Title 24 reports for Santa Clara permits.
Santa Clara owns its electric utility, and a Silicon Valley Power interconnection pre-approval letter is a required document before the solar permit application is accepted — on top of a codified local amendment to the 2025 Energy Code.
The city owns the power company here
The local amendment here reaches Part 6 itself, not just CALGreen. Ordinance No. 2081 (11/4/2025) enacted SMC Chapter 15.36 (Energy Code) and Chapter 15.38 (Green Building Standards Code), and the city states both have been in effect since Jan. 1, 2026. Chapter 15.36 amends 2025 Energy Code §110.10 directly, so new nonresidential and high-rise residential buildings under 10,000 sf carry a minimum 3 kW of PV and 10,000 sf and over a minimum 5 kW, with a permanent solar hot water system of at least 40 sf of collector as the alternative. The status is worth stating precisely: it is codified in SMC 15.36 and 15.38 but not on the CEC’s approved list for the 2025 code, while the predecessor Ord. 2056 was CEC-approved 7/26/2023 under the 2022 code.
None of that reaches existing buildings. The city says twice that the reach codes apply only to newly constructed buildings: a garage converted to an ADU is an alteration and triggers nothing, additions need no solar, and an HVAC change-out or a gas water heater swap is not forced electric. A newly built detached ADU does need panels, which may sit anywhere on the property — the statewide rule, covered in does my ADU need solar. Every Santa Clara ZIP is Climate Zone 4. The Residential Plan Submittal Checklist, last revised 03/26/2026, is blunt about format — “All CF-1R forms shall be printed on plans” — and the performance method must be signed by the energy consultant and the designer, with several measures landing in HERS verification.
One thing that doesn’t change by city: my price and turnaround are flat statewide — $99 first report, $150 flat after, 24–48 hours on your first job. What differs city to city is what happens on the plan-check side before and after the CF1R lands in your permit set, which is what this page covers.
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.
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.
Santa Clara plan-check questions
If yours isn’t here, see the full FAQ or call and ask.
Does Silicon Valley Power sign off before the solar permit?
Does a pre-approved ADU plan include the energy report?
Does the project need HERS field verification?
Sometimes — typically for duct leakage, refrigerant charge, or certain heat-pump and quality-insulation measures. The CF1R lists exactly which measures need it, and I’ll flag it in the email so it isn’t a surprise at inspection. The field testing itself is done by a third-party HERS rater the owner or contractor hires; that’s outside what I do.
What is CHEERS registration, and is it extra?
California requires the compliance certificate to be registered with an approved data registry before the building department will accept it. I use CHEERS, and registration is included in the rate — no separate registry fee, no account you have to open.
Send your Santa Clara plans.
New ADU or first-story addition, the CF1R comes back ready to print onto the plan sheets and signed the way the city’s residential checklist asks.