Does Replacing Commercial Lighting Trigger Title 24?

The threshold that decides the route

Section 141.0(b)2I applies when an alteration includes 10 percent or more of the luminaires serving an enclosed space. Below that line the section does not apply. It is also set aside for an enclosed space with only one luminaire, for portable luminaires, and for an alteration limited to adding controls or replacing lamps, ballasts or drivers.

Once it applies there are three routes, and the project picks one:

• Full compliance. The altered lighting meets the indoor lighting power requirements of Section 140.6 and every control requirement in Table 141.0-F.
• The 80 percent route. The altered lighting does not exceed 80 percent of the Section 140.6 power requirement, with the lighter control set in Table 141.0-F.
• The one-for-one route. Available only for a one-for-one luminaire alteration within a building or tenant space of 5,000 square feet or less, where the total wattage of the altered luminaires is at least 40 percent lower than before. It carries the same lighter control set.

Above 5,000 square feet, or where the 40 percent saving is not reached, the one-for-one route is closed and the project falls back on one of the other two. Exception 6 also lets a one-for-one alteration of up to 50 luminaires per complete floor or complete tenant space, per year, skip Section 141.0(b)2I altogether.

What counts as one-for-one

Replacing a fitting in the same position with the same function. Moving fittings, changing the number of them, or redesigning the layout is not one-for-one even if the total count stays the same — and a lighting scheme redrawn for a new tenant almost never is.

Controls come with the work

A relight brings control requirements with it, and Table 141.0-F says which. Manual area controls and automatic shut-off controls are required on every route. Multilevel controls (Section 130.1(b)), daylight responsive controls (Section 130.1(d)) and demand responsive controls (Section 110.12) are required only on the full compliance route. The office zoning rule of Section 130.1(c)6D is dropped on the 80 percent and one-for-one routes.

Occupant sensing is part of the shut-off set. Section 130.1(c)5 requires it in offices of 250 square feet or smaller, multipurpose rooms under 1,000 square feet, classrooms, conference rooms and restrooms, and Section 130.1(c)6 requires it in warehouse areas, library stack aisles, corridors, stairwells, offices greater than 250 square feet, and parking and loading and unloading areas. An older space being relit frequently has none of that, so the controls scope can exceed the fittings scope.

And acceptance testing

Where lighting controls are installed or altered, they have to be functionally tested on site by a technician certified for lighting controls, and the result recorded on an NRCA form. Exception 4 to Section 141.0(b)2I waives the test where controls are added to 20 or fewer luminaires. That is a scheduling commitment at the end of the job rather than a document produced at a desk.

Common Title 24 Questions

1. What is a Title 24 lighting power allowance?
2. What are Title 24 lighting controls?
3. Title 24 for warehouse and high-bay lighting
4. Title 24 for outdoor and site lighting
5. When are automatic daylighting controls required?
6. Does Title 24 require skylights in large spaces?

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3. When Are Automatic Daylighting Controls Required?
4. Does Title 24 Require Skylights in Large Spaces?
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