The state of California has been a leader in adopting energy saving and environmentally responsible legislation. Starting January 01, 2011 the state's Green Building Standards Code or CALGreen goes into effect - the first among states to have its green building code.

Buildings in California will now have to provide various measures stipulated in the Code for residential and non-residential buildings. Based on the type of building, the designer will have to determine which state and local agency has authority over the type of occupancy and determine the minimum requirements based on the relevant Matrix Adoption Tables. In addition, voluntary measures are recommended to achieve Tier 1 or 2 levels along with the mandatory measures. 

LEED vs CALGreen -   One of the most common question asked is, " What is the difference between LEED rating and CALGreen?" The simple answer to this question is that the CALGreen code contains similar provisions to the LEED rating system. Therefore, obtaining LEED certification for a CALGreen complying building becomes much easier. One claim the CALgreen code clearly makes is that it does not intend to "... substitute or be identified as meeting the certification requirements any of the green building program."

Cost of CALGreen - Similar to the concerns that owners had regarding the additional cost of a LEED certified project, the cost of CALGreen if implemented carefully should not add significantly to the construction cost for most project types. The positive side of both LEED and CALGreen will be that building owners can be assured of significant cost savings in the operations and other positive benefits to the building occupants due to energy efficiency and better indoor environments.

One factor for many owners not to pursue LEED has been the cost of commissioning, which is  allocated as part of the soft cost associated with a project. With CALGreen non-residential buildings above 10,000 s.f. will have to involve a commissioning agent (CxA). Therefore, it will no longer be an additional cost and could make LEED certification justifyable for CALGreen complying projects.  The benefits of involving a CxA to the building owner is that during design the selection of appropriate systems will be reviewed by CxA. Further the CxA will inspect and monitor the installation and operation and ensure all the efficiencies and optimized performance expected of the systems are met. Projects owners and operators that have not implemented commissioning, never know how their installed systems are performing and whether they are truely realizing a cost savings in operations.

The future of building in California as well as the rest of the world is to pursue sustainable and environmetally friendly development and we at SKLA look forward to implementing the CALGreen and LEED sustainable requirements in a cost effective and practical manner.