My Design Does Not Comply: Which Changes Bring It Back?
Find which budget is short first, then choose the lever that adds the least to the job. Change the feature that is spending margin, add a credit that comes with a field test, or in a new home pair solar with a battery. Whatever you change goes back to the department as amended plans and a re-signed CF1R.
- Choose your report
- Upload your plans
- Pay securely
- Permit-ready report by email
Step one: which budget is failing
A new home is checked on source energy, Efficiency LSC and Total LSC, while a remodel is checked on LSC alone. A solar fix helps only the Total LSC check, so learn which one is flagged first.
Lever 1: change the thing that spends margin
Compare the model with the prescriptive package. Common culprits are a central gas furnace where the package uses a heat pump, and glass area over 20 percent of the floor. Returning a feature to the package level also avoids the field test that a credit above the package brings (Section 150.1(b)2B). For a remodel, an upgraded part earns credit only if it beats the manual's standard-design assumption for that component. In its climate zone 12 example the replacement-window assumption is U 0.40 and SHGC 0.35, so a U 0.35 window earns credit while a U 0.55 window does not. Verifying the old windows before work starts raises the credit: either window then earns it against a verified 1.28 single-pane metal window.
Lever 2: earn a credit and plan the test
Each verified measure improves the score and brings an ECC-Rater visit:
- duct sealing, or low-leakage ducts in conditioned space
- refrigerant charge, system airflow and fan efficacy
- verified SEER2, EER2 or HSPF2 ratings
- quality insulation installation or envelope air leakage
- HRV or ERV efficiency, pipe insulation, demand recirculation, drain water heat recovery
Lever 3: solar with a battery
Solar alone cannot stand in for efficiency. With a battery of 5 kWh or more, part of the credit may apply to a marginal efficiency gap.
Resubmit the change
A feature changed after approval needs amended plans, specifications and certificates (Section 10-103(a)2B), and a registered CF1R is revised, re-signed and re-registered, which also sends dependent CF2R and CF3R records back to incomplete. Mandatory measures stay in force on every route. The page on the margin shortfall explains the number, prescriptive versus performance compares the routes and permit revisions covers the resubmittal. Our residential reports include rerunning the model.
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
Changing a feature the standard design already assumes, such as equipment type or glass area. Credits above the package are the ones that bring ECC field verification.
No. A changed feature means a revised CF1R, re-signed and re-registered where registration applies, with plans that match.
Explore Failed Compliance
- Why Does a Title 24 Design Not Comply?
- Title 24 Compliance in California
- Can a Building Department Approve a Permit if the Report Says Does Not Comply?
- Can You Get a Variance or Exemption From the Energy Code?
- What Can and Cannot Be Traded Off in the Performance Method?
View all Failed Compliance guides → · Permits and Compliance · Title 24 guide