Building codes & construction
Energy Code (Part 6)
Title 24, Part 6 — the Building Energy Efficiency Standards. The 2025 edition extends heat-pump baselines, with prescriptive and performance compliance paths.
Definition
The California Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6) — the Building Energy Efficiency Standards — is adopted by the California Energy Commission on the same three-year cycle as the rest of Title 24; the 2025 standards took effect January 1, 2026. Compliance runs through one of two paths: prescriptive (meet each envelope, HVAC, water-heating and lighting measure directly) or performance (model the design against a standard-design energy budget in the CEC's compliance software). The 2025 edition's headline change is a broader heat-pump baseline, extending the electrification push from single-family into multifamily and most new buildings.
Why it matters in an underwrite
Part 6 decides real capex: heat-pump versus gas mechanical and water-heating plants, envelope and window specifications, and solar and battery provisions all flow from the compliance path chosen at schematic design. All-electric designs increasingly comply most cheaply — and skipping gas infrastructure (trenching, meters, venting) is its own savings — but they shift load onto the electric service, which needs early utility coordination. Choose the path before pricing mechanical trades.
Sources & related guides
See also
See the term in the law itself
Read the controlling text in the Code Library, or ask the AI how it applies to your project.
Last reviewed 2026-07-29. General information, not legal advice.