Cove.tool can be used to assist users in the following Green Star credits.
Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) - Visual Comfort, 12.2 Views
Energy - Green House Gas Emissions, 15A Prescriptive Way
Water - Potable Water, 18B - Prescriptive Pathway
Before we begin, What is Green Star?
Launched by the Green Building Council of Australia in 2003, Green Star is an Internationally recognized sustainability rating system for the built environment. There are 4 types of Green Star Tools – Design & As Built, Communities, Interiors and Performance. 1 to 6 stars can be achieved based on best practices or sustainability outcomes from the Green Star Rating Scale. Green Star Design & As-Built is a rating tool for design and construction of new buildings and major refurbishment. It has 9 categories with a total of 100 points and a 5-star rating is given for any project with more than 61 points.
The cove.tool features that can be used to achieve these credits;
Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) - Visual Comfort
12.2 Views
1 point is available when 60% of the nominated area has a clear line of sight to an external or internal view. Cove.tool view analyses a building based on 3 types of quality views, and 1 overall summary analysis which can be helpful to earn USGBC LEED credit;
Total Quality Views: Total percentage of floor area that has at least two of the following three kinds of views.
Type 1 - 90° Sight Lines: Multiple lines of sight to vision glazing in different directions at least 90 degrees apart
Type 2 - Sky and Context: Views that include at least view to the sky and objects at least 25 feet (7.5 meters) from the exterior of glazing
Type 3 - Unobstructed View: Unobstructed views located within a distance of three times head height of vision glazing
All floor areas within 8m from a complaint view are considered to meet the credit which is very close to the cove.tool metric of 7.5m. GBCA has a detailed guide on views that can be referred here. Learn more about the Views Analysis in cove.tool here.
Energy - Green House Gas Emissions
15A Prescriptive Way
To encourage energy-efficient buildings and the reduction of GHG emissions, several pathways are proposed and the prescriptive way can be fulfilled using cove.tool. There are several international energy codes that are compliant with cove.tool and so is the Australian National Construction Code (NCC), 2019. The prescriptive method in Green Star awards up to 10 points if the building envelope achieves 15% increase in the minimum R-value specified in the NCC.
When you start a new project, select NCC 2019 under Energy Code. In the baseline page, under envelope, change the roof, wall and glazing value to be better than 15% from baseline.
Water - Potable Water
18B - Prescriptive Pathway
Green Star encourages a reduction in potable water use and up to 12 points can be achieved through measures that show a reduction in water consumption through a selection of equipment like toilets, taps, and showers. The percentage reduction can be calculated using the water-use tab in cove.tool. Learn more about the water tool here.
Further guidance on Green Star can be obtained by referring to their brochure https://new.gbca.org.au/rate/green-star/
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