Title 24 Electric-Ready Requirements
Electric-ready rules apply when a newly constructed home installs a gas or propane furnace (§150.0(t)), cooktop (§150.0(u)), clothes dryer (§150.0(v)) or water heater (§150.0(n)1), and each needs wiring at the appliance plus reserved panel space for a future electric replacement. None of them applies to alterations, and of the four only the water heater provision reaches an addition, where a gas water heater is installed in the added space.
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What triggers them
These are mandatory measures, so they apply on the prescriptive and performance paths alike, and what sets them off is the fuel: a gas or propane appliance of a listed kind being installed. Install the electric equivalent and nothing is required. Multifamily buildings have a parallel set in §160.9.
Which projects they reach depends on the provision. The note to §150.0 says its requirements apply to newly constructed buildings, and §150.2 decides which also apply to additions and alterations:
- New homes: all four provisions. A new detached ADU counts; the Energy Commission’s ADU guidance confirms it meets §150.0(n) and §150.0(t) to (v) when it installs gas appliances.
- Additions: §150.2(a) applies §150.0(a) to (n), so the water heater provision comes along, but not the furnace, cooktop or dryer provisions. Chapter 5 of the compliance manual says the water heater rule covers additions where a water heater is installed in the added floor area, although Chapter 10’s summary says there are no electric-ready requirements for additions. Given the code text, plan for it.
- Alterations: none. Section 150.2(b) does not list them, and both chapters of the manual agree.
Furnace, cooktop and dryer
These three follow one pattern: a dedicated 240-volt branch circuit within 3 feet of the appliance and reachable with no obstructions, its blank cover identified as "240V ready", and a reserved space in the main panel for a double-pole breaker, permanently marked "For Future 240V use". Only the rating of the branch circuit conductors changes:
- Gas or propane furnace, §150.0(t): 30 amps minimum
- Gas or propane cooktop, §150.0(u): 50 amps minimum. A gas range counts, because it includes a gas cooktop.
- Dryer location with gas or propane piping, §150.0(v): 30 amps minimum
The manual’s dryer example helps builders who plumb for either fuel: a dedicated 240-volt receptacle of 30 amps or more, installed alongside the gas stub-out, meets the dryer rule.
The water heater
Section 150.0(n)1 asks for more: a designated space at least 2.5 by 2.5 feet and 7 feet tall for a future heat pump water heater, a condensate drain, a reserved breaker space and a 30-amp circuit, arranged one of two ways depending on whether that space is within 3 feet of the gas unit. The wiring and plumbing for each option are set out on Title 24 water heater requirements. Two 2025 details are worth knowing. The cycle removed the 10 AWG copper wire requirement from the first option, so the circuit simply has to be rated at 30 amps. And the manual’s examples confirm that a heat pump water heater of any kind, a 120-volt or split unit included, does not trigger the rule.
Neighbouring "ready" rules
Two other readiness requirements are often confused with these. BESS ready, §150.0(s), prepares for a battery and applies to new one- and two-unit homes with electrical service over 125 amps; see JA12 battery storage. Solar ready, §150.0(r) and §110.10, applies to new homes in subdivisions of ten or more that are not required to have PV; see solar ready requirements.
Documenting it
The installer records the electric-ready items on the Certificate of Installation CF2R-ELC-01-E. It is simplest to show the circuits and reserved panel spaces on the electrical plans from the start. Whether the house should use gas at all is a separate question, answered on do new homes have to be all-electric.
Common Title 24 Questions
- When is Title 24 required for a home?
- Does a remodel need Title 24?
- Does a room addition need Title 24?
- What plans are needed for a residential Title 24 report?
- How much does a residential Title 24 report cost?
- How long does a residential Title 24 report take?
Frequently Asked Questions
No. A remodel is an alteration, and §150.2(b) does not apply the electric-ready provisions to alterations. The cooktop rule in §150.0(u) applies to newly constructed homes.
No. The water heater rule applies only when a gas or propane water heater is installed, whatever the voltage or configuration of the heat pump unit.
The branch circuit conductors must be rated at 50 amps minimum, within 3 feet of the cooktop, with a reserved double-pole breaker space in the main panel under §150.0(u).
In a newly constructed detached ADU that installs gas appliances, yes, for all four. An attached ADU or a conversion of unconditioned space is an addition, where only the water heater provision applies.