California's CALGreen green building standard will require all new California buildings to be more energy efficient and environmentally responsible.
The California Building Standards Commission has recently adopted the first-in-the-nation mandatory Green Building Standards Code, called CALGreen. The program, which took effect on January 1, 2011, will require all new California buildings to be more energy efficient and environmentally responsible. This green building regulation lays the foundation for constructing buildings in a manner that reduces energy use, decreases waste, and conserves resources. The California Air Resources Board estimates that the mandatory CALGreen green building standard will reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2020.
The CALGreen green building standard will mandate inspections of energy systems such as furnaces, heat pumps and air conditioners for nonresidential buildings larger than 10,000 square feet, to ensure that the energy systems are working efficiently at their maximum capacity. It will also require that newly constructed California buildings reduce water consumption by 20%, divert 50% of construction waste from landfills, and install materials that emit low amounts of indoor pollutants. In addition, the CALGreen green building regulation will require separate water meters for indoor and outdoor water use in nonresidential buildings and moisture-sensing irrigation systems for larger landscape projects.
The new CALGreen green building regulation will allow property owners in California to label their buildings as CALGreen compliant after passing a state building inspection, allowing their building to receive a "green" designation without the need for an additional third-party certification.
