Changes to water heating, space heating and cooling, and cold room activities from 1 August 2024, and updates to the VEU registry

31 July 2024

VEU program changes commencing 1 August 2024

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action has released Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Specifications – Version 17 which come into effect from 1 August 2024. We have released updates to guidance and forms to reflect amendments to the VEU program contained in the released VEU Specifications.  We will be implementing the changes to reflect the released VEU specifications into the VEU registry tonight. 

Water heating activity changes (activities 1 and 3)

From 1 August 2024, electric or gas boosted solar water heaters that meet the following criteria will be eligible to be decommissioned and replaced under the VEU program under parts 1 and 3 of VEU Specifications – Version 17:

• with a non-functional solar heater exchanger and associated solar heating components; 
• where those components are no longer within the relevant warranty period; and
• installed at least 5 years prior to the date of the upgrade.

Updates to water heating activity guides and forms

We have updated the activity guide to reflect the eligibility of the above electric or gas boosted solar products to be decommissioned and replaced under the VEU program. We have introduced a new record keeping requirement evidencing the age of these products which is:

• Geo-tagged photograph(s) which are date and time stamped showing the date of manufacture of the system (where upgrade is for replacements of electric boosted solar water heater(s) or gas boosted solar water heater(s) with non-functional components). This is accepted by the commission as the relevant date to evidence the system was installed at least 5 years prior to the date of the upgrade.

We have also released:

• Amendments to the activities’ VEEC assignment forms to:
  • record the replacement of above systems and to include a new declaration by the installer that they have assessed the heaters being replaced to be non-functional and at least 5 years old (for upgrades involving replacement of solar water heaters) 
  • improve the language and layout of section 3 of the forms to make it easier for installers to complete this section of the form accurately.
• Amendments to the activities’ VEEC creation forms to include a new ‘Decommissioned Product Type’ field to enable the commission to monitor the type of products being decommissioned and replaced under this activity.

Accredited persons will be required to use the updated VEEC assignment forms for activities carried out from 14 August 2024.

Space heating and cooling activity changes (activity 6)

VEU Specifications – Version 17 provides increased incentives for upgrades in business and non-residential premises by amending the heating loads attributed to such upgrades. For example,  BTLHeat (the deemed building heating load) values listed in table 6.14 of the VEU Specifications have been revised.

VEU Specifications – Version 17 also expands the range of available products by allowing products that meet minimum ACOP/AEER requirements to be eligible for installation under the program if they were registered to the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards on or before 1 August 2024. 

Updates to space heating activity guides and forms

We have updated the activity guide and product application guide to reflect the above specification changes.

We have also released amendments to the activity’s VEEC assignment forms to improve the language and layout of section 3 of the form to make it easier for installers to complete this section of the form accurately.

Cold room activity changes (activity 43)

VEU Specifications – Version 17 has amended this activity to:

• introduce a minimum size requirement of 4m2 internal floor area for cold room upgrades
• include a size factor input into the VEEC calculations for the activity. This amendment:
  • increases VEEC incentives for upgrades to cold rooms with an internal floor area equal to or greater than 24m2 by 100 per cent
  • decreases VEEC incentives for upgrades to cold rooms with an internal floor area below 9m2 by 50 per cent.   
• strengthen the definitions for below 0°C (freezer) cold rooms to ensure that the higher level incentives for upgrades to these cold rooms are only eligible to be claimed when the cold rooms are installed or upgraded for the purposes of operating below 0°C.

Update to cold room activity guide and forms

Given the above changes to the cold room activity, to enable us to verify the size of the cold rooms being upgraded, we have introduced a new record keeping requirement evidencing cold room size for this activity, which can either be:

• A cold room specification sheet that clearly shows the internal room dimensions 
• If a specification sheet is not available, a drawing of the internal room dimensions clearly showing the measurements of each area and a statutory declaration that the drawing is an accurate representation of the internal dimensions of the cold room.

We have updated the activity guide to reflect the above VEU Specifications and record keeping changes.

We have also released:

• amendments to the VEEC assignment form to:
  • record the internal floor area of the cold room on the form
  • record the products to be stored in the cold room to assist the commission to verify the intended temperature use of the cold room (i.e. above or below 0°C)
  • include a declaration from the upgrade manager that, where the upgrade is for a cold room operating at below at below 0°C, they are satisfied that the cold room will be used by the consumer for the purpose of operating as a freezer (below 0°C).
• amendments to the VEEC creation form to include a new ‘Cold Room Size (Internal Floor Area)’ field as this value is needed to determine the VEECs to be awarded for an activity.

Accredited persons will be required to use the updated VEEC assignment forms for activities carried out from 14 August 2024.

Other updates made to water heating and space heating and cooling documents

We have received feedback from stakeholder that the commission’s requirements for listing of:

• the brand, model and serial number of the installed product, and
• the brand, model and serial number of the decommissioned product

on the VBA compliance certificate creates an administrative burden on accredited persons.

In response to this feedback, we have:

• updated the activity guide to remove the requirement for the above items to be listed on either the Certificate of Electrical Safety or the VBA compliance certificate for both water heating and space heating and cooling upgrades
• updated the VEEC assignment forms for water heating (activities 1 and 3) and space heating and cooling activities (activity 6) to include fields to record the brand and model of the decommissioned product. 

Notice of removal of products from the Register of Products

On 5 July 2024, the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) Regulator announced the removal of a number of products from the GEMs register. 

As a result, these products must be removed from the Commission Register of Products pursuant to regulation 31 of the VEET Regulations with effect from 5pm, on Friday 31 May 2024.

The products removed are as follows:

• Snow White - Cake160
• Snow White - Cool Box
• Snow White - Diamond Dust
• Snow White - Elsa
• Phoenix Refrigeration - Esky
• Phoenix Refrigeration - Phoenix118
• Phoenix Refrigeration - Phoenix 299
• Phoenix Refrigeration - Phoenix 98
• Phoenix Refrigeration - Phoenix 288
• Phoenix Refrigeration - Phoenix 280
• Phoenix Refrigeration - Phoenix 160
• Aquarius – Aurora.

These products have not been eligible for incentives under the VEU program since 29 June 2022 in accordance with a declaration made by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change under section 19(4) of the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007.

Where to get help

If you have any questions with respect to the information set out in this update, please contact VEU support on (03) 9032 1310 or veu@esc.vic.gov.au.