What do we need to get started?
For Residential projects, we need a well drafted set of Architectural plans. Primarily the below:
- Floor Plans
- All Window and Door Measurements
- Site Plan (or at least a North Arrow)
- Cover Sheet (or at least Scope of Work and Floor Areas in SF)
- Sections and Elevations (or at least average Ceiling Height and Roof Slope)
- Wall Framing Size (2x4s or 2x6s or SIPs or Concrete, etc.)
- Roof Type (Attic or Non-Attic). And Floor Type (Slab on Grade or Raised Floor). With or without Crawlspace.
- For Addition projects, we will often need the floor plans and window schedules for the entire home and not just the Additional area.
In Addition to the above plans, we would also need the below information regarding the HVAC and Water Heating Systems:
- Type of Proposed HVAC System (Electric or Gas). And if it is existing or altered or new.
- Duct Location of the Proposed HVAC System (E.g. Attic or Crawlspace or Conditioned Space or Garage, etc.). And if the ducts are existing or extended or altered or new.
- Type of Proposed Water Heater (Electric or Gas). And if it is existing or altered or new.
For Non-Residential projects, depending on the scope the plan requirements change.
- If the envelope is altered or new, we would need most of the above architectural plans. - If the HVAC or Ducting is altered or new, we would need the Mechanical Plans - If the Water Heater is altered or new, we would need the new Water Heater Spec sheet
- If the lighting is altered or new, we would need the Lighting Plans with a Lighting Schedule (with Light Fixture type and Wattages included)
Besides the above, please also be ready with the below information of the Biller as well as of the Responsible Party who would be Signing Off on the Title 24 report. The Responsible Party can be the Architect, Designer, Builder, Contractor or Homeowner-Builder. More on the Responsible Party here
Billing Details: Full Name Company Name (if applicable)
Complete Address
Phone
Email id
Role (e.g. Architect or Designer or Builder or Homeowner-Builder)
Sign Off Details: Full Name Company Name (if applicable)
Complete Address
Phone
Email id
Role (e.g. Architect or Designer or Builder or Homeowner-Builder)
How to pass on this information to us? And how/when to process the Payment?
Once you have the above information available with you, you can simply go to our Order a Title 24 report and fill out the form. The form systematically requires you to input the important information that we need (including the above) and upload the plans. Once all of this is done, you are well on your way. We will start working on the Title 24 calculations for your project and you will receive emails from us via viranchi@gettitle24.com as well as projects@gettitle24.com as we go about the process. You can please process the payment at the start of the project to help speed things up
For projects that don't fit well into the categories mentioned on the Order a Title 24 form, you can select All Others/Custom Quote in the project type or directly email us at viranchi@gettitle24.com and we will get back to you with a custom quote or address any specific queries that you might have. What is our pricing?
Our Pricing is effective and competitive. Please view our Order a Title 24 report or our Pricing page below which will give you a well calculated pricing for your project. If the project does not neatly fit into the project type mentioned in the above forms, please email us at viranchi@gettitle24.com for a custom quote.
You can please process the payment at the start of the project to help speed things up. How long would it take?
It generally takes 2-3 working days for most of our projects. But on more complex projects it takes longer. Also, if there is some challenge meeting compliance or if we need specific additional information from you, it might take a little longer.
Again, you can come to know the approximate timeline via our Order a Title 24 or Pricing page. To do justice to the process, and to enable us to do the best work for you, please budget appropriate timelines in your plan submission schedules. This would also help us finetune the compliance requirements to meet your preferences. How do we handle Plan check comments and Revisions? Are they Chargeable?
We give a lot of importance to Plan check comments. After all, what is the point of a Title 24 report if it does not get through plan check.
We have a dedicated team that addresses Plan check comments and accordingly provides responses to plan check comments as well as revises the Title 24 report as required. We DO NOT charge any additional fee for plan checks. Also, we understand that addressing plan check is time critical to you. Hence we try our best to maintain a 2-3 working day turnaround time to address Plan Checks. While we dutifully address Plan Check corrections and comments please note what is Additionally Chargeable. Any changes to the building design or to the building specifications that are done after we have finalized the Title 24 report are Revisions. These aren't in our control. Hence to sync up the Title 24 with these updates requires additional work and we charge a small Revision fee for it. The fee generally ranges basis the extent of the revision but in most cases it is a minimal fee of $50 to $150. What is process once you submit the project details to us?
Once you share the project details with us, you can expect to receive an email from viranchi@gettitle24.com Viranchi is the Principal of the company.
Then we start working on the Title 24 calculations. As we start, we send you another email from
projects@gettitle24.com Through this email thread we provide updates, ask you queries as well as carry out all project specific communication. Internally, basis the information and plans sent to us, we model the entire structure into our CEA (California Energy Commission) certified compliance software. We then run multiple simulations to check compliance with the Title 24 energy code. In most cases, due to the very high requirements of the energy code, the project will not comply as is. We then add upgrades in a incremental manner as well as try multiple combination of upgrades such as to meet compliance in a cost effective manner. Besides costs, we also give importance to what is feasible and easier to build on site as well as what the client's preferences are with respective to the building specifications. As we get through compliance, we send a set of draft building specifications to you for review. These include upgrades that we find to be the most optimized and effective, as well as assumptions or specifications per the information shared with us. At this point, it is your job to thoroughly review the specification list and to let us know if any modifications or corrections are needed or if you have any alternate preferences on the specification that you would like to go ahead with. If there aren't any comments and you give us a go ahead, we proceed with the final step which is the registration of the report. If in case you get back with any comments, we accordingly rework the Title 24 compliance calculations and send an updated specification list to you in generally 1 day's time. We generally do this a couple of times till the most favorable set of compliance specifications that can be possible are reached. Once we have a go ahead from you (it is important that you give us a go ahead over email), we then proceed with the final step which is the registration of the Title 24 report. Any changes after the registration of the report are a Revision and require a Revision fee as mentioned above. What is the Registration of a Title 24 report?
All Residential Title 24 reports, before submission to the city require to be registered with a HERS Registry (Cheers or CalCERTS). This is a mandatory requirement (except for a few very specific cases) and almost all building department require it.
As a part of the registration process, besides the Title 24 consultant, it is also required for a Responsible party to digitally sign off on the Title 24 report. Who can be the Responsible Party?
A Responsible party for single family projects can be the Architect or Designer or Builder or Homeowner-Builder or PE. For large Multi-Family projects or Non-Residential projects it will need to be the Architect or PE only. How does he/she sign off on Residential Title 24 reports?
The Registration and Sign off for Residential projects happens through the HERS Registry (we use cheers.org . Hence once you give us the go ahead on the draft Title 24 specifications, please expect the Responsible Party to receive an email from cheers.org requesting the sign off. This is an auto-generated email that goes directly to the sign off responsible party from cheers.org. We can't unfortunately add a CC or so here. In the email there is generally a button that says Sign. And the responsible person simply needs to press the button once to complete the Sign Off. It is that simple. Once this is done, the report registration with the HERS registry is complete. We then download the documents and compile the final report PDFs (on both 8x11 as well as 24x36 sized PDFs). Once done, we sent an email to you with a Dropbox Link. The Dropbox link directs you to a Dropbox Folder where we would have uploaded both the PDFs. What are the final deliverables?
The final deliverables are the Title 24 report PDFs sent via a Dropbox Link. The Title 24 reports are already aligned onto 8x11 as well as plan sized PDFs (24x36 or 30x42) so they can easily be made a part of the submission plan set.
Besides the above, we also share a helpful summary of the building specifications that affect Title 24 compliance and which we have modelled into the Title 24 report. These are helpful to the Architect/Designer/Drafter to also make sure that the plans are in sync with the Title 24 report. What we don't do? But what we can do instead.
We are Title 24 Energy Compliance specialists and try to stay focused on that. We currently DO NOT do Green Building Checklists or Green Building forms.
Most cities require a standard set of Green Building forms that are often included into the plan set by the Designer/Architect/Drafter itself. You can find them online as well via a quick google search. For cities that require more advanced Green Building compliance and inspections, we recommend you get in touch with a Green Building Inspector. How to find a Green Building Consultant?
Most cities have a list of recommended Green Building Inspectors. You can please get in touch with them. We are happy to sync the Title 24 with them if and as required. We currently DO NOT do HERS testing.
HERS Testing is a on-site inspection/verification that is required once the construction in nearing completion to ensure certain building elements meet what we have listed on the Title 24 report. While we have undergone HERS training, it does not make sense for us to do HERS testing currently since it requires a visit to the site. Hence it makes more sense to have a HERS rater local to the area to do the HERS testing. We are happy to add him/her to the project on Cheers or provide support as required. Please email directly to viranchi@gettitle24.com if anything. How to find a HERS rater?
You can easily locate a HERS rater by going to cheers.org and using their Find a Pro tool. You will get a complete directory of certified raters and you can then filter basis zip code as per the site location. What is the role of a Title 24 consultant? Why a good CEA Certified Title 24 Consultant matters?
A Title 24 consultant checks compliance of the building design with the California Title 24 standards and generates a certificate that confirms that the building design complies with the same. But it is not as simple as that. The Title 24 energy code is dense and lengthy, and compliance varies basis multiple factors. The software throws compliance results but the results are based off of the energy code prescriptive standards. Which is why a good Title 24 consultant will know the energy code as well as the compliance software well. A good Title 24 consultant will run multiple simulations and combination of simulations to ensure that compliance is being met in the most cost effective and optimized manner. They would work with the client and also take into consideration feasibility, site conditions, client preferences, etc. Often the approach is to throw more upgrades at a building to meet compliance. But if the cause of the compliance bottleneck is not identified, the upgrades will only provide minimal benefit while substantially increasing building costs. Which is why a good Title 24 consultant is required, one who can understand code and identify why the compliance it not met in the first place. And then strike at that area in the most effective manner. In this way, a Title 24 consultant will directly impact your project costs and eliminate headaches with the city down the road.
Why our clients love us? Some of our reviews.
We are Title 24 energy code compliance experts. As well as one of the best reviewed Title 24 compliance companies online with over a 100 Positive Reviews across platforms.Here are our Google Reviews.
Here are our Yelp Reviews.
Here are out Alignable Reviews.
We love our customers. And out customers love us back!
We give a lot of important to technical depth and knowing the code in and out. Besides being Certified Energy Analysts, we have successfully completed 1000s of Title 24 compliance projects, across California.
We believe in process. We take the modelling and compliance process very seriously. We thoroughly review the models and reports multiple times internally to ensure accuracy. We also run several dozen simulations on each project till we are convinced we have tried all the possible situations. And the final specifications that we have are the most optimized as they can be.
We also alleviate the headache of Plan Check Comments and Revisions as much as possible. We have a dedicated team to address them and also try to meet a set timeline (SLA) to address these since we understand the time sensitivity during these phases.
