General

Technical Clarification
General Documentation requirements - Homes Projects Round 1

Technical Clarification Number 
GEN00-T-EDG-3752

Guidance
2022-03-11 UPDATED (2021-06-22)

The following is required as part of the Round 1 submission for both Preliminary and Post-construction, uploaded to the Design section (project/subproject level documentation):

- the completed Request for Information, for the current phase pursuing certification only (this must align with the Unit Number Template, Evidence and EDGE App inputs) [see template at the bottom of this page]

- the completed Unit Number Template document (one document per sub-project) [see template at the bottom of this page]

- 2 High Res Images (min 300DPI)

Details/Instructions

General:

- the RFI and Unit Number template are important documents used to generate the EDGE certificates for each unit being certified.

- Unit Number template document needs to be created for each typology being certified. E.g. a project with 3 typologies/subprojects will require 3 Unit Number template documents.

- the format is very important and must not be changed.

- the naming of the Unit Number template document should include at a minimum the project name/GBCSA project number; typology details; phase and number of units, e.g. 09622EDG_MyProject_Type A_Phase1_36units.xlsx

- the documents must be returned in an editable excel format

Certificate Count:

- the certificate count number sequence must always start from row 2 only, and row 1 will always be the master certificate for all typologies/subprojects being certified. E.g. a typology/subproject with 36 units will always have 11 certificates, including the master certificate counted as 1.

The GBCSA notes that it is the responsibility of the Auditor to review all supporting evidence and inputs, including those in the Design section. The total unit numbers per typology needs to be verified to the Unit Number Template, RFI and EDGE App inputs (subproject multiplier and unit number) and confirmed as part of the Client and Auditor comments.  

This clarification applies to all EDGE Homes projects, irrespective of their date of registration. The Round 1 results will not be issued if any of this information is not provided or not confirmed by the Project Team and EDGE Auditor or if there are discrepancies across the RFI/Unit Number template/EDGE App inputs/supporting evidence.

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Technical Clarification
Alternative Documentation: Purchase Receipts or Delivery Notes

Technical Clarification Number 
GEN00-T-EDG-3667

Guidance
2021-04-28

Alternative documentation in lieu of purchase receipts or delivery notes is acceptable, provided that:

- The alternative documentation indicates sufficient information to confirm delivery to/installation on site.

- The alternative documentation is at a minimum signed by a project team representative.

OR 

Per the EDGE User Guide v3.0:

- Date-stamped photographs of the installed measures (per the measure-specific compliance guidance).

All other Post-construction documentation requirements must still be provided (ensuring consistency across the documents).

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Technical Clarification
Remote Audit Policy

Technical Clarification Number 
GEN00-T-EDG-3136

Guidance
2020-05-13

Final EDGE certification audits can now be conducted remotely, according to new guidance that has been agreed upon by EDGE certifiers. The temporary policy, which was developed in response to COVID-19, is effective until further notice.

The new guidance is available at (EDGE Remote Audit Policy During COVID-19). It covers the following:

- Applicability of projects that can be audited remotely.

- Roles and responsibilities for auditors, on-site inspectors, certifiers and clients.

- How to conduct an offline audit or live-stream audit.

- Required elements for on-site evidence collection.

Upon reviewing the guidance, should you have questions about the remote audit process, these can be submitted via Zendesk.

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Technical Clarification
Assessment Timeframes

Technical Clarification Number 
GEN00-T-EDG-2593

Guidance
2019-01-11

The GBCSA confirm that:

- The standard Round 1 Assessment process is 4 weeks (from submission to GBCSA issuing the results). 
- The standard Round 2 Assessment process is 3 weeks (from submission to GBCSA issuing the results).

This clarification applies to all EDGE projects, irrespective of their date of registration.

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Technical Clarification
EDGE Expert subcontracting EDGE Auditor

Technical Clarification Number 
GEN00-T-EDG-2591 (CANCELLED - replaced with IFC EDGE Approval Protocol for Auditors https://edgebuildings.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ch4-Approval-Protocol-Auditors-4.0.pdf) 

Guidance
2019-01-11

A company acting as an EDGE Expert cannot have an EDGE Auditor that is an employee of the same organization working on the same project. However, the company can appoint and contract an independent EDGE Auditor who is not an employee of the company to undertake the EDGE Auditor role on the project.

Per existing IFC requirements in the Auditor Protocols (https://www.edgebuildings.com/approval-protocol-for-auditors-version-2-0-1/): if the company wishes to use two different employees as both EDGE Expert and EDGE Auditor on the same project, then that company must first be certified according to the ‘ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity Assessment - Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services’ 

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Technical Clarification
Eligibility Request to proceed without a Preliminary rating - UPDATED

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-2725

Guidance
2018-03-13

The GBCSA on occasion will allow, but do not encourage, EDGE projects to target a Post Construction certification only (i.e. without having to complete the Preliminary certification) – this only occurs in special circumstances, when the project is able to submit an Eligibility Request to the GBCSA that details the project’s special circumstances and demonstrates why the project was not able to target a preliminary certification and what the project has implemented to ensure that the Post Construction certification will be achieved.

Please note, the EDGE rating is a Post Construction certification rating tool which combines a design and as built rating into one official certification, and the registration and certification fee is relevant for the official rating, the Post Construction rating. Projects that have been awarded eligibility by the GBCSA to proceed without a Preliminary rating are still required to pay the full registration and certification fee associated with the Post Construction certification rating.

Documentation Requirements:

The Post-Construction Stage documentation should clearly indicate the measures selected within the EDGE APP. The evidence to demonstrate compliance must include the documentation required for both the Design Stage and the Post-Construction Stage as outlined in the User Guide, except where Post-Construction documentation supersedes the Design Stage.

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Technical Clarification
Eligibility Request to proceed without a Preliminary rating

(SUPERSEDED by GEN00-T-EDG-2725)

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-2221

Guidance
2018-03-13

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Technical Clarification
EDGE Homes Registration

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-0110

Guidance
2017-08-25

Defining the extent of a project site.

When registering a project, the entire development site must follow the following criteria:

• Must share the same physical site/address, even if on adjacent erven (the single continuous site boundary is as defined by the project AP)
  • Should be recognizable as distinct development to the public, e.g. have a distinct name*, street address, and entrance/s. It must include the proportion of amenities that serve the homes on the site, e.g. landscaping, parking, etc.

• Must be of the same building type (Homes).

• Must be Certified as the same name (allowance for phases permitted*)

* Projects are able to be phased, as long as it still meets the criteria set above.

Where by a project site does not meet any of the above criteria, separate projects must be registered, Or an eligibility ruling request must be submitted to the GBCSA before registration.

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Technical Clarification
Site Audit Sample Size

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-0056

Guidance
2017-03-23

The Accredited Professional/Auditor is required to conduct site audits for a sample of the units per typology. The sample should be equal to the square root of the number of units +1 for each typology.

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Technical Clarification
SANS Building Regulations

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-0060

Guidance
2017-03-23

SANS Building Regulations standards are referenced in the EDGE software to ensure that if a project meets EDGE requirements it also meets SANS requirements. If there are issues with SANS compliance text alerts will appear below the energy section and will also appear in the downloadable pdf (if the user chooses to generate it). Note that EDGE should not be used as a compliance tool for SANS as there are additional requirements mandated by SANS that are not included in EDGE.

Figure 8. SANS alerts for SA are given at the end of the EE measures when project meets EDGE standard of 20% energy saving but does not meet SANS requirements. This alert is specific to South Africa.

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Technical Clarification
Typology Rationalization

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-0063

Guidance
2022-02-02 Updated (2017-03-23)

Typology is defined as one particular design of a residential unit(s) that has all aspects of the design the same or similar for all units, including but not limited to aspects such as:

Area	must be within 10% of each other for each unit
Occupancy	must be the same
Layout	must be similar
Windows	must be similar
Shading	must be similar
Materials	must be similar
Edge measures pursued	must be the same
Percentage of Improvement	must be within 10% of each other for each unit across each category (energy, water and materials

Exception: If a unit type consists of 5 units or less and the total area of these units represents less than 10% of the project GIA, that unit type does not need to be modeled separately. It can instead be grouped with the most similar unit type. Where the exception is applied, this should be clearly motivated within the rationalization request.

To assess typology groupings project teams are required to review the above criteria and provide the GBCSA with the following:

· Layouts indicating unit areas per typology

· EDGE Reports (PDF Downloads) per typology (or subproject where multiple typologies are used in v3)

The project team is requested to also provide a description and justification for the typologies applicable to the project based on the above criteria. The typology rationalization process must be completed before the project is registered with the GBCSA.

If the project team is unsure how to apply the above mentioned principles, please submit a Typology rationalisation ruling request via the Zendesk platform. All Typology Rationalisation Ruling Requests are to be sent to the GBCSA Technical Team for rationalisation via this link

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Technical Clarification
EDGE income categories defined

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-0064

Guidance
2017-03-23

The EDGE income categories are:

Defined Income Category	Market Value per Unit
RDP	State subsidy
GAP	R350 000 – R850 000
Middle income	R850 000 – R1,2m
High income	R1,2m and above

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Technical Clarification
Sample of Delivery Notes

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-0067

Guidance
2017-03-23

Where delivery notes are required within the Material Efficiency Measures section of the User Guide, it is acceptable to provide a sample of delivery notes. The actual appended delivery notes to verify compliance with the measure only need to be the very first and final delivery notes (with dates indicated). A first and final set of delivery notes for each material type must be included within the submission.

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Technical Clarification
Project Study Submission

Technical Clarification Number
GEN00-T-EDG-4322

Guidance
2022-07-14

The project study submission requests have migrated to the EDGE App. Once a project is certified, clients will now have the ability to submit a project study request by clicking the "PROJECT STUDY" button from their dashboard. The attached document (see bottom of the page) has steps listed to submit a project study on the EDGE App. 

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