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 access the online Technical Question form here
| Technical Question Title | Tool Version | Date Released | Credit Name | Sub-credit Name | TC Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting air tightness testing targets | Green Star Buildings NZ | May 2025 | 3 - Verification and Handover | Link | |
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Approved Ruling: Project teams failing to meet the air tightness targets set for the project when targeting the Verification and Handover credit from Green Star Buildings at the Certified stage still meet the requirements of the Minimum Expectation. For any testing conducted, documentation of deficiencies (including results below targets) should be distributed to the project team, included in the commissioning report, and signed off by the design team.
The intention of target setting is to ensure that air tightness is considered meaningfully in the project during design and construction and is properly integrated into the commissioning process. Project teams should ensure that targets set during this process are reasonable and relevant to the project design and its intended performance.
At the Certified stage, projects are to provide evidence of their performance against the set air tightness goals. Where these targets are not achieved, project teams are encouraged to communicate with the building owner and address any discrepancies as far as practically possible as part of the commissioning process and review the design to note any lessons learnt for future projects.
Please note that final air tightness test results should be incorporated into energy models as per Credit 22: Energy Use – Reference Building Pathway
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