About the Cool Suburbs Assessment
Learn about the purpose and science behind this new release of the Cool Suburbs Assessment. You can discover how the assessment builds on the functionality of the original tool, who it is for and how it supports informed decisions on planning for heat resilience in urban developments.
How the scoring works
Learn how ratings and scores are calculated using the development details and credits selected in the assessment.
What’s the difference between the star rating and heat impact score for my project?
Both the Cool Suburbs Star Rating and the Heat Impact Score can show you how your project compares with a development of the same type that satisfies all relevant criteria.
The Heat Impact Score provides an extra level of detail on exactly how effective your project is in mitigating urban heat for the Climate Zone where the development is located. It does this across six different temperature categories (see below for more on these).
How does Cool Suburbs calculate the star rating?
The rating reflects the extent to which a project meets the relevant credits across all the applicable credit categories.
Credit categories and individual credits for a project are applied based on:
- Development type
- Climate zone
A one-star rating is given to projects meeting only mandatory credits for each applicable credit category, with the number of mandatory credits dependent on the development type and climate zone. A five-star rating shows that a project meets all relevant credits for the applicable credit categories.
For example, to achieve a five-star rating a single lot residential development must meet all relevant credits for the Cool Homes credit category and a single lot non-residential development must meet all relevant credits for the Cool Buildings credit category only. Multi-use precincts and masterplanned community developments must meet all relevant credits from the Cool Streets, Cool Homes, Cool Buildings and Urban Design credit categories to achieve a five-star rating.
Developments meeting all relevant Credits, as well as Innovative Technologies Credits will achieve a five-star plus rating.
Adjustment factors for the star rating will also be applied based on the land use mix selected for the project.
How does Cool Suburbs calculate the heat impact score (percentage)?
The assessment calculates the project's Heat Impact performance relative to performance for a development of the same type that satisfies all relevant credits.
For example, a Heat Impact score of 85% means the project achieves 85% of the heat mitigation benefit if it were to meet all relevant credits for that type of development.
The Cool Suburbs Assessment calculates heat impact performance for the following temperature categories:
- Day / Night Neighbourhood Air Temperature
- Day / Night Local Air Temperature
- Day / Night Local Human Thermal Comfort
The Cool Suburbs Assessment uses Default Heat Impact Scores based on the project's applicable Credits and Climate Zone. As with the calculation for the Cool Suburbs Star Rating, the same adjustment factors are applied to the Heat Impact Scores based on the land use mix selected for the project.