- Services
- Title 24
Title 24 lighting compliance, handled in-house.
California's Energy Code limits how much lighting power a space can use and sets the controls it needs. JRW prepares the lighting compliance paperwork and supports acceptance testing, so your inspection doesn't hang on an outside consultant.
What Title 24 asks of a lighting package
Title 24, Part 6 is California's Building Energy Efficiency Standards. For nonresidential lighting, it comes down to two things: staying under the allowed lighting power, and installing the controls the code requires.
Lighting power limits
Each space type has a maximum lighting power density, in watts per square foot. The fixture schedule has to add up under that allowance, which is where fixture selection and value engineering meet compliance.
Mandatory controls
- Manual area controls, so each space can be switched on its own
- Multi-level lighting or dimming
- Automatic shut-off, through occupancy sensors or time switches
- Daylight-responsive controls in daylit zones near windows and skylights
- Demand-responsive controls on larger projects
- Outdoor lighting controls, including dusk-to-dawn and motion-based dimming
The three sets of forms
Title 24 paperwork follows the project. The NRCC (Certificate of Compliance) goes in with the permit and shows the design meets code. The NRCI (Certificate of Installation) confirms what was installed. The NRCA (Certificate of Acceptance) records the functional tests on the lighting controls before final inspection.
When it applies
New construction, additions and tenant improvements all need lighting compliance. Many retrofits do too: the alteration rules depend on how much of the lighting in a space is being replaced or modified. If you're not sure whether your scope triggers it, send us the plans and we'll tell you.
Title 24 questions we hear a lot
Does a lighting retrofit need Title 24 compliance?
Often, yes. Replacing or modifying luminaires in an existing space is an alteration, and above certain thresholds the new lighting has to meet current power limits and control requirements. The details depend on the space and how much is changing.
Why bundle Title 24 with fixture supply?
Because the compliance work and the fixture schedule are the same problem. When the people selecting fixtures also run the calculations, a substitution doesn't send the paperwork back to square one.
What does acceptance testing involve?
Functional tests on the installed controls: sensors turning lights off, daylight controls dimming, time switches and demand-response signals doing what the design says. The results go on the NRCA forms before final inspection.
Which version of the code applies?
The code in effect when you apply for the permit. The Energy Commission updates Title 24 on a three-year cycle, and we design to the current edition.
Send the plans. We'll run the numbers.
We'll tell you what the code requires for your scope and quote the fixtures, controls and paperwork together.