Powerhaus Engineering

What Powerhaus Engineering does

Powerhaus Engineering, legally Cool Climate Homes Pty Ltd, is an Australian energy efficiency consultancy founded in 2012 and headquartered in Canberra, operating across NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, and TAS. The firm delivers accredited NatHERS residential energy ratings, BASIX assessments, Whole-of-Home assessments, and Section J / JV3 commercial compliance modeling under the National Construction Code, alongside advisory work on moisture analysis, comfort studies, climate resilience, and off-grid energy design for architects, designers, builders, and homeowners.

Its core technology is the Powerhaus App, positioned as Australia's first energy-efficiency home design app, which ingests structured building parameters (orientation, insulation, windows, systems) and produces real-time NatHERS star rating and net-zero performance feedback. The app sits on top of accredited simulation engines (HERO, FirstRate5, Bers Pro) and is paired with a two-stage rating process (preliminary design optimization plus final certification) to reduce redesign costs. Proprietary intellectual property is limited to the app and the "Powerhaus" and "Cool Climate Homes" brands; no patents are disclosed.

Powerhaus makes money primarily through fee-for-service professional engagements priced per project on a quote basis, supplemented by an emerging SaaS/app revenue stream. Go-to-market combines direct sales to architects and designers, professional-association referrals (notably the Australian Institute of Architects), earned media in industry publications (Sanctuary, Undercover Architect), and conference presence. Customer base is a long tail of boutique Australian architectural firms, with the ACT Government and Australian Institute of Architects as notable institutional relationships.

Name

Powerhaus Engineering

Legal name

Cool Climate Homes Pty Ltd

Website

https://powerhausengineering.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Powerhaus Engineering is a Canberra-based Australian energy efficiency consultancy that delivers accredited NatHERS residential ratings, BASIX and Section J/JV3 commercial compliance, and the Powerhaus App — Australia's first real-time energy-efficiency home design tool — to architects, designers, builders, and homeowners across seven states and territories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Efficiency Consulting

akta.pro primary industry

Energy Systems & Power Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Energy Management & Monitoring (Submetering, Dashboards, Analytics) (BPABAGAD)

Keywords

• Energy efficiency consulting
• NatHERS ratings
• Building energy compliance
• Thermal performance modeling
• Sustainable building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Canberra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Energy Efficiency Consulting: Fee-for-service consulting engagements for energy efficiency ratings, compliance assessments, and design advice. Includes NatHERS star ratings, Section J/JV3 assessments, moisture analysis, and thermal modeling services.
2. Powerhaus App Platform: SaaS platform providing real-time energy efficiency design feedback to architects and designers. Revenue model appears to include both direct app usage and integration with professional assessment services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Powerhaus Engineering provides energy efficiency consulting, NatHERS star ratings, and compliance assessments for residential and commercial buildings across Australia. Services include NatHERS energy ratings (6-10 stars), Section J/JV3 commercial assessments, performance solutions, moisture analysis, comfort studies, and off-grid energy analysis. The company also developed the Powerhaus App, Australia's first energy efficiency home design app that provides real-time performance feedback to architects and designers during the design process.

Product overview

Powerhaus Engineering is an energy efficiency consultancy operating as a unified platform-plus-services model. The core product is the Powerhaus App — Australia's first energy efficiency home design app — which provides real-time energy performance feedback for architects and designers during the design process. This app is supported by a suite of professional consulting services delivered by a team of experienced energy efficiency assessors, engineers, and scientists. Key services include NatHERS energy ratings (residential, 6-10 stars), Section J and JV3 commercial assessments, energy efficiency consulting (moisture analysis, comfort studies, off-grid analysis), performance solutions for challenging designs, and early-stage design advice. The company also offers a two-stage NatHERS rating process (preliminary assessment + final certification) and Whole-of-Home assessments for NCC 2022 compliance. Together, the app and services enable architects, designers, and building professionals to optimize building designs for energy efficiency, comfort, and compliance before and during construction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Powerhaus App Australia's first energy efficiency home design app, providing real-time performance feedback on house design choices including orientation, insulation, windows, and systems. Allows architects and designers to test design decisions and visualize NatHERS star rating outcomes before construction.
• NatHERS Energy Ratings NatHERS (Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme) accredited energy assessments providing star ratings from 6 to 10 stars for residential buildings. Includes 7-star certification for new builds in ACT, NSW, VIC, and SA, plus partial ratings for renovations.
• Section J and JV3 Assessments Commercial energy efficiency compliance assessments under the National Construction Code (NCC) Section J, including custom JV3 energy efficiency modelling, DTS compliance reports, and strategic compliance advice for commercial buildings.
• Energy Efficiency Consulting
• Performance Solutions
• Design Advice for High-Performance Sustainable Homes Early-stage design advice and NatHERS modelling to help architects and homeowners optimize building designs for maximum comfort, energy efficiency, and sustainability before construction begins.
• BASIX Assessment NSW government planning requirement assessment for water and energy reduction, including the updated 7-star BASIX requirements for new homes in NSW.

Quantifiable outcome

• Houses rated across Australia with energy efficiency improvements
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Canberra Innovation NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Recipient of the Canberra Innovation Network Innovation Connect Grant 2022, which helped fund development of the Powerhaus App platform. This grant supported the company's innovation in energy efficiency technology.
• Australian Institute of ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association partnership. Powerhaus featured at Australian Architecture Conference and maintains ongoing relationship with ACT Chapter. Multiple award-winning projects completed with member architects.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cundall: Global multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy with an established Australian sustainability practice delivering Section J and building performance consulting. Comparable on commercial energy compliance work, with significantly deeper resources and broader service lines.
• Meinhardt: Asia-Pacific-headquartered engineering consultancy with Australian offices and a strong building services and sustainability practice delivering Section J and JV3 assessments. Comparable on commercial compliance work but at much larger scale and broader project portfolio.
• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with deep Australian sustainability, building physics, and Section J expertise. Comparable on commercial Section J / JV3 engagements, with a much broader portfolio and the resources to bundle services across disciplines.
• Atelier Ten: International sustainable design and building physics consultancy serving architects on high-performance projects. Comparable to Powerhaus's commercial Section J / JV3 advisory work but operating at much larger scale across global offices with a broader service portfolio.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consulting firm with an Australian sustainability and building physics practice delivering Section J, JV3, and NABERS / Green Star consulting. Comparable as a large-scale competitor for commercial energy compliance mandates.

Direct peers

• SUHO (formerly Sustainability House): Australian residential-focused energy efficiency and sustainability consultancy offering NatHERS ratings and high-performance home design advice. Direct competitor for architect-driven residential energy rating work in the same Australian market.
• eTool: Australian-built LCA and whole-of-building energy/carbon assessment software and consultancy. Closest direct competitor: also a Canberra-rooted engineering services firm targeting architects and developers with software-driven sustainability assessments for Australian and international projects.
• Building Energy Rating Assessors (BERA): Australian NatHERS assessor collective providing energy ratings to architects and homeowners. Comparable on residential rating services, though operating through a distributed assessor model rather than a single branded consultancy.

Emerging players

• HIPER (House Energy Performance) Software: Energy rating software tool used by assessors to generate NatHERS-style ratings. Comparable as part of the energy rating tooling ecosystem, though operating as a software vendor to assessors rather than as a competitor consulting firm.

Regional players

• pitt&sherry: Australian-headquartered engineering and advisory consultancy with a building services and energy efficiency team. Comparable on Section J and energy efficiency consulting for architects and developers, with broader engineering depth and additional geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/powerhausengineering
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/powerhaus-engineering
• Instagraminstagram.com/powerhausengineering

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Powerhaus Engineering