California Title 24 Energy Compliance Consulting
Navigating California’s Building Efficiency Standards with Strategy, Precision, and Design Insight
California’s Title 24, Part 6 Energy Efficiency Standards are among the most rigorous in the nation, and with the 2025 code cycle now in effect, the stakes are higher than ever. New compliance metrics, expanded heat pump requirements, tighter envelope standards, and California’s first embodied carbon provisions mean that energy decisions can no longer wait until permit. They need to happen at schematic design.
At A2 Efficiency, we provide technical, strategic, and hands-on California Title 24 compliance support, helping architects, engineers, and developers navigate the code from early design through permit submission. Whether you need a code strategy before systems are locked in or a full CBECC model and signed NRCC documentation at the end of design, our services are structured to meet your team where you are.
2025 code update: California's new energy code replaces TDV with Long-Term System Cost (LSC) as the compliance metric, and expands all-electric and heat pump requirements across occupancy types. See what changed
Our Approach
We don’t just deliver documentation; we guide better decisions. Our team brings together building systems expertise, code fluency, and energy modeling depth to help clients:
Identify the most effective path to compliance
Evaluate energy performance and design tradeoffs
Streamline permitting and minimize redesign risk
Engage authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) with clarity and confidence
We’ve worked on all-electric campuses, lab-classroom hybrids, high-glass commercial envelopes, nonresidential new construction, multifamily high-rise, core and shell developments, and tenant improvements.
Modular Service Options
Each service can be scoped independently or combined for full-project support across any nonresidential, multi-family, or mixed-use building type.
Code Strategy Review
Best for: Concept or schematic design
The most cost-effective time to engage is before systems are selected. We help your team understand what the code will require and where the risks are, before decisions are locked in.
Determine best-fit compliance pathway (prescriptive, performance, hybrid)
Identify risks and design elements that impact compliance
Clarify system assumptions and required design input
Deliverable: Code strategy memo with recommendations and modeling approach
Preliminary Code Evaluation
Best for: Design development or value engineering
When systems are taking shape, we model preliminary performance to give your team a clear picture of compliance margin and where to focus VE efforts.
Estimate energy performance and compliance margin
Evaluate preliminary HVAC, envelope, lighting, and DHW selections
Support VE studies and electrification tradeoffs
Deliverable: Summary memo with results, risk areas, and code feedback
Permit Compliance Package
Best for: Final design and documentation
Full Title 24 Part 6 documentation, prepared and signed by our team, ready for building department submittal.
Create full CBECC model for code submission
Generate and sign NRCC compliance forms
Provide responses to AHJ questions
Deliverables: Signed documentation, model files, AHJ support memos
Scoping the Service to Match the Need
We support a wide range of project types and scopes. Common engagement tiers include:
Service Tier
Envelope-Only Compliance - NRCC-ENV forms for core/shell, additions, and façade changes
Envelope + Lighting - Add NRCC-LTI/LTO for interior and exterior lighting
Whole-Building Compliance - Full scope: envelope, lighting, HVAC, DHW, controls
Compliance + Design Evaluation - Compliance modeling plus early-phase feedback and energy strategy
Mechanical Plan Add-On - Review of MEP drawings, control logic, and custom inputs (optional)
Project types we support
Core & shell office | Multifamily/high-rise | Higher education | K-12 schools | Retail & mixed-use | Civic & municipal | Tenant improvements | Industrial & special occupancy
From our projects
Why A2 Efficiency?
We understand both the code and the complexity of design.
Code and design fluency: We work with top-tier architects, engineers, and developers across California, and know how to protect design intent while meeting compliance.
Complex projects welcome: We’ve worked on all-electric campuses, lab-classroom hybrids, high-glass envelopes, and non-standard systems.
Strategic, not just transactional: We bring a proactive lens, helping teams make better decisions earlier, not just filing paperwork at the end.
Go Deeper
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a project require Title 24 Part 6 compliance documentation?
Any new conditioned space, addition, alteration to the building envelope or mechanical systems, or change in occupancy that affects energy use will trigger Title 24 requirements. When in doubt, engage early. A code strategy review is faster and less expensive than a late-stage redesign.
What is CBECC and how does it relate to Title 24?
CBECC-Com (nonresidential and high-rise multifamily) and CBECC-Res (low-rise residential) are the California Energy Commission-approved software tools used to model and demonstrate performance-path compliance with Title 24 Part 6. We build and run these models as part of our permit compliance packages.
What changed in the 2025 Title 24 code cycle?
The 2025 code introduced Long-Term System Cost (LSC) as the compliance metric, replacing TDV. It also expanded heat pump and all-electric requirements, tightened envelope standards, added mandatory vestibule requirements, and introduced California's first embodied carbon provisions. Read our full breakdown
What's the difference between prescriptive and performance compliance?
Prescriptive compliance requires meeting specific code values for each system without modeling. Performance compliance uses energy modeling to demonstrate the proposed design meets or beats a code-defined energy budget; it offers more flexibility and is the standard approach for most nonresidential new construction.
Can you support projects outside of California?
Our core Title 24 compliance work is California-specific, but our broader energy modeling and high-performance building design services extend to other states. See all services