California’s Pioneering Policies for New Homes: Greater Efficiency with Required Solar Energy

In May, California became the first state to require new homes to include solar power. Unsurprisingly, the announcement of this path-breaking decision has been met with considerable interest and curiosity. This webinar put the requirement into context by describing the California Energy Commission’s efforts over time to improve the energy efficiency of new homes by strengthening building codes and encouraging the installation of solar energy systems, which laid the groundwork for the recent solar requirement. The webinar explain the requirement, how it will be implemented, and how other states might adopt similar policies. The webinar also discussed California’s attempt to adopt a carbon metric in future cycles of the state’s building energy efficiency standards and the implications for buildings in the state.

For a brief infographic describing California’s new residential building energy efficiency standards, see http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2019standards/documents/2018_Title_24_2019_Residential_Standards.pdf

Presenter:

• Maziar Shirakh, Technical Lead for Zero Net Energy (ZNE) Building Energy Efficiency Standards, California Energy Commission