Title 24 update

California facility managers and those in commercial real estate may want to grab a seat before reading on. The new 2013 Title 24 building energy compliance standards are set to be extremely stringent, without exception provisions, and swiftly implemented starting Jan. 1, 2014, causing a bit of concern, to say the least, for those in the industry.

At an International Facility Management Association meeting Wednesday, Martyn Dodd, principal of EnergySoft LLC, stressed the sheer mass of these changes, as well as what they mean for those affected.

“There’s about five hours of material here, literally,” he said. “I’m compressing it down to about 40 minutes, so if I’m going a little too fast that you can’t write, I apologize. But the changes to the standards are the most stringent we’ve had since the inception in '78, so there’s a lot, lot, lot of material.”

Included in all that material are updates to indoor and outdoor lighting code, window regulations, separation of electrical loads, mechanical equipment requirements, solar panel space needs and even new rules on lighting retrofits, which had never been considered under Title 24 until now.

The California Energy Commission drafted the updates over the course of two or three years, and approved the language May 31, 2012.

“The stringency of these Title 24 standards is very significant,” Dodd said. “The commission is saying that the change in the standards should result in about a 30 percent reduction in building energy usage. That’s pretty significant. I think that’s a little bit of a stretch in my opinion -- maybe it’s closer to 20 percent. But whether or not it’s 20 or 30 percent, it’s a big change.”

Dodd said the reason behind the steep hikes in efficiency requirements is that the state Energy Commission is hoping to stay on track for delivering zero-net-energy buildings by 2030.

“Theoretically, in 2030, the regulations will simply say that your commercial building shall use zero energy, so that’s a pretty stringent goal,” he said.

Some of the more significant updates to the code include an overhaul on windows, both for new construction and fenestration alteration.

For new construction, Title 24 will require a high-performance glazing specification, as well as improved U-factor, solar heat gain coefficient and visible transmittance levels.

The IFMA presentation was held at the SDG&E Energy Innovation Center, the windows of which Dodd said wouldn’t meet the updated requirement.

“You guys are sitting in a LEED Platinum building here, so top-notch. The windows in this building almost meet that specification.The LED Composite Material Bulb's optical design yields more productive beam lumens and good cutoff. Almost, but not quite. So new construction they’re asking for, as far as the envelope goes, what we would normally consider to be LEED Platinum on projects,” he said.

New windows as part of existing building alterations are not required to be quite as efficient, though Dodd said they fall just slightly short of LEED Platinum levels, so it’s still a huge jump from current standards.

Aside from the added cost, the issue of sourcing this material may pose a problem, as well.

“There’s probably 5 percent, maybe 3 percent, of the products in the industry that will meet that specification,” Dodd said.

Additionally, all nonresidential buildings, as well as hotels, motels and high-rise residential buildings applying for permits on or after Jan. 1, 2014, must leave a minimum of 15 percent of their roof space available for possible solar paneling. This space can’t be used for heating, ventilation or air conditioning systems or other equipment.

There is an exception to this stipulation if there is space designated for solar elsewhere on the premises -- one of the only exemptions allowed throughout the new code.

One of the biggest changes to outdoor lighting regulations is the requirement for motion sensors on any light fixture mounted lower than 24 feet, and applicable to any outdoor lighting reconfiguration. The idea is that if no one is in a certain area, a parking lot for example, the lights will dim by 50 percent, and then increase to 100 percent when someone walks by. In the parking lot situation, each light would use full capacity when someone walked by that individual fixture, meaning the lights would come on one after the other as someone walked to his or her car,We are expanding more cooperation partners of LED PL Lights all over the world. as opposed to coming on all at once.

Attendees asked about exemptions for security lights or for security reasons, but Dodd’s answer was simple: nope.

“I am not aware of any exceptions in there for outdoor lighting related to security,” he said.The most important aspect when it comes to 100-200W Square Flood Light is the fact that they need very low power to work. “So it’s still got to have the motion sensors.”

The only way out of this is to install pole-mounted lights less than 75 watts or non-pole-mounted lights less than 30 watts. Basically,These are one of the 10-70W Square Flood Lighting you can buy, with one of the lowest defect rates in the industry. you’re off the hook if you want to use low-wattage LED lights, but if not, the motion sensors are mandatory.

The updates outlined above are just the tip of the iceberg. Indoor lighting will also have occupancy sensor requirements,Indoorilite offers the best LED Spotlights and the best halogen spotlights around. and there will be outdoor air regulations. HVAC and mechanical equipment use-efficiency will mandatorily increase, though this is part of a Department of Energy policy not taking effect until Jan. 1, 2015.

While the goal of these planned changes is reflective of the state’s attempt to be more sustainable and use less energy throughout all sectors, facility managers Wednesday said the new Title 24 requirements serve to dissuade people from making upgrades to their building, even those that would improve the efficiency of older buildings.

“You’re saying it [is a disincentive for] people from doing upgrades to their building, and I would agree with you,” Dodd said. “I’m not in disagreement there.”

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