One of our Title 24 clients, Okamoto Saijo Architecture, recently completed a  $50M retrofit that included creating a 900-kW PV system that is currently one of the largest affordable-housing solar installations in the world. We interviewed one of the principal architects, Eric Saijo, about how the Crescent Park project went from his perspective. He was actually quite happy with the outcome, and after 4+ years of budgeting, negotiating with utilities, the project is completed.

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Many of our Title 24 clients have been asking us whether they can safely specify LED fixtures that would qualify as “high efficacy” lighting under Title 24. Could one conceivably create an entire lighting plan for a custom home using mainly LEDs, and if so, would it pass Title 24? Would it look any different to the untrained eye? Would it actually use less energy? Or, are LEDs better used as a supporting component in a diversified lighting plan rather than as the main workhorse? Are LEDs sustainable to manufacture? Do they use less power in a real-life installation, not just in the lab?

The answer to LEDs in California is a qualified but definite yes. There are definitely products out there that will comply with California’s energy codes, and we should see more coming to market this coming year. The issue is not the LED lamp itself, but the housing, because the fixture’s efficacy depends on the entire assembly.

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After January 1, 2010, all new homes in CA must include whole-house ventilation systems. Yes… we’ve made building envelopes so efficient, that now we have to in essence introduce highly controlled leakage. There are two mandatory ventilation features in the new Title 24: 

A good ventilation system will filter out indoor air pollutants (VOCs like formaldehyde from particleboard or acetone nail polish remover) as well as filtering outdoor air on the intake side; however, not all whole-house ventilation systems include outdoor air filtering. Here’s a summary of the ventilation course module from last week’s Title 24 update class. 

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This past Monday, I went to an all-day Title 24 class with CABEC and didn’t fall asleep once! There were a few eye-openers  worth sharing, since we’ve already been trumpeting the endless “Change is coming!” for months. 

Title 24 has grown from a minor paperwork requirement into a PROCESS, with more forms, more steps, and more people involved. Bifurcating bureaucracy… what a surprise!

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Renewable energy companies must be doing well these days. Between green stimulus dollars, soaring energy costs, recession-weary homeowners, and increasing public demand for clean energy, it seems like homeowners would be queueing up for the next Net Zero Energy conversion. And those who can afford the initial outlay probably are. But what about the rest of us who don’t have $35,000 just lying around?

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After our recent interview with a GreenPoint Rater, several people wrote to us and we realized that since our last coverage in the Chronicle, many of our site visitors aren’t architects or building officials. They’re interested homeowners, or just plain interested.

Some confusion is perhaps justified. Even a cursory web search for “green building rating systems” turned up a pile of competing standards and organizations, some of which merely promote green building without issuing standards. (Mark, Alan, and myself have all contributed to the answers below.)

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