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
| Clarification Type | Tool Version | Month Released | Credit Name | Sub-credit Name | Tool Category | Amendment/Approved Ruling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | DABv1 | 0/0/20 | 18 - Potable Water, 27 - Microbial Control | Heat Rejection | For credit 18B.3 Heat Rejection a 90% reduction in the potable water used for heat rejection meets the credit aim. Evidence of 90% or greater potable water saving with a wet/dry cooler should be provided in order to be awarded 2 points via the prescriptive pathway. This could take the form of a manufacturer-provided calculation for the specified equipment in the project climate zone (using NIWA data). As this would need to be done as part of showing the savings this shouldn’t be an additional calculation. | |
| General | DABv1, INTv1 | 0/0/20 | Service risers should be entered into “Tertiary Spaces” part of the Area Definition form. Although these areas are non-habitable spaces, they should still be entered as a Tertiary Space, so they are captured under Credit 13 for Indoor Pollutants. This is because the requirement for Credit 13 is that all on site applications of paints, adhesives and sealants including both exposed and concealed applications are included in this credit. | |||
| Technical Clarification | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 11/6/2024 | 12 - Visual Comfort | Glare reduction | IEQ | The Guidance for Industrial Projects for DAB v1.0 and v1.1 includes "external loading dock areas" as Primary areas that are subject to the Glare Reduction credit requirements. Upon further industry consultation regarding the feasibility of meeting this requirement as well as the benefits to occupants, this requirement has been removed. External loading dock areas do not need to be included in this credit. |
| Technical Clarification | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 25/6/2024 | 2 - Commissioning and Tuning | Environmental Building Performance | MAN | Nominated Building Systems: If the project team chooses not to include one of the systems listed in the SG, justification is to be provided why it has been excluded. The building envelope/façade does not need to be considered as part of the nominated building systems unless it includes an active component such as automated windows. |
| Technical Clarification | DABv1.1 | 0/0/20 | 2 - Commissioning and Tuning | Commissioning and Tuning, Conditional Requirement | MAN | For energy and water it is sufficient to set targets only for metered systems as per the requirements of Credit 6. IEQ includes thermal comfort, air quality, lighting and acoustics. It is not a requirement for all these metrics to be monitored using physical sensors. IEQ monitoring can be via occupant comfort survey targets, HVAC system maintenance targets, quarterly reporting of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, or lighting comfort performance measurements |
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 3/10/2024 | 18 - Potable Water | Fire System Test Water | WAT | Fire protection system test water is not limited to sprinklers only. Projects targeting Credit 18B.5 Fire Protection System Test Water from Green Star - Design & As Built should include water consumption calculations for each relevant system used during fire protection testing, such as sprinkler, hose reel and hydrant systems. The intent of the credit is to recognise reduced potable water consumption in major water uses in the building therefore the scope of the credit covers any system that uses water during fire protection testing. |
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 4/10/2024 | 25 - Stormwater | Stormwater Pollution Targets | EMI | Projects that capture Stormwater onsite may not infiltrate untreated water without the removal of pollutants in line with the pollution reduction targets outlined within the Credit 26 Stormwater for Green Star Design & As Built. In the case where it can be demonstrated that the pollutants will be reduced to the targets outlined in the Submission Guidelines without treatment when it enters any underground aquifers projects teams may target the requirement. For stormwater that is captured, used on site, and not discharged to the stormwater system, there remains a requirement to treat the pollutants in that stormwater beyond those required under the relevant legislation. NZGBC clarifies that the credit intent is to reduce pollutants entering the public stormwater infrastructure and other waterbodies. |
| General | DABv1 | 0/0/20 | 0 - General | General | MAN | All supported documentation listed for each credit in the Submission Guidelines are suggestions only, unless specified otherwise. Alternate documentation to those listed can be used by project teams to demonstrate credit compliance if it adequately supports the claims made within the Submission Templates. |
| General | DABv1 | 0/0/20 | 0 - General | General | MAN | Service risers should be entered into “Tertiary Spaces” part of the Area Definition form. Although these areas are non-habitable spaces, they should still be entered as a Tertiary Space, so they are captured under Credit 13 for Indoor Pollutants. This is because the requirement for Credit 13 is that all on site applications of paints, adhesives and sealants including both exposed and concealed applications are included in this credit. |
| General | DABv1 | 0/0/20 | 0 - General | General, Green Star Industrial Guidance | MAN | Green Star is seeing an increased uptake in the Industrial sector, and we are providing additional tools to assist the continued uptake. Our ally in Australia, The Green Building Council Australia (GBCA), have recently issued the Green Star Industrial Guidance through intensive consultation with the industrial sector. This guide provides a set of pathways for Industrial facilities targeting a Green Star – Design & As Built rating, both speculative and tenanted projects. It aims to address key barriers such as shorter timeframes, standard procurement and the cost of certification and capital works. It also seeks to maximise opportunities such as the potential capacity for renewables and daylight and provide clarity in areas of Green Star guidance that have been ambiguous for the sector. We encourage you to read this guidance and use this to assist with your industrial projects. Given the differences between the Australian tool and the New Zealand tool, project teams are encouraged to contact the Green Star Technical team for further clarification at greenstarnz@nzgbc.org.nz. You can find the guidance document here Green Star Industrial Guidance.pdf And you can find the business case for using Green Star in your industrial buildings here. Service risers should be entered into “Tertiary Spaces” part of the Area Definition form. Although these areas are non-habitable spaces, they should still be entered as a Tertiary Space, so they are captured under Credit 13 for Indoor Pollutants. This is because the requirement for Credit 13 is that all on site applications of paints, adhesives and sealants including both exposed and concealed applications are included in this credit. |