
insulation material
K  degrees in Kelvin or
Centigrade of loss of heat energy
W  energy flow in Watts (heat
loss from flow and return pipes).";
(dd) in Clause 5.4.1.1, "must" was substituted for
"should";
(de) Clause 5.4.1.3 was omitted;
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(df) in Clause 5.4.1.4—
(i) for "Inclination Collectors should be
inclined at a similar angle to the
latitude angle. The deviation from this
angle should not be more than ± 20°."
there was substituted—
"Orientation and inclination The
following is to apply to the
installation of collectors—
(a) a collector must be installed
to face between 50° east and
70° west of magnetic north;
(b) a collector must be inclined
at an angle of 30° ± 20° to
the horizontal;
(c) if, due to shade or
unavoidable physical
features, a collector cannot
be installed to comply with
paragraphs (a) and (b), it
must be installed to comply
with figure I7 of Appendix
I.";
(ii) "magnetic north" was substituted for
"true north";'.
10. Insertion of new regulation 31KA
After regulation 31K of the Principal Regulations
insert—
'31KA. Modification of AS 4234—Evaluation of
solar water heater performance
For the purposes of regulation 31K, AS 4234
is to be read as if—
(a) there was substituted for
Clause 1.4.11—
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"1.4.11 Solar water heater—a system
for heating water consisting of a solar
collector and a container which may be
integral, close coupled or remote, and
which heats water by means of radiant
energy from the sun and may include—
(a) a single container solar water
heater with electric or gas
boosting; or
(b) 2 or more solar pre-heat
containers connected to each other
and to an electric booster or a gas
booster; or
(c) a solar pre-heater coupled with a
conventional storage water heater;
or
(d) any other solar powered heater
configuration that incorporates a
heater referred to in paragraph (a)
and a component referred to in
paragraph (b); or
(e) a heat pump water heater.";
(b) in Clause 1.4.13, "an evaporator" was
substituted for "a flat plate evaporator";
(c) there was inserted after Clause 3.1.2—
"3.1A LOAD AND
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
FOR EVALUATING HEATERS IN
CLASS 1 BUILDINGS Despite
Clause 3.1, the following load and
environmental conditions must be
adopted when using the modified
TRNSYS simulation model to evaluate
the annual task performance of a solar
water heater to be installed, or that is
installed, in a Class 1 building (within
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the meaning of the Building
Regulations 1994)—
(a) all simulation inputs must be in
accordance with the zone 4
climate zone set out in Tables A4,
A5 and A6 in Appendix A;
(b) if the building has less than
3 bedrooms, the peak daily
thermal energy load must be
252 megajoules per day;
(c) if the building has 3 or more
bedrooms, the peak daily thermal
energy load must be
42 megajoules per day;
(d) any reference to a requirement to
comply with a direction,
instruction, specification,
requirement or recommendation
of a manufacturer in relation to a
matter was a reference to a
requirement or recommendation
(as the case may be) to comply
with the relevant best practice in
relation to the matter.".
Note: Regulation 31K inserts modifications to
AS 3500.4.2 that refer to AS 4234.'.
11. Amendment to include standard in Schedule
At the end of the Schedule to the Principal
Regulations insert—
"AS 4234–1994 Solar water heaters—Domestic and heat
pump—Calculation of energy consumption.".
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Endnotes
S.R. No. 79/2004
ENDNOTES
1
Reg. 4: S.R. No. 148/1998. Reprint No. 1 as at 23 August 2001. Reprinted
to S.R. No. 66/2001. Subsequently amended by S.R. No. 140/2003.
——
Note that the following table of applied, adopted or incorporated matter is
included in accordance with the requirements of regulation 6 of the
Subordinate Legislation Regulations 1994.
Table of Applied, Adopted or Incorporated Matter
Statutory rule
provision
Title of applied, adopted or
incorporated document
Matter in applied,
adopted or
incorporated
document
Regulation 9
which amends
regulation 31K
of the Principal
Regulations
AS 4234—1994 Solar Water
Heaters—Domestic and heat
pump—Calculation of energy
consumption, as published on
22 August 1994
Whole document
Regulation 11
which amends
the Schedule to
the Principal
Regulations
AS 4234—1994 Solar Water
Heaters—Domestic and heat
pump—Calculation of energy
consumption, as published on
22 August 1994
Whole document
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