California’s recent revisions to Title 24 put in place ambitious performance goals: all residential buildings must be Zero Net Energy (ZNE) by 2020, and all commercial buildings must follow suit by 2030. The code also applies to retrofit projects that pass certain thresholds. (A ZNE building produces as much energy on-site as it consumes on an annual basis.) These changes promise to reshape the construction industry in significant ways – and not just in California. Here’s how.

Drive adoption of building energy codes. Already all but seven US states have commercial building energy codes in place, and many are continually updating to the most recent (and increasingly stringent) standards. The codes are also becoming increasingly performance-based – for instance, the latest version of the IECC includes an additional performance-based pathway that’s already popular in many states. California’s Title 24 raises the bar – and simultaneously raises awareness of what’s possible. As the construction industry rises to California’s challenge, it will also be building the capacity to achieve similar results elsewhere. Expect the adoption of performance-based energy codes to accelerate throughout the US.

Speed the development of building monitoring and management technologies. Rather than incentivizing […]