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 | 1/6/2020 | 22 - Construction and Demolition Waste | Construction and Demolition Waste | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/10/2019 | 20 - Responsible Building Materials | Timber |
If the 'Responsible Building Materials - Timber' credit criterion is made 'Not Applicable', the project is not eligible to claim the innovation point for timber furniture. |
|
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 1/11/2022 | 10 - Acoustic Comfort | Acoustic Comfort | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/5/2021 | 16 - Peak Electricity Demand Reduction | Peak Electricity Demand Reduction | ||
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 1/1/2023 | 14 - Thermal Comfort | Thermal Comfort |
The Submission Guideline references the ASHRAE Standard 55-2013 (55-2020 may also be used) for naturally ventilated spaces. The ASHRAE standard 55-2020 Applicability section 5.4.1 states that this method may be used only when (a) no heating system is operating, and (d) when the prevailing mean outdoor temperature is greater than 10°C. The Submission Guidelines section 14.1.1 suggests that spaces may contain heating, which is counter to the ASHRAE Standard. Where projects are not in accordance with the methodology outlined in ASHRAE 55-2020 Section 5.4.1(a) and section 5.4.1(d), due to having an operating heating system and prevailing mean outdoor temperatures lower than 10°C which falls outside the applicability limits of the methodology. The winter discomfort or underheating should be assessed through the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) methodology in accordance with the requirements outlined in 14.1.2 of the Design & As Built Submission Guidelines. Summer discomfort and overheating can still be assessed using the adaptive comfort methodology outlined in ASHRAE – 55 provided all relevant applicability limits are met i.e a combination of assessment methods acceptable with PMV used during the heating season and adaptive comfort model approach used for the remainder of the year. |
|
| General | DABv1.1 | 1/11/2022 | 21 - Sustainable Products | Sustainable Products |
Where some, but not all, major components of a façade (e.g. glass, aluminium extrusions or insulation product) are compliant with credit 21 Sustainable Products project teams may include only those compliant parts in the calculation of the PSV. The product cost included in the calculation must be for only the compliant components, not the whole of the façade, and evidence of how this has been determined should be included in the submission. |
|
| General | DABv1 | 1/7/2021 | 29 - Innovation | Global Sustainability | ||
| General | DABv1 | 1/11/2020 | 29 - Innovation | Improving on benchmarks |
Can unconditioned warehouse spaces be excluded from Air Permeability Performance Testing?Yes. Projects may exclude unconditioned warehouse areas from the Air Permeability Performance Testing where these warehouse spaces are not conditioned by any equipment.All other spaces, including offices or refrigerated warehouse spaces are considered as conditioned spaces and are considered applicable to the credit criterion. |
|
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 1/5/2022 | 21 - Sustainable Products | Sustainable Products | ||
| General | DABv1, DABv1.1 | 1/5/2022 | 21 - Sustainable Products | Sustainable Products |