Title 24 terms, in plain English.
The acronyms that show up on every compliance package, defined once, so you don’t have to guess from context on a plan-check comment.
The short list
- Title 24, Part 6
- California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards — the section of the state building code this whole business is about. Often shortened to just “Title 24,” though Title 24 has other parts too (Part 11 is CALGreen, a separate green-building code).
- CF1R
- Certificate of Compliance. The design-phase form proving a building complies with Part 6, built from an energy model and registered before permit issuance. See what is a CF1R for the full explainer.
- CF2R
- Certificate of Installation. Filled out by the installer during construction, confirming the equipment and features actually installed match what the CF1R modeled.
- CF3R
- Certificate of Verification. Completed by a third-party field-verification rater for any measures the CF1R flags as needing it — duct leakage, refrigerant charge, and similar.
- CBECC-Res
- The CEC-approved software used to build the residential energy model a CF1R comes out of.
- HERS / ECC
- HERS (Home Energy Rating System) was the field-verification and diagnostic-testing program for Title 24 compliance through the 2022 code cycle. For the 2025 cycle, that function is renamed ECC (Energy Code Compliance) — HERS Raters become ECC Raters. HERS still exists as a brand, but now covers whole-house ratings and audits, not code-compliance verification. See 2025 code changes.
- CHEERS
- One of California’s CEC-approved data registries. Every CF1R has to be registered with an approved registry before a building department will accept it; CHEERS is the one T24 Studio uses, included in the rate.
- TDV / EDR
- Time Dependent Valuation and Energy Design Rating — the compliance-margin metrics used through the 2022 code cycle. Retired for the 2025 cycle, replaced by LSC.
- LSC
- Long-Term System Cost — the metric that replaced TDV/EDR starting with the 2025 code cycle. The CEC’s own definition: the projected present value of costs to California’s energy system over 30 years. See 2025 code changes for the full context.
- NRCC
- The nonresidential compliance forms — envelope, lighting, mechanical — used for commercial and tenant-improvement work instead of the CF1R.
- Documentation author
- Whoever built the energy model and prepared the CF1R — T24 Studio’s role on every job. Distinct from the responsible designer. See who can prepare a Title 24 report.
Prices
Flat fees, in writing before I start. No hourly, no bid package, no change-order games — the number on the quote is the number on the invoice.
Your first report with me
One per client, homes under 3,000 square feet. Full energy model, CF1R and CHEERS registration. It’s a test run — send one job and see how it goes.
Every model after the first
The standard rate once you’re a client — the second building, ADU plus main house, the next project that walks in. Back in 3 business days.
Over 3,000 square feet
Quoted from the plans before any work starts, same day.
24×36 plan-sheet set
Your CF1R laid out full size, matched to your drawing set. Comes back as a PDF you drop straight in.
Revisions
Two revisions included, plus questions any time. Past two I quote first, before I touch it.
Commercial / tenant improvement
Send the plans and you’ll have a flat quote back the same day. No deposit, no minimum.
How it works
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01
Send the plans
A PDF of the architecturals and the project address. If something’s missing I ask once, in one email — not five.
Mechanical and plumbing don’t have to be picked yet. If the plans don’t call out the HVAC or the water heater, I model what I’d normally specify for that job and tell you exactly what I assumed. Change any of it and I’ll rerun — that’s not a revision.
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02
I build the model
If the design does not comply as drawn, I tell you what the model needs to pass and the least disruptive way I can find to get there — your call what goes on the drawings.
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03
You get it back ready to sign
CF1R registered with CHEERS, you named as the responsible designer. 3 business days — 24–48 hours on your first one. Pay on delivery: Zelle, Venmo or Cash App.
One honest note
I’m not a licensed engineer or architect, and I don’t stamp drawings. On the CF1R I’m the documentation author — you stay the responsible designer. Nothing about your role on the job changes.
That’s on purpose. I’m not after your scope or your clients. I do one piece of the permit set — the piece that usually holds it up — and I do it fast.
Glossary questions
If yours isn’t here, see the full FAQ or call and ask.
What exactly is a CF1R?
The Certificate of Compliance for low-rise residential work, commonly called a Title 24 report — the form that proves the design meets California’s Title 24, Part 6 energy standards. Plan check will not issue the permit without it. It comes out of an energy model built in CBECC-Res, registered with a data registry, and signed by the responsible designer. That whole chain is what you’re handing me.
What's the difference between Title 24 and CALGreen?
Send the plans, skip the acronym soup.
The CF1R comes back with everything labeled plainly — no decoder ring required.