Green Star Technical Clarification Rulings
Technical Clarifications for Green Star represent our answers to Technical Questions submitted by projects, and provide further guidance and reference to others. The list is regularly updated.
There are two types of Technical Clarifications listed in the table below:
General Clarifications
These are extensions to the guidance provided in the Submission Guidelines. They clarify and sometimes supersede the original Credit Criteria or
Compliance Requirements. General Clarifications set precedent for future project teams to follow. Should a project team wish to apply a general clarification to its project, there is no requirement for further Technical Questions to be submitted. NZGBC Assessors will also use them as precedents to assess submissions.
Project Specific Clarifications
These are published as references for other projects but, unlike General Clarifications, they do not set precedent. They often relate to special
situations where multiple prerequisites exist for a particular project and are less likely to reoccur to another project. Therefore, rulings set for Project Specific Clarifications are often conditional and will likely vary for other projects. Each project still needs to submit its own Technical Questions and provides evidence relating to its own building in order to have a similar ruling approved for that specific building.
Should you wish to apply any Technical Clarification for legacy rating tools to your projects, please submit a Technical Question to the NZGBC to
explain why and how it applies. You can download the Technical Question form here
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| Technical Question Title | Clarification Type | Tool Version | Month Released | Credit Name | Sub-credit Name | Amendment/Approved Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Pollution to Neighbouring Bodies | General | DABv1, INTv1 | October 2019 | 26 - Light Pollution | Light Pollution to Neighbouring Bodies | For criterion 26.1 Light Pollution to Neighbouring Bodies, values from Table 2.1 of AS 4282:1997 rather than Table 2.2 should be applied for : • For Class 2 buildings (residential), the values in Columns 5A and B; or • For Class 3 to 9 buildings (non-residential), the values in Column 3.C. |
| Qualified Acoustic Consultant | General | DABv1, INTv1 | May 2019 | 10 - Acoustic Comfort | Acoustic Comfort |
A Qualified acoustic consultant should be a member of the Acoustical Society of New Zealand or equivalent international recognised body, or a qualified staff member within an Association of Australasian Acoustical Consultants (AAAC) member firm. |
| Energy Model Reference | General | DABv1.1 | May 2024 | 15 - Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
There is an inconsistency in the GHG Calculation Guide v1.1. A Reference Project is defined as: “A hypothetical building of the same size, shape, floor area and glazing areas as the Proposed Project, but whose building fabric and building services characteristics are based predominantly on the Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions as defined in this document.” Table 1 defines the Reference buildings as “… Glazing window to wall ratio (WWR) shall equal 50% of the above grade perimeter external wall area of conditioned spaces…” The glazing areas may differ between the Reference and Proposed projects as per Table 1 Section 7 of the General Modelling Criteria. |
| Daylight - Supermarkets | General | DABv1, INTv1 | March 2020 | 12 - Visual Comfort | Daylight | Daylighting is feasible in Supermarkets as demonstrated through numerous case studies. Therefore, supermarket projects cannot claim “Not Applicable” for credit 12.2. |
| Sustainable Transport Calculator | General | DABv1, INTv1 | October 2019 | 17 - Sustainable Transport | Sustainable Transport | A correction to the example calculation for Number of services for each route in the Transport Calculator Guide for v3, Design & As Built NZv1.0 and Interiors v1.0. Number of morning peak services = 4 (3 services ≤ 15minutes, 15minutes < 1 service ≤ 30minutes) Number of afternoon peak services = 10 (9 services ≤ 15 minutes, 15minutes < 1 service ≤ 30minutes) |
| Test Protocol for Formaldehyde Emissions | General | DABv1, INTv1 | November 2019 | 13 - Indoor Pollutants | Engineering Wood Products | The EN 717-2 (DIN EN 717-2) test protocol for formaldehyde emission limit values, referenced in the Indoor Pollutants - Engineered Wood Products criterion of the Submission Guidelines, has been superseded by ISO 12460-3:2015 Project teams may, therefore, use the updated standard in determining formaldehyde emission test limits for wood-based panels to demonstrating compliance with the criterion. The emission unit of measurement remains unchanged. |
| Supermarket Noise | General | DABv1, INTv1 | March 2020 | 10 - Acoustic Comfort | Reverberation | A supermarket would not be defined as a noise sensitive space. Therefore, Note 3 of Table AS/NZ 2107:2016 does not apply to this project. Stock cannot be taken into account in reverberation time calculations. It is accepted that credit 10.2 can be Not Applicable for the supermarket shop area of the store, but not for the other more standard spaces such as offices and staff rooms. |
| Views | General | DABv1, INTv1 | November 2020 | 12 - Visual Comfort | Views |
For projects like supermarkets, to receive this credit, views will have to be made available to employees working in areas where staff would be expected to work for extended periods such as checkouts, deli counters and the like. |
| Supermarkets - Lighting Credits | Project Specific | DABv1, INTv1 | September 2021 | 11 - Lighting Comfort | General Illuminance and Glare Reduction, Surface Illuminance, Localised Lighting Control | It is agreed that for the retail section of the supermarkets, the requirements of credits 11.2, 11.3, and 11.4 do not need to be applied. The more standard spaces, such as offices and staff rooms, would still need to comply with these credits to achieve the points. When this exemption leads to the assessable area being less than 5% of the building, project teams should claim ‘Not Applicable’ for these criteria. The NZGBC considers the outcome of making these criteria ‘Not Applicable’ a more accurate reflection than awarding the point for a compliant area of less than 5% of the building. Where the nominated area is more than 5% of the gross floor area, or more than 1000sqm, the space is subject to credit requirements. |
| Green Building Summary Sheets | General | DABv1, INTv1 | June 2019 | 0 - General, 21 - Sustainable Products | General | Green Building Summary Sheets from EnviroSpec can be used in place of product data sheets, product certificates and manufacturer statements as valid supporting evidence to demonstrate compliance for products and materials. |