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What is Title-24 ?
A Title-24 is more accurately known as the Title-24 Building Energy Standards Part 6, is California's energy building code for residential and commercial construction. It was first adopted in 1978 and is updated every three years. The current version being enforced is the 2005 standards. The California Energy Commission has approved and finalized the new 2008 energy standards which are scheduled to be enforced July 1, 2009.
What are the changes to the new 2008 Title-24 energy code?
Updated Time Dependent Valuation (TDV) to measure savings from energy efficiency standards at times of peak.
Programmable communicating thermostats for demand response controls by utilities.
Introduction of Solar Reflectance Index for cool roof compliance.
Added prescriptive Cool Roof requirements for steep sloped roofs.
Added New Solar Home Partnership (NSHP) photovoltaic (PV) installation as Compliance Option for energy efficiency.
compliance credit over and above Title-24.
Improved roof and attic modeling - Unconditioned Zone Model - to better model thermal interactions in attic such as radiant barriers, cool roofs, and ducts.
Upgraded window requirements (solar heat gain coefficient and U-factor).
Clarified lighting requirements, including controls and kitchen lighting, provided tradeoff option for additional low-efficiency lighting in the kitchen.
New requirements for mechanical ventilation to maintain indoor air quality in-line with ASHRAE Standards 62.2 requirements.
New efficiency measure of furnace fan energy use.
New or revised compliance credit for: a) furnace fan modeling, b) HVAC sizing, c) duct leakage, and d) water heating distribution systems.
Under-slab hot water pipe insulation required to mitigate heat loss.
What is a Cool Roof ?
To be considered a cool roof in California under the 2005 Title-24 Standards a roof must:
be tested and rated through the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC); and
be labeled for its intitial reflectance and initialemittance as determined in the CRRC tests and be labeled that the product meets Title-24, Section 118(i); and
achieve at least a 0.75 initial emittance and 0.70 initial reflectance or, if the initial emittance is less than 0.75, have an initial reflectance of at least [0.70 + {0.34 x (0.75 -initial emittance)}], and
if applied as a liquid coating in the field, be applied at a minimum dry mil thickness of 20- mils across the entire roof surface and meet performance requirements listed in the table #118-c in the Standards.
Being an ENERGY STAR roof does not automatically qualify a roofing material to be a cool roof in California because ENERGY STAR has different criteria.
What is GreenPoint Rated ?
GreenPoint Rated New Home is a recognizable and independent seal of approval for green homes that allows them to stand out from the crowd. It reassures home buyers that a home is truly healthier, more energy efficient, and more resource-efficient.
If the home meets minimum point requirements in each category and scores at least 50 points as verified by a Certified GreenPoint Rater, it earns the right to bear the GreenPoint Rated label. It also provides a numerical score, which allows buyers to evaluate and compare the environmental performance of different homes. Because GreenPoint Rated homes are evaluated by independent, certified raters, building professionals and homeowners can feel confident that the rating has integrity and value.
What is HERS ?
HERS is the Home Energy Rating System which addresses a number of energy saving measures incorporated in the design of a project that required third party inspection and verification. Some of these are:
Duct testing.
High Quality Insulation installation.
Blower Door test.
These verifications confirm that these energy saving measures were installed correctly. Many of the utility incentive programs require HERS third party verification to qualify for their incentive programs.
What is the IECC ?
The IECC (International Energy Conservation Code) is an energy code developed by the Department of Energy and is available for adoption by any state or city as their energy code. It represents an off-the-shelf, ready to use energy code that many cities and states have adopted. It applies to residential and non-residential construction. Energy Code Works has been working with the IECC since it's creation and can help you bring your projects into compliance with the IECC and prepare all necessary calculations and forms for submittal to all state and local building departments that are enforcing the IECC.
How can I show compliance with the IECC?
The IECC provides two compliance options or paths.
The prescriptive approach.
The performance approach.
Using the prescriptive approach involves looking at the three building energy segments; the building envelope, the interior/exterior lighting, the HVAC system. Each segment must meet the required minimum standards for the climate zone your project is located in. You may not trade-off between segments, for example you cannot trade-off between the building envelope and the interior lighting. Each segment must comply on its own.
Using the performance approach you model the entire building within a energy simulation type software that compares your building with an identical building that meets the prescriptive requirements for that climate zone. You then use the compliance software to show that your building, as designed, uses no more energy annually than an identical building that complies with the prescriptive requirements.
This approaches allows tradeoffs betwen all aspects of the buildings design. For example if the building envelope is very efficient you can use it's added performance ability to offset a lighting design that uses more lighting power than would be allowed in the prescriptive approach. As long as the entire building complies as a whole then you comply. This approach is more difficult to use as it requires more paperwork and fairly sophisticated computer software to generate the required documentation but offers a tremendous amount of flexibility and tradeoffs that often times can take a building that fails to comply prescriptively and bring it into compliance after the tradeoffs are utilized and documented in the compliance calculations and report.