Everything You Need to Know About Title 24

Title 24 refers to Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations — the California Building Energy Efficiency Standards. It sets minimum energy efficiency requirements for new construction and major renovations across residential and commercial buildings. The California Energy Commission (CEC) updates Title 24 every three years; the current cycle is the 2022 standards (effective Jan 1, 2023), transitioning to the 2025 standards on Jan 1, 2026.

A Title 24 energy compliance report is required for: new residential and commercial construction, additions that increase conditioned floor area, alterations to HVAC or lighting systems, window replacements, and re-roofing of existing buildings. Virtually any project that requires a building permit in California will need some form of Title 24 documentation submitted with the permit set.

California is currently under the 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, effective January 1, 2023. These standards require solar PV on most new residential buildings, encourage battery storage, expand heat pump requirements, and tighten efficiency levels for building envelopes and mechanical systems. The 2025 standards have been adopted and take effect on January 1, 2026.

Title 24 is enforced by the local building department where your project sits — LADBS in the City of Los Angeles, the LA County Department of Public Works in unincorporated areas, and dedicated building departments in cities like Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Long Beach, and Pasadena. The CEC sets the standards; local jurisdictions check that your permit set includes a compliant report.

No. Title 24 Part 6 is the Energy Code; CALGreen is Title 24 Part 11 — the California Green Building Standards Code. They run alongside each other. Most jurisdictions require both, and a complete energy-compliance submittal often includes CALGreen documentation in addition to Title 24 Part 6 forms.

Most residential Title 24 reports are delivered within 24 hours of project intake. Commercial projects typically take 3–5 business days depending on complexity. Same-day rush service is available for residential work submitted before 10 AM PT, capacity permitting. The sooner you provide complete plans and project information, the faster we can deliver.

We typically need: architectural floor plans showing room dimensions and window placements, wall/roof/floor assembly specifications (with insulation R-values), window product data (U-factor and SHGC), HVAC equipment data (heating + cooling), and the project address so we can confirm the climate zone. The more complete your plans, the faster and more accurate the report.

If your design doesn't meet the standards as-drawn, we work with you to identify the most cost-effective path to compliance — upgrading insulation, switching to higher-efficiency HVAC equipment, improving window specifications, or rebalancing the performance budget. We surface compliance pathways before finalizing any report so there are no surprises at plan check.

Yes — at no additional cost. If a plan checker comes back with questions or correction items related to our report, we respond within one business day and revise the documentation as needed until your permit is approved. Plan check support is included in every fixed-price quote.

For most residential projects: the Certificate of Compliance (CF1R-PRF or CF1R-PRS forms), the full performance / prescriptive calculation, the input data summary, and any HERS-required verification forms (CF2R / CF3R). For commercial projects we add envelope, mechanical, and lighting forms specific to the scope. Everything is signed by an authorized documentation author and ready to attach to your permit set.

Yes — that's most of our work. We routinely coordinate with the architect, the structural and MEP engineers, the contractor, and the HERS rater. Single project manager throughout, no broken handoffs.

Pricing varies by project type and complexity. Residential additions start at $195, residential new construction starts at $295, and commercial projects are quoted individually based on square footage and scope. Every quote is fixed-price: you see your number before we start. See the full pricing page for details.

No. Plan check corrections related to our report are included at no additional charge. We stand behind the accuracy of our work through permit approval — every fixed-price quote includes unlimited revisions during plan check.

Yes. Developers and contractors with ongoing project volume receive preferred pricing through a project-volume agreement. Contact us with a sense of your pipeline (units, projects per year) and we'll quote accordingly.

Same-day rush for residential is +$150 on the base report price, capacity permitting. Submit by 10 AM PT for next-business-morning delivery; submit earlier for same-day. Commercial rush is quoted case-by-case.

A HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rater is a third-party field inspector certified by CalCERTS or CHEERS to verify that specific Title 24 measures were installed correctly — duct leakage, refrigerant charge, fan watt draw, kitchen range hood flow, and others. Whether you need HERS verification depends on the measures selected in your compliance path. We flag every HERS requirement on your CF1R and coordinate with a rater.

Prescriptive compliance means your design meets each individual minimum requirement (R-values, U-factors, equipment efficiencies) as fixed by code. Performance compliance models the building's total energy use against a code-compliant "budget" building — you can exceed in some areas (more glazing) if you compensate elsewhere (better insulation, higher SEER2 HVAC). Performance gives architects more design flexibility.

Yes. Since the 2019 Title 24 cycle, most new single-family homes and many low-rise multifamily projects must include a photovoltaic (PV) solar system sized to a calculated minimum. The 2022 standards extended PV plus battery-storage incentives to nonresidential and many high-rise projects. There are narrow exemptions; we evaluate each project against the latest rules.

Greater Los Angeles spans CEC climate zones 6, 8, 9, 10, and 16: coastal LA basin (CZ 6), inland LA basin (CZ 8), interior valleys (CZ 9), Inland Empire transition (CZ 10), and high desert / mountains (CZ 16). The climate zone determines prescriptive requirements like insulation R-value minimums and window U-factor caps. We confirm your project's zone from the address before modeling.

Yes. Tenant improvements (TIs) typically require Title 24 compliance for any lighting being modified or installed. If HVAC systems are altered, mechanical compliance is also triggered. The extent depends on the scope of work; we prepare TI-specific Title 24 reports that address only the affected systems, keeping costs reasonable for smaller alterations.

Most commercial spaces require automatic lighting controls: occupancy or vacancy sensors in most areas, multi-level lighting (dimming or bi-level switching), daylight controls in daylit zones, and automatic shut-off. Specific requirements depend on space type and occupancy. We document every required control in your compliance package.

An envelope report covers the building's thermal boundary — walls, roof, floors, windows, doors — and verifies insulation R-values, window U-factor and SHGC, infiltration, and thermal bridging. Required for commercial new construction and most envelope alterations; can be standalone (shell-and-core) or part of a full compliance package.

It can. Re-roofing of low-slope commercial roofs over conditioned space generally requires insulation upgrades and cool-roof compliance unless the area is exempt. The required scope depends on whether you're fully replacing the roof assembly or just the membrane. We assess the trigger before quoting.