Summer 2009

2008 Update to Title 24 to Take Effect January 1, 2010

The California Energy Commission updates the State Building Energy Standards every three or four years, since their initial adoption in 1978. The 2008 changes aim to:

• provide California with an adequate, reasonably-priced, and environmentally-sound supply of energy;
• respond to Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which mandates that California must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020;
• pursue California energy policy that energy efficiency is the resource of first choice for meeting California's energy needs;
• act on the findings of California's Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) that Standards are the most cost effective means to achieve energy efficiency, expects the Building Energy Efficiency Standards to continue to be upgraded over time to reduce electricity and peak demand, and recognizes the role of the Standards in reducing energy related to meeting California's water needs and in reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
• meet the West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative commitment to include aggressive energy efficiency measures into updates of state building codes; and
• meet the Executive Order in the Green Building Initiative to improve the energy efficiency of nonresidential buildings through aggressive standards.

California's building efficiency standards (along with those for energy efficient appliances) have saved more than $56 billion in electricity and natural gas costs since 1978. It is estimated the standards will save an additional $23 billion by 2013.