2010 California Green Building Standards Code
Encyclopedia
The 2010 California Green Building Standards Code is the first statewide “green” building code in the US.
In US urban land area quadrupled from 1945 to 2002, increasing at about twice the rate of population growth over this period. Estimated area of rural land used for residential purposes increased by 21000000 acres (84,984.1 km²) (29%) from 1997 to 2002 (2002).
In California, in particular, almost all the largest urban areas grew from 2000 to 2006 (Los Angeles +4.0%; San Bernardino +20.3%; Sacramento +8.0%).
The purpose of Calgreen is to improve public health, safety and general welfare by enhancing the design and construction of buildings through the use of building concepts having a reduced negative impact or positive environmental impact and encouraging sustainable construction practices in the following categories:
To achieve Calgreen Tier 1, buildings must comply with the latest edition of “Savings By Design, Healthcare Modeling Procedures”. To achieve Calgreen Tier 2, buildings must exceed the latest edition of “Savings By Design, Healthcare Modeling Procedures” by a minimum of 15%.
The provisions of this code are directed to:
, buildings designed and constructed by the Regents of the University of California
and regulated by the California Building Standards Commission
.
Water is a precious natural resource. At least two-thirds of the United States have experienced or are bracing for local, regional, or statewide water shortages. US population, and in particular California population has constantly increased during the last decades,so using water wisely is crucial in order to provide enough water also for the future generations.
During the 20th century, water diverted south through the California Aqueduct
was economically essential to Los Angeles
. But fisheries, wildlife and water quality in the bay and delta paid a heavy price. Water is becoming an increasingly important resource throughout California and the United States.
The largest single use of water use is the cooling towers of power plants, followed by water used to irrigate for agriculture. Combined, these two uses account for over 80% of all domestic water use. The largest remaining segment of water use is that of Public Water supplies.
On average, the energy use for typical buildings is assumed to consist of 67% electricity and 33% natural gas
Approximately 170 million tons of building-related C&D materials were generated in the U.S. during 2003. This is a 25% increase in generation from the 1996 estimate of 136 million tons ( which was 25% to 40% of the national solid waste stream).
About the residential mandatory measures, the Code provides measures like storm water drainage and retention systems thought to prevent flooding of adjacent properties and prevent pollution from storm water runoff
by retaining soil on-site or by providing filtering to restrict sedimentation from reaching storm water drainage systems and receiving streams or rivers. To comply, retention basin has to be sized and shown on the site plan, and water has to be filtered and routed to a public drainage system. The new residential structure has to also comply with local storm water ordinances (§ 4.106.2).
Also the drainage system has to be shown on the site plan (swales, drain piping, retention areas, ground water recharge) (§ 4.106.3).
Calgreen does not regulate energy efficiency (both for residential and non-residential structures) demanding it to the California Energy Commission (CEC)
(§ 4.201.1).
Concerning the water issue, the code requires a 20% reduction of indoor water use and it uses both a prescriptive and performance method.
The prescriptive method provides some technical features that have to be followed:
The performance method uses the performance calculation worksheets in Chapter 8 (or other calculation acceptable to the enforcing agency) (§ 4.303.1).
Calgreen also specifies acceptable performance standards for plumbing fixtures with reduced water usage. Fixtures can be installed if they meet standards listed in Table 4.303.3 (§ 4.303.3).
Also outdoor water usage is regulated: the Code requires irrigation controls to be weather- or soil moisture-based and automatically adjust irrigation in response to changes in plants' needs as weather conditions change, or have rain sensors or communication systems that account for local rainfall (§ 4.304.1).
About construction waste reduction, disposal, and recycling, the code says that at least 50% of nonhazardous construction and demolition debris have to be recycled and/or salvaged (§ 4.408.1). This has to be done through the development of a waste management plan submitted for approval to the enforcing agency (§ 4.408.2.2).
Calgreen Appendix A4 contains the voluntary measures (Tier 1 and Tier 2) that were developed in response to numerous stakeholder requests for a statewide method of enhancing green construction practiced beyond the Code’s minimum levels. To meet Tier 1 or Tier 2, designers, builders, or property owners must increase the number of green building measures and further reduce percentages of water and energy use and waste to landfills in order to meet the threshold levels for each tier (these measures are listed in Section A4.601.4.2 (Tier 1) and Section A4.601.5.2 (Tier 2)).
Also for non-residential structures Calgreen demands 20% savings of potable water, standards for plumbing fixtures and fittings, a construction waste management plan (§ 5.408.2), and a construction reduction waste of at least 50% (§ 5.408.3).
The Code also requires a finish material pollutant control (§ 5.504) and an acoustical control for exterior noise transmission (§ 5.507.4.1) and interior sound (§ 5.507.4.2).
The Calgreen 2010 Code was adopted by the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC
), the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the Division of the State Architect (DSA), and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD).
CBSC has the responsibility to administer the program and review building standards proposed by state agencies, develop building standards for occupancies where no other state agency has the authority (non-residential) and adopt and approve building standards for publication.
The targets of the Code are designers, architects, builders, property owners, and also businesses and the government that have to take into consideration the new standards when they decide to build new structures.
Development of Calgreen began in 2007 and, during the rulemaking process, CBSC collaborated with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), stakeholder groups and others. The first result of this cooperation was the adoption of the 2008 California Building Standards Code (CGBC) that became effective since August 1, 2009.
The initial 2008 California Green Building Code publication provided a framework and first step toward establishing green building standards for low-rise residential structures.
2008 GBSC was used as a base document, analyzed and evaluated for necessary updates that lead to the 2010 Calgreen Code, but this is not the last step of the process: as new materials, technology, and designs are developed and become available, also Calgreen has to develop.
There are some enhancements from the 2008 Code to the 2010 one, among them:
Economists and industry, often criticize this kind of regulation because it provides little reason for innovation once the regulated party has achieved the required standard. However Calgreen provides just the minimum standard to achieve and it delegates to Local authorities to increase the level of the standards to apply (depending on the particular characteristics of the local area).
This tool is the most effective to solve in the long run the environmental problems faced by this policy because fixing technical characteristics that have to be followed in the construction process it assures that all the new buildings will have certain desiderable characteristics of efficiency.
Calgreen 2010 alleviates the environmental problems connected with residential and non-residential structures, but it doesn’t solve them both because it is limited to the new buildings.
Policy targets are important stakeholders: designers, architects, builders, property owners and in general also businesses, the government and its agencies.
Some of the stakeholders try to influence the evolution of the policy participating to CBSC’s and HCD’s Green Building Focus Groups (stakeholder focus groups). They are: building officials; representatives from the construction industry; representatives from the environmental community; state agency representatives and public members.
There are also government agencies involved. A part from CBSC, HCD, DSA, and OSHPD, the following agencies contribute to the formulation of the policy: Air Resource Board (for standards concerning air pollutants), California Integrated Waste Management Board (CalRecycle) (for what concerns landfill disposals), the Department of General Services, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Water Resources and the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission).
Building officials are interested in the policy because they want to know what are the new standards and what processes lead to them in order to understand how to do their job in the best way possible.
Construction Industry is very interested in influencing the policy because changes in the standards could mean changes in suppliers and maybe also increasing costs and they are mainly interested in minimizing costs.
Producers of plumbing fixtures or companies that produce insulation systems for the house are interested in Calgreen because it modifies their sectors (like it modify also the construction industry); the change can be encouraged by those companies that produce energy or water saving products or it can be obstructed by those that are not ready yet.
The environmentalists are interested in maximize the level of the mandatory provisions contained in the policy in order to maximize the benefits for the environment.
State agencies like the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development are instead interested in protecting particular benefits for the community (in the case of OSHPD the health).
Calgreen 2010 is effective since January 1, 2011, so it’s still too early for evaluate its effectiveness.
However both BIG and LEED are successful standards similar to Calgreen.
The system developed by Build-it-Green is called GreenPoint Rated Climate Calculator and initial project run-throughs using the Climate Calculator found emissions reductions of about 20% over conventional new construction built to code.
In March 2008 a study of the New Buildings Institute found that on average, LEED-NC buildings deliver anticipated savings and that LEED energy use is similar to predictions: 25-30% better than the national average (average savings increase for the higher LEED levels).
In US urban land area quadrupled from 1945 to 2002, increasing at about twice the rate of population growth over this period. Estimated area of rural land used for residential purposes increased by 21000000 acres (84,984.1 km²) (29%) from 1997 to 2002 (2002).
In California, in particular, almost all the largest urban areas grew from 2000 to 2006 (Los Angeles +4.0%; San Bernardino +20.3%; Sacramento +8.0%).
The purpose of Calgreen is to improve public health, safety and general welfare by enhancing the design and construction of buildings through the use of building concepts having a reduced negative impact or positive environmental impact and encouraging sustainable construction practices in the following categories:
- PlanningPlanningPlanning in organizations and public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. As such, it is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior...
and designSustainable designSustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental... - Energy efficiencyEnergy efficiencyEnergy efficiency may refer to:*Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency.*Energy conversion efficiency, the ratio between the output and input of an energy conversion machine....
- Water efficiencyWater efficiencyWater efficiency can be defined as:# The accomplishment of a function, task, process, or result with the minimal amount of water feasible;# An indicator of the relationship between the amount of water required for a particular purpose and the amount of water used or delivered.Though the two are...
and conservationWater conservationWater conservation refers to reducing the usage of water and recycling of waste water for different purposes such as cleaning, manufacturing, and agricultural irrigation.- Water conservation :Water conservation can be defined as:... - Material conservation and resource efficiency
- Environmental qualityEnvironmental qualityEnvironmental quality is a set of properties and characteristics of the environment, either generalized or local, as they impinge on human beings and other organisms...
To achieve Calgreen Tier 1, buildings must comply with the latest edition of “Savings By Design, Healthcare Modeling Procedures”. To achieve Calgreen Tier 2, buildings must exceed the latest edition of “Savings By Design, Healthcare Modeling Procedures” by a minimum of 15%.
The provisions of this code are directed to:
- State-owned buildings, including buildings constructed by the Trustees of the California State UniversityCalifornia State UniversityThe California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
, and to the extent permitted by
, buildings designed and constructed by the Regents of the University of California
Regents of the University of California
The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. The Board has 26 full members:* The majority are appointed by the Governor of California for 12-year terms....
and regulated by the California Building Standards Commission
California Building Standards Commission
The California Building Standards Commission is a commission of the state of California in the United States responsible for building codes in the state...
.
- Energy efficiency standards regulated by the California Energy CommissionCalifornia Energy CommissionThe California Energy Commission is California’s primary energy policy and planning agency. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission has responsibility for activities that include forecasting future energy needs, promoting energy efficiency through appliance and building...
. - Low-rise residential buildings constructed throughout the State of CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, including hotels, motels, lodging houses, apartment houses, dwellings, dormitories, condominiums, shelters for homeless persons, congregate residences, employee housing, factory-built housing and other types of dwellings containing sleeping accommodations. - Public elementary and secondary schools, and community college buildings regulated by the Division of the State Architect.
- Qualified historical buildings and structures and their associated sites regulated by the State Historical Building Safety Board within the Division of the State Architect.
- General acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, skilled nursing and/or intermediate care facilities, clinics licensed by the Department of Public Health and correctional treatment centers regulated by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
- Graywater systems regulated by the Department of Water ResourcesCalifornia Department of Water ResourcesThe California Department of Water Resources , is a department within the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Water Resources is responsible for the State of California's management and regulation of water usage...
and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Water use
Water is a precious natural resource. At least two-thirds of the United States have experienced or are bracing for local, regional, or statewide water shortages. US population, and in particular California population has constantly increased during the last decades,so using water wisely is crucial in order to provide enough water also for the future generations.
During the 20th century, water diverted south through the California Aqueduct
California Aqueduct
The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern- and Central California to Southern California. The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the...
was economically essential to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. But fisheries, wildlife and water quality in the bay and delta paid a heavy price. Water is becoming an increasingly important resource throughout California and the United States.
The largest single use of water use is the cooling towers of power plants, followed by water used to irrigate for agriculture. Combined, these two uses account for over 80% of all domestic water use. The largest remaining segment of water use is that of Public Water supplies.
Air and Atmosphere
- Buildings in the United States contribute 38.9% of the nation’s total carbon dioxideCarbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions, including 20.8% from the residential sector and 18.0% from the commercial sector (2008).
On average, the energy use for typical buildings is assumed to consist of 67% electricity and 33% natural gas
- The annual mean air temperature of a city with 1 million people or more can be 1.8–5.4°F (1–3°C) warmer than its surroundings. In the evening, the difference can be as high as 22°F (12°C). Heat islands can increase summertime peak energy demand, air conditioning costs, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissionsGreenhouse gasA greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
, heat-related illness and mortality.One study estimates that the heat island effect is responsible for 5–10% of peak electricity demand for cooling buildings in cities.
Materials and Waste
What does the policy do
The residential mandatory measures are provided in chapter 4 and the non-residential ones in chapter 5 of Calgreen Code.About the residential mandatory measures, the Code provides measures like storm water drainage and retention systems thought to prevent flooding of adjacent properties and prevent pollution from storm water runoff
Stormwater
Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...
by retaining soil on-site or by providing filtering to restrict sedimentation from reaching storm water drainage systems and receiving streams or rivers. To comply, retention basin has to be sized and shown on the site plan, and water has to be filtered and routed to a public drainage system. The new residential structure has to also comply with local storm water ordinances (§ 4.106.2).
Also the drainage system has to be shown on the site plan (swales, drain piping, retention areas, ground water recharge) (§ 4.106.3).
Calgreen does not regulate energy efficiency (both for residential and non-residential structures) demanding it to the California Energy Commission (CEC)
California Energy Commission
The California Energy Commission is California’s primary energy policy and planning agency. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission has responsibility for activities that include forecasting future energy needs, promoting energy efficiency through appliance and building...
(§ 4.201.1).
Concerning the water issue, the code requires a 20% reduction of indoor water use and it uses both a prescriptive and performance method.
The prescriptive method provides some technical features that have to be followed:
- Showerheads ≤ 2.0 gpm (gallons per minute) @ 80 psiPounds per square inchThe pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
- Lavatory Faucets ≤ 1.5 gpm @ 60 psiPounds per square inchThe pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
- Kitchen Faucets ≤ 1.8 gpm @ 60 psiPounds per square inchThe pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...
- Urinals ≤ 0.5 gal/flush
- Waterclosets ≤ 1.28 gallon effective flush rate
The performance method uses the performance calculation worksheets in Chapter 8 (or other calculation acceptable to the enforcing agency) (§ 4.303.1).
Calgreen also specifies acceptable performance standards for plumbing fixtures with reduced water usage. Fixtures can be installed if they meet standards listed in Table 4.303.3 (§ 4.303.3).
Also outdoor water usage is regulated: the Code requires irrigation controls to be weather- or soil moisture-based and automatically adjust irrigation in response to changes in plants' needs as weather conditions change, or have rain sensors or communication systems that account for local rainfall (§ 4.304.1).
About construction waste reduction, disposal, and recycling, the code says that at least 50% of nonhazardous construction and demolition debris have to be recycled and/or salvaged (§ 4.408.1). This has to be done through the development of a waste management plan submitted for approval to the enforcing agency (§ 4.408.2.2).
Calgreen Appendix A4 contains the voluntary measures (Tier 1 and Tier 2) that were developed in response to numerous stakeholder requests for a statewide method of enhancing green construction practiced beyond the Code’s minimum levels. To meet Tier 1 or Tier 2, designers, builders, or property owners must increase the number of green building measures and further reduce percentages of water and energy use and waste to landfills in order to meet the threshold levels for each tier (these measures are listed in Section A4.601.4.2 (Tier 1) and Section A4.601.5.2 (Tier 2)).
Also for non-residential structures Calgreen demands 20% savings of potable water, standards for plumbing fixtures and fittings, a construction waste management plan (§ 5.408.2), and a construction reduction waste of at least 50% (§ 5.408.3).
The Code also requires a finish material pollutant control (§ 5.504) and an acoustical control for exterior noise transmission (§ 5.507.4.1) and interior sound (§ 5.507.4.2).
The Calgreen 2010 Code was adopted by the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC
California Building Standards Commission
The California Building Standards Commission is a commission of the state of California in the United States responsible for building codes in the state...
), the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the Division of the State Architect (DSA), and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD).
CBSC has the responsibility to administer the program and review building standards proposed by state agencies, develop building standards for occupancies where no other state agency has the authority (non-residential) and adopt and approve building standards for publication.
The targets of the Code are designers, architects, builders, property owners, and also businesses and the government that have to take into consideration the new standards when they decide to build new structures.
History
Several legislative bills like AB 35, AB 888, and AB 1058 were introduced during the 2007-2008 legislative session to require green building standards for state-owned or leased buildings, commercial buildings, and residential buildings respectively.Development of Calgreen began in 2007 and, during the rulemaking process, CBSC collaborated with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), stakeholder groups and others. The first result of this cooperation was the adoption of the 2008 California Building Standards Code (CGBC) that became effective since August 1, 2009.
The initial 2008 California Green Building Code publication provided a framework and first step toward establishing green building standards for low-rise residential structures.
2008 GBSC was used as a base document, analyzed and evaluated for necessary updates that lead to the 2010 Calgreen Code, but this is not the last step of the process: as new materials, technology, and designs are developed and become available, also Calgreen has to develop.
There are some enhancements from the 2008 Code to the 2010 one, among them:
- The previous code said that energy efficiency was regulated by the California Energy Code. Section 4.201.1 of Calgreen 2010 clarifies instead that the CEC adopts regulations to establish the minimum level of energy efficiency a structure that is heated or cooled must meet or exceed.
- About indoor water use, HCD adopted maximum flush rates for toilets and the CEC adopted appliance standards which limit water use of appliances and fixtures. Section 4.303.1 of 2010 Calgreen reduces indoor water use by at least 20% and it also provides a prescriptive and a performance method to meet the requirements.
- Calgreen 2010 also covers items that weren’t covered before like multiple showerheads and irrigation controllers.
Policy tools
Calgreen 2010 uses prescriptive regulation (it provides technical characteristics that have to be met in the construction of new buildings).Economists and industry, often criticize this kind of regulation because it provides little reason for innovation once the regulated party has achieved the required standard. However Calgreen provides just the minimum standard to achieve and it delegates to Local authorities to increase the level of the standards to apply (depending on the particular characteristics of the local area).
This tool is the most effective to solve in the long run the environmental problems faced by this policy because fixing technical characteristics that have to be followed in the construction process it assures that all the new buildings will have certain desiderable characteristics of efficiency.
Calgreen 2010 alleviates the environmental problems connected with residential and non-residential structures, but it doesn’t solve them both because it is limited to the new buildings.
Stakeholders
There are a lot of players interested in Calgreen and in its evolution.Policy targets are important stakeholders: designers, architects, builders, property owners and in general also businesses, the government and its agencies.
Some of the stakeholders try to influence the evolution of the policy participating to CBSC’s and HCD’s Green Building Focus Groups (stakeholder focus groups). They are: building officials; representatives from the construction industry; representatives from the environmental community; state agency representatives and public members.
There are also government agencies involved. A part from CBSC, HCD, DSA, and OSHPD, the following agencies contribute to the formulation of the policy: Air Resource Board (for standards concerning air pollutants), California Integrated Waste Management Board (CalRecycle) (for what concerns landfill disposals), the Department of General Services, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Water Resources and the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission).
Building officials are interested in the policy because they want to know what are the new standards and what processes lead to them in order to understand how to do their job in the best way possible.
Construction Industry is very interested in influencing the policy because changes in the standards could mean changes in suppliers and maybe also increasing costs and they are mainly interested in minimizing costs.
Producers of plumbing fixtures or companies that produce insulation systems for the house are interested in Calgreen because it modifies their sectors (like it modify also the construction industry); the change can be encouraged by those companies that produce energy or water saving products or it can be obstructed by those that are not ready yet.
The environmentalists are interested in maximize the level of the mandatory provisions contained in the policy in order to maximize the benefits for the environment.
State agencies like the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development are instead interested in protecting particular benefits for the community (in the case of OSHPD the health).
Policy Evaluation
HCD organizes annual and triennial focus group meetings among stakeholders to check the effectiveness of the policy adopted and to discuss proposed changes to the code.Calgreen 2010 is effective since January 1, 2011, so it’s still too early for evaluate its effectiveness.
However both BIG and LEED are successful standards similar to Calgreen.
The system developed by Build-it-Green is called GreenPoint Rated Climate Calculator and initial project run-throughs using the Climate Calculator found emissions reductions of about 20% over conventional new construction built to code.
In March 2008 a study of the New Buildings Institute found that on average, LEED-NC buildings deliver anticipated savings and that LEED energy use is similar to predictions: 25-30% better than the national average (average savings increase for the higher LEED levels).
See also
- Green buildingGreen buildingGreen building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...
- Green building in the United StatesGreen building in the United StatesThis article provides examples of Green Building programs in the United States. These programs span the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and all have the goal of increasing energy efficiency and the sustainability of the built environment....
- Autonomous buildingAutonomous buildingAn autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructural support services such as the electric power grid, gas grid, municipal water systems, sewage treatment systems, storm drains, communication services, and in some cases, public roads.Advocates of...
- Zero-energy building
- EPAUnited States Environmental Protection AgencyThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
- LEEDLeadership in Energy and Environmental DesignLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....