The Road to Code 2022 Changes: Non-Residential Essentials

The California Building Energy Code goes through a triennial cycle and the newest code update is fast upon us –the new 2022 Energy Code (Title 24 Part 6) takes effect Jan 1, 2023.

One of the most significant changes is that non-residential projects will now require photovoltaic (PV) solar electric systems with battery storage to be permitted and installed as part of the project scope.

A high efficiency heat pump water heater will produce fewer emissions than traditional water heater.

Generally speaking, the new energy code includes a number of important new measures:

·       Energy efficiency updates that will impact some of the building envelope measures

·       Lower indoor and outdoor lighting energy use

·       Improved mechanical space heating/cooling efficiencies

·       Strengthened water heating efficiencies

These changes taken as a whole will help California buildings reduce carbon emissions through the use of higher efficiency gas appliances and by encouraging the shift towards mechanical and hot water systems that use energy efficient electric heat pump technology, while concurrently requiring on-site solar electricity generation and battery storage.

PV system size and Batteries

A roof-mounted PV solar system will help to offset the electrical energy needed for heat pumps, lighting and plug loads, further reducing carbon emissions. Battery storage will help alleviate the electrical need when the sun is not shining.

The PV system size will be determined by a prescriptive calculation based on either 1) the total conditioned floor area (CFA) of a building or 2) the available solar access roof area (SARA) of the building. The required PV system size will be the smaller value of the two calculation methods.

There are exceptions to the PV requirement, such as having limited solar access or system sizes calculated to be less than 4 kW dc.

Battery storage, for the first time in the Energy Code, is also becoming a non-residential building requirement –simply put, all buildings required to have a PV system shall also have a battery storage system. The battery system size will be based on building size and occupancy type, with school occupancies needing the highest capacity of storage.

Like the PV systems, there are some exceptions to the battery storage requirement. For example, there is no battery requirement for systems calculated to be less than 10 kWh of rated capacity.

A project can utilize a community shared solar or battery system to offset the PV solar and/or battery requirement(s) as long as the community system meets several parameters.

For more information see https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/building-energy-efficiency-standards/2022-building-energy-efficiency

Or  visit 3C-REN https://www.3c-ren.org/energy-code-connect Resource Library

Saving Drops of Water, or Gallons: How to Evaluate Water Conservation Strategies

From public service announcements on the radio to flashy ads in your inbox, we are inundated with ways to conserve water. We are encouraged to use faucet flow-restrictors, energy star appliances, rain barrels, irrigation controls, laundry-to-landscape and much more – but how do you know which will give you the best bang for your water-buck? Messaging often presses for ‘low-hanging fruit’, which is great but might miss the mark when thinking about scale of impacts. Here are a few tools to help you evaluate what’s best for your project.

Your approach will vary whether your project is residential, commercial, or hospitality. One of our first LEED certified buildings, back in 2009, was Niner Wine Estates. I remember calculating that low-flow plumbing fixtures would provide 30% savings, or 50,000 gallons per year. That seemed impressive until we looked at options for outdoor savings through irrigation efficiency and recycled water, and saved over 3 million gallons per year!

Project Types will vary!

So, the lesson was to focus on water savings for the highest water uses, rather than what seems easiest. Here are three sample project types to illustrate indoor vs. outdoor water use:

A multi-family project on a tight site should focus almost entirely on indoor plumbing fixtures, where going from a 2.0 gpm shower to a 1.8 gpm could make a huge impact. Conversely, offices use very little indoor water but can be big water consumers for ornamental landscaping, so native landscape and drip irrigation would be a smart investment.  A boutique hotel might be a balance of both, with the added consideration for lots of laundry, triggering selection of high-efficiency equipment and maybe a laundry-to-landscape system.

Calculating water use – rough numbers

To dig into the numbers, first create a sort of balance sheet, knowing what your demands are and what your opportunities are. For indoor water, there is a standard table of uses available through Cal Green – how often a person, on average, uses a sink, toilet or shower. You can add for laundry, dishwashing etc. Usually, we plug in the California maximum then see if we can specify low-flow, but for a renovation you can start with your existing fixtures and see what you can save with replacement.

Here’s an example:

Once you know your indoor use, you want to figure out your outdoor use. Your landscape architect or designer will provide that, but to get a working number, it helps to use the EPA WaterSense Water Budget Tool.

Understanding your intial water demands, you can evaluate potential savings. Finally, you can then consider water sources, other than the potable water. Laundry and showers generate ‘graywater’ which can be used for irrigation, if applied without storage and under a layer of mulch. Rainwater can be collected and stored for irrigation. Depending on water volumes, systems can be engineered for filtration and storage, flushing toilets, etc.

In the table to the right, showers and laundry would cover all of the irrigation demand. Installing a rain barrel would be another option to supplement irrigation.

Don’t waste water, or your money

In summary, sure, every drop counts and why not add that aerator on your sink. On the other hand, once you understand the opportunities to save water for your entire project, you may find better strategies that make a significant impact – good for business, and the planet.

Drought-tolerant plantings can save thousands, even millions of gallons of water Credit: Niner Wine Estates

New 2022 "Electric-ready" Requirements for Multifamily Buildings

You may have heard that newly constructed single-family homes in California have to be “electric ready,” but did you know that under the new 2022 Energy Code, that requirement has been extended for new multifamily buildings of all sizes? 

Under the 2022 Energy Code to take effect January 1, 2023, gas appliances installed for individual dwelling units must also include the electrical infrastructure to allow for the easy transition to electric heat pump technology for space conditioning and hot water generation, and energy-efficient electric options for cooking and cloths drying. 

For multifamily project this could be a significant cost consideration. The Energy Code does not dictate whether a project uses natural gas, but it does prevent a new project from precluding the current owner or future ownership from easily and cost effectively making the necessary switch to electric and presumably cleaner energy.

The Energy Code includes language for accommodating minimum physical space for future heat pump water heaters, adjacency requirements for the location of dedicated circuitry, and panel/subpanel wiring and labeling.

Additional Resources

• For more information and to preview the approved code language see the CEC’s webpage on 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards.

• Or visit the 3C-REN Resource Library for code information and case studies.

• See also the new Multifamily Energy Code Sections 160.4 and 160.9 for the complete code language.