Practical advice on commercial lighting from LED retrofits to lighting design.

California's Energy Code, commonly known as Title 24, has been in place for decades, but we still answer questions on the topic almost every single day. Just what is it and what kind of effect does it have on your lighting?

As it's published in Section 6 of the California Code of Regulations, Title 24 is a broad set of requirements for “energy conservation, green design, construction and maintenance, fire and life safety, and accessibility” that apply to the “structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems” in a building. The code applies to all buildings in California, not just state-owned buildings.

California updates its energy code every three years. Construction projects with permit applications applied for on or after January 1, 2023 must follow the 2022 Energy Code. If a permit is applied for before then, buildings follow the 2019 Building Efficiency Standards.

If you live in California, you can say goodbye to some incandescent and halogen light bulbs.

The California Energy Commission banned the sale of inefficient light bulbs starting January 1, 2020.

Ready, set, here we go again. A new set of Title 24 restrictions go into effect January 1, 2020. This time, there are some big changes.

We've been diving head-first into Title 24 for years now, and one of the updates caught our eye. For the first time, healthcare facilities have to comply with California building code.

Keeping up with lighting standards and building codes can be exhausting. If you’re in California, you already have to worry about Title 24. Now, new appliance efficiency standards (also called Title 20) are in effect.

California’s Energy Code is nothing new. More commonly called Title 24 – the set of energy standards for new and upgraded buildings has been around since 1978. But even though it’s decades old, the strict regulations continue to be a difficult road for businesses to navigate, particularly when it comes to commissioning.

In January 2017, the most recent update of Title 24 went into effect. Since these standards were drafted in 2016, they are referred to as the 2016 standards, which can be confusing, since they actually go into effect in 2017. 

The changes may end up being pretty important to a lot of our California customers, especially those eyeing retrofit projects on the horizon.