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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
Maintenance Factor of Luminaries DABv1 March 2023 11 - Lighting Comfort General Illuminance and Glare Reduction
Approved Ruling:

Projects can use a maintenance factor as calculated using AS/NZS 1680, since AS/NZS 1680 is considered a best-practice lighting design methodology, and that the generic 0.8 maintenance factor is not necessarily relevant or beneficial for all projects and lighting designs.  

Project teams may calculate the maintenance factor for their luminaries according to this standard and should provide a summary/justification of these calculations and inputs for assessment.  The project team should include supporting documents for the inputs which may include: 

  • Luminaire specific factors such as Lamp Lumen Maintenance Factor, Lamp Survival Factor, IP rating, luminaire type; 
  • Reference to the relevant data from AS/NZS1680; 
  • Description of the use of the space and its atmospheric impact (clean, dirty, etc); and 
  • The planned luminaire cleaning maintenance programme or the inclusion of cleaning requirements within the tenants fit-out guide.   

Where inputs for the calculation of the maintenance factor are uncertain then projects must continue to use the 0.8 maintenance factor.  Projects may also choose to continue to use the 0.8 maintenance factor if they wish.