California continues to increase efficiency standards of residential and commercial buildings through Title 24 Part 6, the Energy Code. The changes implemented through the Energy Code primarily impact New Construction projects. The reality of our building stock, however, is that more than 75% of California’s existing homes and commercial buildings were built before the Building Energy Efficiency Standards were developed in 1978.
For years, professionals in the construction industry have pointed out that efficiency improvements in the existing building stock is low hanging fruit that often goes unaddressed. The Energy Code does address alterations and additions, but some communities throughout California are accelerating higher efficiency standards by adopting local “Reach Codes”, or a code that goes beyond the Title 24 baseline.
Here on the Central Coast, the City of San Luis Obispo is one of the communities that has adopted local Reach Codes, establishing the Energy Efficient Renovation Requirements for Major Residential Additions and Alterations Program, which will take effect January 1, 2025.
The code only applies to Residential projects that are considered a:
- Major Addition: any change that increases conditioned floor area by 500 SF or more.
- Major Alteration: any construction changes to an existing structure with a work area of 500 SF or more.
- Combination: any project whose combined addition and alteration work area is equal to or greater than 500 SF.
This includes cumulative work completed within a one-year period. There are several exemptions:
- Repairs: repairs are expressly exempt from the Policy.
- Hardship: projects with compliance costs that are more than 10% of total project cost, or that have building-specific conditions that make compliance technically infeasible, may request a hardship exemption.
- Pre-Compliance: projects that can demonstrate that they have previously installed compliance measures will be given credit for those measures.
- Historic Buildings: historic buildings that could not comply without affecting their listing or registry status would be exempt.
- Hazard Mitigation: alterations completed solely for seismic safety upgrades would be exempt.
- Roof and Windows: alterations that consist solely of roof and/or window projects would be exempt.
- New Units: when an addition or alteration results in the creation of a new residential unit, the square footage of that unit shall not be counted towards the 500 SF threshold.
Compliance
To comply with the Reach Code, the project must meet the following three requirements.
- Upgrade all internal and external lighting to LED lighting and upgrade external fixtures to include photocells or timers so that they are not operated during the daytime.
- Select an efficiency upgrade, or upgrades, from the approved measures list located on the intake form. Choose at least one of the following options:
- Install a heat pump water heater (HPWH)
- Install a heat pump HVAC system
- Install solar panels and running wiring for ‘electric ready’
- Insulate the floor to a R-19 minimum
- Install a mix of smaller efficiency strategies by selecting a combination totaling 8 points from the list below
- Hot Water pipe and tank Insulation (1 point)
- Air Sealing (1 point)
- R-49 Attic Insulation (2 points)
- Duct Sealing (2 points)
- New Ducts and Duct Sealing (4 points)
- Window replacement (3 points)
- If the project is upgrading to a 200A or more panel, the project must meet the Electric Readiness code (150.0(n)1(A)-(B) and 150.0(t)), for future installation of HPWH and HP space heating. If the project is not upgrading to a 200A panel, this requirement is not applicable.
How to Comply?
Effective January 1, 2025, when a project triggers this Reach Code, the owner, designer or builder should visit the City of San Luis Obispo’s website to review the following documents:
- Energy Efficient Renovation Requirements for Major Residential Additions and Alterations Guide
- Energy Efficient Renovation Requirements for Major Residential Additions and Alterations Form, which is the form to be completed and included within your submission drawing set.
As the 3C-REN Energy Code Coach, we support the City of San Luis Obispo in developing materials for intake and providing training for staff. We will also provide ongoing customer support for questions from the community once the program is in effect. 3C-REN supports jurisdictions throughout the Tri-County region in developing and implementing effective Reach Codes.
As always, reach out to 3C-REN Code Coach with any questions!
For more information and in-person trainings, please check out our events calendar at 3c-ren.org/calendar-of-events-and-trainings
The on-demand webinar page is at 3c-ren.org/on-demand-trainings
And feel free to reach out to the Code Coach Hotline for more information or to have your Energy Code or CALGreen questions answered! 3c-ren.org/energy-code-coach
