by Rebecca Walker — January 5, 2011—New buildings in California must now be more environmentally responsible under provisions of the state’s Green Building Standards Code that took effect with the new year.
CALGreen is said to be the first statewide green building code in the country and contains voluntary as well as mandatory provisions. The required measures set a threshold for green building in the state and the voluntary portions provide parameters for higher standards of green building. The rules are the latest version of California building code provisions that began as entirely voluntary measures. Adopted in 2008, the provisions took effect in 2009 with a timetable to convert the baseline standards to mandatory measures.
CALGreen requires new buildings to be more energy efficient, use less water and emit fewer pollutants. Among other things, the standards:
- Set a threshold of a 20 percent reduction in indoor water use and voluntary goals for reductions of 30 percent, 35 percent and 40 percent.
- Require separate meters for indoor and outdoor water use at nonresidential buildings; and at those sites, irrigation systems for larger landscaped areas must be moisture-sensing.
- Call for 50 percent of construction waste to be diverted from the landfills and list higher, voluntary diversion amounts of 65 percent to 75 percent for new homes, and 80 percent for commercial construction.
- Mandate inspections of energy systems—such as heating, air conditioning and mechanical equipment—for nonresidential buildings that are larger than 10,000 square feet to “ensure that all are working at their maximum capacity according to design efficiencies.”
- Require that paint, carpet, vinyl flooring, particle board and other interior finish materials be low-emitting in terms of pollutants.
- Require separate meters for indoor and outdoor water use at nonresidential buildings; and at those sites, irrigation systems for larger landscaped areas must be moisture-sensing.
For more information, see the document online.
