Is Prescriptive Title 24 Compliance Cheaper Than Performance?
Prescriptive is cheaper to document and performance can be cheaper to build. The prescriptive route has no modelling, but every item in the climate zone package must be met with no trading. Performance lets one strong feature offset a weak one, though any credit above the minimum needs a rater test. Our report price is the same either way.
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What each route spares and demands
A new single-family building meets the mandatory measures plus either the performance approach (Sections 150.1(a) and (b)) or the prescriptive approach (Sections 150.1(a) and (c)). Prescriptive buildings must be designed, constructed and equipped to meet all of the requirements of Table 150.1-A for the climate zone. That is the whole price of simplicity: one missed item, such as glass over 20 percent of floor area or a window U-factor of 0.30 where the zone needs 0.27, fails the route. Performance compares the proposed house against a computed budget, so a design can miss one item and win it back elsewhere.
Forms are the visible saving
Additions and alterations may use either route. The prescriptive certificates (CF1R-ADD-01 and ALT-01, plus ADD-02 and ALT-05 where no field verification is needed) are separate forms that need no modeling output, unlike the performance CF1R-PRF-01. Some alterations without verification, such as water heater and window replacements, may need no certificate or a simplified one, at the building department's discretion.
Where tests appear
- Prescriptive: the package itself calls for quality insulation installation in every zone and refrigerant charge verification for heat pumps in every zone, plus the mandatory duct and ventilation checks.
- Performance: every credit that relies on equipment or installation above the minimum is field verified, for example a higher SEER2 rating, a low-leakage air handler or a tighter building enclosure than the standard design. Those are extra rater visits.
A decision list
- Package met on paper and the glass fits: stay prescriptive.
- Glass or a heat source falls outside the package: model it, then count the tests the credits create.
- Small alteration with no verification: prescriptive and the short form.
This page covers the cost question only. Prescriptive versus performance explains the mechanics, which CF1R prints shows the forms, and additions has its own rules. For testing budgets read what else you pay for. Orders start on the residential report page.
Common Title 24 Questions
- What is Title 24?
- Do I need a Title 24 report?
- How much does a Title 24 report cost?
- How long does a Title 24 report take?
- What is included in a Title 24 report?
- What plans do I need to upload?
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The compliance path does not change our price. The difference shows up in construction choices and in the number of rater tests.
Yes. When a prescriptive item cannot be met, the project can use the performance approach instead, which changes the report and the forms.
Explore Report Cost and Pricing
- How Much Does a Title 24 Report Cost?
- What Else Do You Pay For Besides the Title 24 Report?
- Which Square Footage Counts for a Title 24 Report and Its Price?
- How Title 24 Decisions Shape a Construction Budget
- How Much Does a Residential Title 24 Report Cost?
View all Report Cost and Pricing guides → · Reports and Calculations · Title 24 guide