California's Title 24

As of July 1st 2014, there have been significant changes to California's Building Standards Code, or Title 24. Updates to Title 24 have resulted in a more stringent process to obtain incentives through local utilities.

Modifications were made to the incentives through three of California's Investor Owned Utilities: Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). While the incentive values remain relatively high in comparison to utilities across the country, the requirements to apply for these incentives have increased significantly. For example, SCE requires a Light Power Density (LPD) spreadsheet to be submitted with all custom applications. Detailed square footage for each room is required in order to accurately fill this out. This increases audit requirements or the need for accurate as-built drawings to be on file.

Additionally, SCE has tightened its requirements related to supporting documentation for the classification of "early retirement" or "replace on burnout." The early retirement option will give you a higher incentive, but also requires maintenance schedules AND invoices showing when the existing equipment was purchased.

These are just a few examples of the increased requirements in California. EMC is dedicated to making sure we stay on top of these requirements so we can modify our process to capture all required information. We will continue to make the process as seamless as possible for all of our customers.

If you have questions or concerns about your incentive processing in California, give us a call.

Katie Quam is Energy Management Collaborative's Manager of Customer Incentives. In this role she utilizes her knowledge of incentive programs nationwide to expedite the application process and secure maximum incentive dollars for EMC customers.