California’s recent revisions to Title 24 contain ambitious performance goals: all residential buildings must be Zero Net Energy by 2020 and commercial buildings must reach that standard by 2030. The code also applies to certain renovation projects. These changes are likely to reshape the construction industry in significant ways nationwide by:
1. Driving adoption of building energy codes.As the AEC industry works to meet California’s challenge, it will be able to translate its achievements to other regions.
2. Speeding the development of building monitoring and management technologies.Title 24 will stimulate the market for a wide variety of smart building technologies.
3. Accelerating use of on-site energy storage. Energy storage helps address the intermittency of solar and wind energy generation. It can also make the grid more resilient to outages.
4. Reducing the cost of high performance building.California’s code ensures that there will be steady demand for high performance designs and technologies. This should help to drive down costs for new, innovative products.
5. Creating competition for architects to boost performance.Net Zero Energy goals will put pressure on architects, engineers, and contractors to measure progress as they work toward achieving high efficiency results, and then to deliver on them.
Related Stories
K-12 Schools | Apr 18, 2023
ASHRAE offers indoor air quality guide for schools
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released a guide for educators, administrators, and school districts on indoor air quality. The guide can be used as a tool to discuss options to improve indoor air quality based on existing HVAC equipment, regional objectives, and available funding.
Smart Buildings | Apr 7, 2023
Carnegie Mellon University's research on advanced building sensors provokes heated controversy
A research project to test next-generation building sensors at Carnegie Mellon University provoked intense debate over the privacy implications of widespread deployment of the devices in a new 90,000-sf building. The light-switch-size devices, capable of measuring 12 types of data including motion and sound, were mounted in more than 300 locations throughout the building.
Affordable Housing | Apr 7, 2023
Florida’s affordable housing law expected to fuel multifamily residential projects
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed into law affordable housing legislation that includes $711 million for housing programs and tax breaks for developers. The new law will supersede local governments’ zoning, density, and height requirements.
Energy Efficiency | Apr 7, 2023
Department of Energy makes $1 billion available for states, local governments to upgrade building codes
The U.S. Department of Energy is offering funding to help state and local governments upgrade their building codes to boost energy efficiency. The funding will support improved building codes that reduce carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency, according to DOE.
Resiliency | Apr 4, 2023
New bill would limit housing sprawl in fire- and flood-prone areas of California
A new bill in the California Assembly would limit housing sprawl in fire- and flood-prone areas across the state. For the last several decades, new housing has spread to more remote areas of the Golden State.
Sustainability | Apr 4, 2023
ASHRAE releases Building Performance Standards Guide
Building Performance Standards (BPS): A Technical Resource Guide was created to provide a technical basis for policymakers, building owners, practitioners and other stakeholders interested in developing and implementing a BPS policy. The publication is the first in a series of seven guidebooks by ASHRAE on building decarbonization.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 24, 2023
Washington state House passes bill banning single-family zoning
The Washington state House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would legalize duplexes or fourplexes in almost every neighborhood of every city in the state.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 24, 2023
Momentum building for green retrofits in New York City co-ops, condos
Many New York City co-op and condo boards had been resistant to the idea of approving green retrofits and energy-efficiency upgrades, but that reluctance might be in retreat.
Legislation | Mar 24, 2023
New York lawmakers set sights on unsafe lithium-ion batteries used in electric bikes and scooters
Lawmakers in New York City and statewide have moved to quell the growing number of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries used in electric bikes and scooters.
Codes and Standards | Mar 24, 2023
Changes to ICC building codes development process aimed at more in-depth vetting of proposals
The changes will take effect in 2024-2026 for the development of the 2027 International Codes (I-Codes). They will move the development process to an integrated and continuous three-year cycle.
