California Energy Commission: Adopts 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards
On August 11, 2021, the California Energy Commission adopted the 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards for newly constructed and renovated buildings that will produce benefits to support the state’s public health, climate and clean energy goals.
“The 2022 Energy Code focuses on four key areas in newly constructed homes and businesses:
Encouraging electric heat pump technology for space and water heating, which consumes less energy and produces fewer emissions than gas-powered units.
Establishing electric-ready requirements for single-family homes to position owners to use cleaner electric heating, cooking and electric vehicle (EV) charging options whenever they choose to adopt those technologies.
Expanding solar photovoltaic (PV) system and battery storage standards to make clean energy available onsite and complement the state’s progress toward a 100 percent clean electricity grid.
Strengthening ventilation standards to improve indoor air quality.”
Read the full CEC press release here.
The California Energy Alliance (CEA) played an extensive role in presenting recommendations to the CEC which were incorporated into the 2022 Standards.
The proposals developed to support the 2022 Energy Standards update and address:
Demand Responsive Controlled Receptacles
Improve upon and expand the demand response (DR) requirements to ensure new buildings are DR-ready
Development of a new data registry and repository for energy compliance forms and information
CEA is the only energy advocacy organization to have its code change proposals adopted as part of recent California Energy Standards updates. CEA's proposals are self-funded and developed by members in collaboration with interested public participants, industry experts, and the people working every day in California buildings.