California Title 24:
What to Know and Do to Ensure Compliance with 2013 New
Building Energy Efficiency Standards, Effective July 1, 2014
New construction or renovations to existing buildings in the Golden State must adhere to more
stringent energy standards, according to recent revisions to the California Building Standards Code,
Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, also referred to as The Energy Efficiency Standards
for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings.
Established in the 1970s, Title 24 was implemented to reduce California’s energy
consumption, particularly as the state’s growing population increased the demand
for electricity. The California Energy Commission’s goal is to ensure that building
construction, system design and installation achieve energy efficiency and preserve
outdoor and indoor environmental quality. Nearly four decades later, efforts continue
to enhance this mission through periodic updates of requirements related to a
multitude of structural components ranging from lighting to heating and cooling.
What’s New: 2013 Efficiency Standards
The 2013 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards, effective July 1, 2014, aim to
enable demand reductions during critical peak periods of energy use and improve efficiency
by 25–30 percent upon 2008 Standards for new construction of and alterations to residential
and nonresidential buildings. The Energy Commission estimates that implementation of the
2013 standards may reduce statewide annual electricity consumption by approximately
613 gigawatt hours per year, electrical peak demand by 195 megawatts and natural gas
consumption by 10 million therms per year.
“The changes lower building energy use by taking into account recent technology improvements,
requiring extensive use of energy-saving sensors and controls, and increasing the ability
to implement a demand-response system,” said Joseph Howley, manager of industry
relations, GE Lighting.
“Due to constant reductions over the years, we are reaching the limit to how far we can lower
the watts per square foot allowed in new building lighting designs. The next substantial jump
in energy savings is expected to come through controlling the lights more intelligently.”
new for Title 24 is that lighting controls are being used in
“What’s
more nonresidential spaces. Essentially, we’re trying to provide
comfortable lighting for people while they’re in a space. But
when they’re not in the space, efficiency takes over and the
building makes decisions based on energy needs.
”
–Kelly Cunningham, California Lighting Technology Center
As one of the largest consumers of energy in a commercial building, indoor lighting uses
nearly a third of the electricity according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The new
standards require all indoor lighting fixtures in nonresidential buildings to have manual
on/off controls, and each area of a facility must be independently controlled. With some
exceptions, dimmer switches must include manual on/off functionality.
“This code is evolving from what has traditionally been received as a new-construction code to
become a retrofit and new-construction code. More projects will need to follow the mandatory
requirements because the reach is broadening,” said Kelly Cunningham, outreach director,
California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at the University of California, Davis.
“The changes in California are consistent with areas of the country that currently follow
ASHRAE standards, which establish energy efficiency requirements for buildings. Also, what’s
new for Title 24 is that lighting controls are being used in more nonresidential spaces.
Essentially, we’re trying to provide comfortable lighting for people while they’re in a space.
But when they’re not in the space, efficiency takes over and the building makes decisions
based on energy needs.”
To help achieve the 2013 standards for nonresidential buildings, owners and operators,
designers and engineers, contractors—as well as agents and distributors—should note
these major updates regarding lighting:
Alterations in facilities where 10 percent or more of lighting fixtures in an area are being
replaced must comply with applicable sections of the 2013 standards. This threshold is a
significant change compared to previous standards that required compliance when 50
percent of luminaires in a room were altered. This includes any mandatory lighting controls
measures associated with the project.
Lighting power density reductions, or watts used per square foot (W/sq. ft.) of space, were
also adopted. Updates to allowed lighting power include:
• Retail showrooms will now be designed to 1.2 W/sq. ft., a notable decrease from 1.6
• Office areas less than 250 square feet in size are allowed 0.75 W/sq. ft.,
a reduction of 0.15
• Office areas that are 250 square feet or larger are allowed 1 W/sq. ft.,
a reduction of 0.1
• Parking garage areas must adhere to 0.14 W/sq. ft., a reduction of 0.06
For additional lighting power density values, refer to Table 140.6-C in the 2013 standards.
L ighting controls are required to automatically synchronize light levels with daylight and
building occupancy and provide increased demand-response capability. This includes:
• An increased number of steps for mandatory multilevel lighting, which will lead to
more dimmable light sources being installed to accommodate the requirement
• N
ew requirements for bi-level occupancy controls in some spaces such as
stairwells and corridors
• More lighting must be completely shut off during unoccupied times
Controls for Spaces of 100 Square Feet or Larger
In areas of a facility of at least 100 square feet or more that have a lighting power density
of greater than 0.5 W/sq. ft., lighting fixtures must:
Incorporate multilevel capability or continuous dimming, depending on the type of lamp
Include at least one type of the following lighting controls strategies for each fixture affected:
• Manual continuous dimming and on/off
• Tuning
• Lumen maintenance
• Daylighting
• Demand response
• Meet the uniformity requirements
(noted in the table on the next page)
MULTILEVEL LIGHTING CONTROLS AND UNIFORMITY REQUIREMENTS
Luminaire Type
Minimum Required Control Steps
(Percent of Full Rated Power)
Uniform Level of Illuminance
Shall Be Achieved by:
Line-voltage sockets except GU-24
Low-voltage incandescent systems
LED luminaires and LED source systems
Continuous dimming 10–100%
GU-24 rated for LED
GU-24 sockets rated for
fluorescent > 20 W
Pin-based compact
fluorescent > 20 W
Continuous dimming 20–100%
GU-24 sockets rated for
fluorescent ≤ 20 W
Pin-based compact
fluorescent ≤ 20 W
Minimum one step between
30–70%
Linear fluorescent and U-bent
fluorescent ≤ 13 W
Linear fluorescent and U-bent
fluorescent > 13 W
Track lighting
Minimum one step in each range:
20–40%
50–70%
80–85%
100%
Other light sources
• Stepped dimming or
• Continuous dimming or
• Switching alternate lamps in each
luminaire, having a minimum of four
lamps per luminaire, illuminating the
same area and in the same manner
Minimum one step between
30–70%
• Stepped dimming or
• Continuous dimming or
• Separately switching circuits in
multicircuit track with a minimum
of two circuits
Minimum one step between
50–70%
• Stepped dimming or
• Continuous dimming or
• Switching alternate lamps
in each luminaire, having a minimum of
two lamps per luminaire, illuminating
the same area and in the same manner
HID > 20 W
Induction > 25 W
• Stepped dimming or
• Continuous dimming or
• Switching alternate lamps in a
luminaire
Occupant-sensing controls are required to automatically turn off lighting in designated
spaces such as conference rooms, classrooms and indoor parking areas when vacant.
Bi-level occupancy controls are required in warehouses, corridors, stairwells, parking
garages and loading areas. Automatic daylighting controls are required in all sky-lit or
side-lit zones where the installed general lighting power is at least 120 watts.
Automatic demand-responsive controls are now required in all nonresidential buildings
10,000 square feet or larger. When demand-response signals are received, such a system
would reduce energy use for lighting by at least 15 percent in a manner that maintains
consistent lighting, likely through continuous or step dimming.
“If new buildings incorporate demand response, a utility can send out a signal, telling
these buildings to drop their light levels by 5–15 percent or more to help reduce the power
load,” Howley said. “In the past, utilities had limited ability to do this because the fixtures
were either simply on or off, greatly restricting how lighting loads could be shed. Now, by
incorporating these dimming or step-dimming ballasts, it’s much easier to enact demand
response. Simply stated, rather than building a high-peak, demand-capable plant to handle
an increased load to the system when it experiences high demand several days a year, a
utility can just reduce the load for a short period of time—and lighting offers a great way to
do that. With dimming and step-dimming ballasts now more reasonably priced, it makes
this more possible.
“Overall, with improved and more affordable technology, controls and demand-response
capabilities, the Energy Commission really seeks to have more intelligent lighting systems
incorporated into buildings throughout California.”
With integrated controls, the focus will be on visual comfort
for occupants of a space when they are there and need
the light—and energy efficiency when a space is vacant.
In summary, according to the CLTC, the new requirements in this iteration of the standards
are leading toward the incorporation of advanced adaptive lighting systems in more
California buildings that will automatically adjust their light output based on sensor input
from the space they serve to optimize space and building performance. With integrated
controls, the focus will be on visual comfort for occupants of a space when they are there
and need the light—and energy efficiency when a space is vacant.
And as the state of California continues to implement components of intelligent lighting in its
structures, other states are sure to take note and adopt similar energy efficiency standards.
For more information about these new Title 24 requirements, including
GE’s lighting, controls and ballast solutions to ensure compliance, please
contact a GE Lighting expert or visit www.gelighting.com.
To download CLTC’s summary of the lighting and lighting controls changes
for nonresidential and residential applications, visit cltc.ucdavis.edu/title24.