NABERS for warehouses and cold stores: what the rating actually measures
NABERS Energy for Warehouses and Cold Stores is a purpose-built rating for this building type, not a generic office scheme applied loosely. Here is what it launched to measure, and what it does and does not tell you.
Last updated 2026-08-24
What the rating is and when it started
NABERS Energy for Warehouses and Cold Stores launched in September 2022, opened by the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy — a dedicated rating tool for this building type rather than an adaptation of NABERS' longer-running office rating. It rates a facility on a star scale, assessing energy use across lighting, HVAC, refrigeration and internal transport (forklifts and other material handling equipment) rather than any single system in isolation.
That combination matters, because it is close to the same set of systems this whole silo has covered separately — the demand tariff a site pays, the refrigeration share of a cold store's bill, and forklift energy choice — rolled into one comparable score rather than assessed piecemeal.
What it does not tell you
A NABERS rating is a measure of metered energy performance against a modelled benchmark for a facility of that type and size — it is not a design certification, a guarantee of ongoing performance, or a statement about any of the racking, refrigeration or gas-safety topics covered elsewhere on this site. A high star rating says the building performed well against its benchmark over the ratings period; it does not say anything about the condition or safety of equipment inside it.
Specific savings and emissions-reduction statistics tied to star-rating improvements circulate in industry commentary around the program, but this page deliberately does not repeat exact percentage figures for them, because they could not be confirmed against a directly-fetched NABERS or DCCEEW primary source. If a specific savings claim matters to a decision you are making, ask for it sourced directly from NABERS rather than from a secondary summary.
Why a rating might matter for your facility
A NABERS rating gives a tenant, landlord or investor a comparable, third-party benchmark for a specific facility's energy performance — useful in a lease negotiation, a sale, or simply as an ongoing performance check separate from watching the bill move month to month. It is increasingly referenced in industrial lease terms and in how some landlords position a facility's specification to prospective tenants.
Whether pursuing a rating is worth the administrative effort for a given facility depends on who is asking for it — a landlord marketing a premium cold storage facility has a different case for rating than an owner-occupier with no external audience for the number, and the effort involved in gathering twelve months of metered data and having it independently assessed is real either way.
Where it sits alongside the rest of an energy strategy
A rating is a measurement and benchmarking tool, not an action plan — it tells a facility where it sits against comparable buildings, but the actual levers for moving that number are the same ones covered across this silo: managing peak demand, reviewing ageing refrigeration plant, and considering rooftop solar where the building suits it. Pursuing a rating without acting on any of those levers will confirm a facility's current performance without necessarily improving it, in much the same way building specification choices made years earlier tend to set the ceiling on what any later rating can achieve.
Common questions
- When did NABERS launch a rating for warehouses and cold stores?
- September 2022, as a purpose-built rating for this building type rather than an adaptation of an existing office rating.
- What does a NABERS Warehouses and Cold Stores rating actually assess?
- Energy use across lighting, HVAC, refrigeration and internal transport (forklifts and material handling equipment), rated on a star scale against a benchmark for comparable facilities.
- Does a high NABERS rating mean a building is safe or well maintained?
- No — it measures energy performance against a benchmark. It is not a design certification or a statement about the condition or safety of equipment inside the facility.
- How much does improving a star rating actually save?
- Specific savings figures circulate in industry commentary, but this page does not repeat them because they could not be confirmed against a directly-fetched NABERS or government primary source — ask NABERS directly for a sourced figure if this matters to your decision.
Sources
- NABERS — Warehouses and Cold Stores — Confirms the rating's scope (lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, internal transport) and its September 2022 launch.
Part of our guide to the warehouse power bill.