Demand Responsive Controls Under Title 24
Demand responsive controls let a building reduce load on signal from the grid. Table D-1 in Appendix D of the standards sets out when they are required in nonresidential buildings.
Where the requirement is written down
Not in the main body of the mechanical sections but in Appendix D, where Table D-1 summarises when demand responsive controls are required in nonresidential buildings. That location is worth knowing, because a designer looking only at the mechanical chapter can miss it.
What it means on a zoned system
More hardware than people expect. Enabling demand response across a zoned system means a network adapter for each room to be controlled, so that each room can be monitored and controlled by an energy management control system. It is an infrastructure decision, not a setting.
That is why demand response is far cheaper to design in than to retrofit: the adapters and the network they sit on are building infrastructure.
It appears on both sides of the building
Automatic demand shed control is one of the mandatory items in Section 120.2 for space conditioning, and demand response is separately one of the lighting measures eligible for a power adjustment factor. So a building can carry demand response obligations on the mechanical side and demand response credit on the lighting side, documented separately.
The lighting side is acceptance tested
Demand response lighting controls have their own acceptance test on NRCA-LTI-04-A, performed by a technician certified for lighting controls. A credit claimed for demand response in the lighting calculation has to survive that test to count.
Why the grid context matters commercially
Demand response exists because reducing load at peak is worth more than reducing it on average. For an owner, that is the argument for treating these controls as an operating asset rather than a compliance cost — but the compliance obligation stands either way, and it is established from Table D-1 rather than from an energy strategy.