TITLE 24 RESOURCES
2005 Building Energy Efficiency Standards
Title 24: California’s Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings
California Building Standards Commission
LEED RESOURCES
Greenbuild 2007 — Green Building Conference and Expo takes place November 7-9 in Chicago
Green Building Guidelines and Standards
“Green” construction is driven by a number of factors, including stringent environmental guidelines and a growing eco-consciousness among many companies who believe in the immediate need to reduce environmental waste.
Title 24 and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification are becoming the standard for the building industry. In fact, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal indicated that the number of U.S. buildings certified under LEED stands at 6,000 and is forecast to top 100,000 over the next four years.
Companies find that it is good business policy and a contribution to their growth strategy to employ the energy efficiency standards promoted by Title 24 standards and LEED performance measures. Moreover, building or redesigning with green standards in mind puts companies at the forefront of the growing environmentally conscious marketplace while reducing expenses.
Title 24 Compliance
For the build team, including builders, designers and inspectors, some green building elements are automatically mandated under state regulations.
Title 24 is part of the State of California’s Code of Regulations governing Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings. Established in 1978, these standards serve to reduce energy consumption in new buildings and additions. Heating and cooling systems, insulation, roofing materials, and electrical systems, to name a few, all fall under the purview of these standards, which are updated periodically to incorporate guidelines for new energy efficiency technologies and methods.
Another key compliance requirement under Title 24 is lighting systems. The 2005 Building Energy Efficiency Standards manual shows that lighting, both indoor and outdoor, accounts for 39 percent of total electricity use. Indoor lighting is the single largest consumer at 33 percent while outdoor lighting accounts for the remaining 6 percent.
Celadon Investments’ energy-efficient line of Celadon LEDS (CLEDS)™ lighting products are designed to give off beautiful, quality lighting using light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Lighting the environments people live and work in everyday, CLEDS™ — Clean, Light, Efficiency, Design & Duration, and Systems & Service — create an optimal lighting environment, providing a flexible array of luminescence long-term, at a fraction of the cost and energy consumption of typical lighting products.
LEED Certification
Adding to the team of builders, designers and inspectors, LEED certification impacts facility managers, engineers, real estate professionals, lenders, and government officials among others.
LEED certification is third-party validation of a building’s performance. It takes into consideration environmental, economic, and human-oriented performance. LEED-certified buildings reduce operating costs, are energy- and water-efficient, conserve natural resources, and contribute to healthier and more productive occupants.
Created
by the U.S.
Green Building Council (USGBC) , the LEED
Green Building Rating System™ has been adopted by state governments
and Federal agencies as the nationally accepted benchmark for green building.
Under the LEED ratings systems, building projects meeting certain prerequisites
and performance benchmarks may earn credits toward certification. Based
on the score attained, projects may be awarded Certified, Silver, Gold,
or Platinum certification.
While the cost of LEED-certified projects may be a concern, and are dependent upon the level of certification desired, a LEED-certified project does not necessarily need to cost more than traditionally-built projects.
The USGCB’s Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, Colorado case study demonstrates how LEED certification can be achieved without added costs. With a design team consisting not only of architects and engineers, but also teaching and maintenance staff, the construction of Fossil Ridge included innovative heating and cooling systems, modern water conservation systems and efficient lighting design, resulting in 60 percent increase in energy efficiency compared to equivalent buildings.
Celadon Investments can assist building project teams with efficient lighting design needs, in order to achieve points towards LEED certification. Celadon Investments is committed to Green Solutions that Make Financial Sense and has embraced this philosophy with the CLEDS™ product line. Using these lights in a green building can result in greater energy efficiency and lower energy costs and dependency.
