A practical guide to navigating changes — without slowing down your project.

Every few years, California updates Title 24 — the state’s building energy efficiency standards. And every time, designers, engineers, and permit runners scramble to keep up.

The latest updates to Title 24 (effective 2023 and enforced throughout 2024 and 2025) introduced tighter energy usage limits, new electrification expectations, and increased documentation requirements across residential projects.

For many design teams, this means more time re-learning rules, cross-checking sheets, and redoing calculations — just to avoid rejection.

But with Spacial, it doesn’t have to be that way.

What’s Actually Changed in the New Title 24

Some of the key updates include:

⚠️ Increased electrification requirements (especially for HVAC and water heating systems)
⚠️ Tighter U-factor and SHGC values for windows and glazing
⚠️ Expanded mandatory measures for multifamily and ADUs
⚠️ More explicit documentation requirements, especially for new energy models

These changes apply to all new permit applications in California and are being enforced more strictly than ever by city reviewers.

Why It’s Causing Delays

While the rules are public, implementation varies city by city — and even reviewer by reviewer. Design teams are seeing:

⛔️ Rejections for outdated code references or form usage
⛔️ Extra review cycles due to unclear modeling
⛔️ Pushback on hybrid system proposals or load assumptions

Each rejection adds time and frustration — and can delay everything downstream.

How Spacial Helps You Stay Ahead

Spacial’s platform automatically detects Title 24-related elements in your plan set and cross-checks them with the most current standards. It flags issues before submission and highlights:

⚙️ Outdated or missing Title 24 documentation
⚙️ Conflicts between modeled energy systems and specified equipment
⚙️ Code-specific redlines for all affected sheets

Plus, Spacial keeps an internal database of evolving city-by-city enforcement notes, so your set doesn’t just meet state standards — it aligns with local expectations too.

Submit with Confidence

The last thing your client wants is to hear that a project is delayed due to a line item buried in an energy table. With Spacial, designers can stay focused on their vision — while our system keeps track of the details.

And if you need to revise, just re-upload. Spacial re-runs the checks instantly, helping your team move forward without losing momentum.