California Center for Sustainable Energy

Making sense of various sustainable building standards

With today’s mix of voluntary and mandatory green building standards, municipal codes and third-party rating systems, it can be a logistical nightmare deciphering how to get the best benefits and overall value. While green building requirements are relatively consistent, there are shades of gray within them that can lead to uncertainties and overlaps, according to architect Wally Geer, owner of Greymar Associates in Ventura, Calif.

Geer tells of a zero net energy home he is designing in Malibu, Calif., that complies with nine different green building standards, some by choice, some to meet regulations and others due to financial incentives. Geer offered some clarification of the differences between the dominant third-party green rating systems in California and the impacts of the California Green Building Standards Code at a workshop held at CCSE in February.

CALGreen is the Law

In January, California came under the first statewide mandatory green building code in the nation, known simply as CALGreen, that raises the bar by establishing minimum green building standards for most new construction. While CALGreen is state law, lower jurisdictions have the ability to amend portions of the code based on local needs, such as climate, topography or geology.

CALGreen requires verification of installed systems by local code authorities. In addition, there are two optional levels that go beyond mandatory, with each tier adding about a 15 percent improvement over the previous level, so a tier two building is basically 30 percent more economical than the baseline building.

LEED is the National Leader

Launched in 1998 by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED rating system, for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the gold standard of green building ratings. LEED ratings are segmented by building types and offer four tiers, from certified to platinum, each having both mandatory and optional requirements based on a point scoring system. Verification is provided by the USGBC and third-party inspectors. Some aspects of LEED are now being incorporated into local codes by municipal building and planning departments.

GreenPoint Rated for Homes

Designed to ease builders into creating sustainable homes, GreenPoint is a program of Build It Green, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that promotes green residential construction in California. In addition to grading a home in five green categories, GreenPoint offers such features as a climate calculator that estimates the total greenhouse gas emissions avoided by building green. Verification is by GreenPoint-qualified raters.

National Green Building Certification

The National Association of Home Builders has been a leader in green building since the 1980s, and in 2009, partnered with the American National Standards Institute and the International Code Council to adopt the National Green Building Standard (NGBS). Also a multitier program requiring third-party verification, NGBS differs from LEED because it offers a wider range of selections for voluntary options that add points for higher certification.

Be an ENERGY STAR

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR has grown from a program to reward energy-efficient products to cover new home construction and remodeling. Qualifying homes must be at least 15 percent more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC) and include additional features that typically make them 20–30 percent more efficient than standard homes. The focus is on tightening a home’s envelope, heating and cooling equipment and use of ENERGY STAR-qualified lighting and appliances, many of which qualify for cash rebates.

Now What?

First and foremost when planning new home construction or major remodeling is to verify what the standards and codes are within the jurisdiction in which you are building. Some building and planning departments are now starting to mandate compliance with some or all of certain aspects of third-party rating systems.

According to Geer, Southern California jurisdictions seem to favor the LEED system, and in Northern California, many municipalities have adopted some or all of the GreenPoint Rated standards. He cited as an example that if you are building a multiunit residential project in the City of Los Angeles of greater than 40 units, you must make the project LEED certified. If multiple codes and ordinances exist with conflicting standards, the most rigid standard trumps all others, Geer said.

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