The 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Code) will improve upon the 2019 Energy Code for new construction of, and additions and alterations to, residential and nonresidential buildings. Workshops will be held to present revisions and obtain public comment. Proposed standards will be adopted in 2021 with an effective date of January 1, 2023. The California Energy Commission (CEC) updates the standards every three years.
The CEC uses a public process and a rulemaking to adopt changes to the Energy Code contained in the California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 24, Part 6, and associated administrative regulations in Part 1 (collectively considered the Energy Code). The updated standards will be proposed for adoption in 2021 with an effective date of January 1, 2023.
Interested parties should be aware the California investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and some publicly owned utilities (POUs) conduct the statewide Codes and Standards Enhancement programs through ratepayer funds. To support the 2022 revisions to the Energy Code, the IOUs and POUs are conducting Codes and Standards Enhancement (CASE) Initiatives. These initiatives address potential changes to the Energy Code that show promise, based on the results of utility research, and the success of incentive programs and document the potential energy savings, cost implications, and specific approaches.
Although outside the scope of the CEC's rulemaking proceeding for the 2022 Energy Code, these initiatives are important. The CEC expects the IOUs and POUs to engage building industry stakeholders in developing those initiatives so they will be vetted with affected stakeholders before the utilities propose potential revisions to the Energy Code. Visit Title24Stakeholders.com or email info@Title24Stakeholders.com to participate in the development.
See public participation section below for more information.
The CEC encourages public participation in its proceedings.
To participate in the rulemaking, you can attend the workshops and provide verbal comments to the record. Written comments can be submitted to the rulemaking docket. Instructions for submitting comments can be found on workshop notices.
The public can propose an energy efficiency measure for consideration in current or future Energy Code updates. To document the proposed measure and cost-effectiveness, use the Building Energy Efficiency Measure Proposal Template. Samples of past proposals are available in the 2019 Energy Code docket or by request.
The Public Advisor's Office can help anyone with questions about the proceedings.
Sign up for the Building Standards list serve to keep up to date about ongoing activities.
The investor-owned utilities hold stakeholder meetings to discuss their sponsored measure proposals. The CEC does not run those meetings, and participation in them is not required to participate in the CEC proceeding.
The CEC has opened Docket 19-BSTD-03 for pre-rulemaking comments on proposed 2022 Energy Code measures. The CEC has also opened Docket 19-BSTD-04 for pre-rulemaking comments on changes to the 2022 Energy Code compliance metric.
