The California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen Code) is Part 11 of the

California Building Standards Code The California Building Standards Code is the building code for California, and Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR). It is maintained by the California Building Standards Commission which is granted the authority to oversee processe ...

and is the first statewide "green" building code in the US.

Background and purpose

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: # Planning and

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

Energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

Water efficiency Water efficiency is the practice of reducing water consumption by measuring the amount of water required for a particular purpose and is proportionate to the amount of essential water used.Vickers, Amy. “Water use and conservation." Amherst, MA ...

and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

# Material conservation and resource efficiency #

Environmental quality "Environmental Quality" is a set of properties and characteristics of the environment, either generalized or local, as they impinge on human beings and other organisms. It is a measure of the condition of an environment relative to the requirements ...

To achieve CALGreen Tier 1, buildings must comply with the latest edition of "Savings By Design, Healthcare Modeling Procedures".http://www.builditgreen.org/CALGreen/ BACC recomandation 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 University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

, and to the extent permitted by California law, buildings designed and constructed by the

Regents of the University of California The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sy ...

and regulated by the

California Building Standards Commission The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) is authorized by the state of California, through the California Building Standards Law, to manage the many process relating to development, adoption, approval, publication, and implementation of C ...

. # Energy efficiency standards regulated by the

California Energy Commission The California Energy Commission, formally the Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, is the primary energy policy and planning agency for California. Created in 1974 and headquartered in Sacramento, the Commission'core respon ...

. # Low-rise residential buildings constructed throughout California, 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 within the

California Department of General Services California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

. # Qualified historical buildings and structures and their associated sites regulated by the

State Historical Building Safety Board State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * '' State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our ...

within the Division of the State Architect within the California Department of General Services. # 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

California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

within the California Health and Human Services Agency. # Graywater systems regulated by the

California Department of Water Resources The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is part of the California Natural Resources Agency and is responsible for the management and regulation of the State of California's water usage. The department was created in 1956 by Governor G ...

and the

California Department of Housing and Community Development The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is a department within the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency that develops housing policy and building codes (i.e. the California Building Standards Code) ...

Land use

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 (29%) from 1997 to 2002 (2002).

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 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. Named after Califo ...

was economically essential to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. 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 potable water in California is water used to irrigate for agriculture. 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 dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is trans ...

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 emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

, 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. * HVAC systems now will be required to use MERV 13 filtration, up from MERV 8, (2019 CalGreen, effective January 1, 2020)

Materials and waste

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).

Provisions

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 Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when the ...

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 A retention basin, sometimes called a wet pond, wet detention basin, or stormwater management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage stormwater r ...

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. The drainage system has to be shown on the site plan (swales, drain piping, retention areas, ground water recharge). CALGreen does not regulate energy efficiency (both for residential and non-residential structures), instead remanding it to the

(CEC) and its

California Energy Code The California Energy Code (also titled The Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Non-residential Buildings), called simply Title 24 in industry, is the sixth section of the California Building Standards Code. The code was created by the ...

. 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

psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviatio ...

* Lavatory faucets ≤ 1.5 gpm @ 60

* Kitchen faucets ≤ 1.8 gpm @ 60

* 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). 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. 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. About

construction waste Construction waste or debris is any kind of debris from the construction process. Different government agencies have clear definitions. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA defines construction and demolition materia ...

reduction, disposal, and recycling, the code says that at least 50% of nonhazardous construction and demolition debris have to be recycled and/or salvaged. This has to be done through the development of a waste management plan submitted for approval to the enforcing agency. 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, and a construction reduction waste of at least 50%. The Code also requires a finish material pollutant control and an acoustical control for exterior noise transmission and interior sound. The CALGreen 2010 Code was adopted by the

(CBSC), the

(HCD), the Division of the State Architect (DSA) within the

, and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) within the California Health and Human Services Agency. 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 Green 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 desirable 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

New Buildings Institute New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

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).http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=3930

References

''This article incorporates text from publications of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

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External links

2010 California Green Building Standards Code
Green Building Standards Code Building codes Standards of the United States