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 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
Supermarkets - Lighting Credits DABv1, INTv1 September 2021 11 - Lighting Comfort General Illuminance and Glare Reduction, Surface Illuminance, Localised Lighting Control
Approved Ruling:
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.