Title 24 Reports (CF1R Energy Calculations)

What is a Title 24 report?

"Title 24" is shorthand for California's Building Energy Efficiency Standards — Title 24, Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations. Before a building department will issue a permit for most residential work, you have to show the design complies, and the document that does that is the CF1R (Certificate of Compliance) — the "Title 24 report" your architect or plan checker keeps asking for. It states exactly what the building will include — insulation R-values, window performance, HVAC and water-heating equipment — and proves the package as a whole meets the energy budget.

A Title 24 report is more than a one-page form. For performance-method projects it's a modeling run in CEC-approved compliance software, an energy-budget result, the mandatory measures, and — critically — the list of HERS field verifications a certified rater will have to test during construction. HERS (Home Energy Rating System) is the program the California Energy Commission renamed ECC (Energy Code Compliance) effective January 1, 2026. When field verification is required, the CF1R must be registered with an approved data registry — ERE registers through CHEERS, which the CEC approved as an ECC provider for the 2025 code in November 2025.

Performance vs. prescriptive: the two ways to comply

Every project takes one of two compliance paths, and choosing the right one is most of the job:

• Prescriptive method — the checklist. Each component individually meets the minimums for your climate zone: so much insulation, windows at or below a set U-factor, specified equipment efficiencies. Simple, but rigid — no trade-offs allowed. Many HVAC changeouts and small alterations comply this way using the CF1R-ALT forms.
• Performance method — the energy model. The whole building is modeled in CEC-approved software and compared against a "standard design" energy budget. Want more glass than the checklist allows? Make it up with better insulation, a more efficient heat pump, or a tighter envelope. Almost all new homes, ADUs, additions, and design-driven remodels use the performance method, because real designs rarely fit the checklist.

If your design doesn't fit the prescriptive checklist, performance calculations are how it gets approved.

When you need energy calcs

• New construction — a CF1R is required with the permit application, full stop.
• ADUs — new conditioned square footage, modeled like a small new home.
• Additions — modeled as "addition alone" or "existing plus addition plus alteration," whichever passes. Additions over 700 square feet also pick up QII (Quality Insulation Installation) verification per Reference Appendix RA3.5.
• Fenestration changes — adding window or skylight area, or exceeding the prescriptive U-factor / SHGC limits (SHGC = solar heat gain coefficient), pushes the project into performance calcs.
• HVAC and water-heating alterations that can't meet the checklist — for example, designs that keep gas equipment under standards whose prescriptive baseline is now a heat pump.

What the report covers under the 2025 standards

The 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards took effect January 1, 2026. The CEC's rule is permit-date based: buildings whose permit applications are applied for on or after January 1, 2026 must comply with the 2025 Energy Code; applications submitted earlier stay on the 2022 code. Both vintages are live right now, so your report has to be run under the right one for your application date.

Per the CEC's official What's New for 2025 fact sheet, the changes that matter most for energy calculations:

• A new compliance metric: LSC replaces TDV. Compliance is now scored on Long-term System Cost (LSC) plus a source-energy budget (§ 150.1(a)) instead of Time Dependent Valuation (TDV). Same idea — your proposed design against a standard design — but the new accounting favors efficient electric equipment more strongly.
• Heat pumps are the prescriptive baseline. Prescriptive space heating is a heat pump in all 16 climate zones, and heat pump water heaters are effectively the prescriptive baseline too — including for single-family additions, where gas tankless was removed from the prescriptive options. Gas designs can still comply, but through the performance model.
• More field verification on the back end. Refrigerant charge verification now extends to heat pumps in all climate zones, and HRV / ERV fault-indicator displays get rater verification. The report determines those tests up front.
• QII carries forward. Quality Insulation Installation remains a prescriptive requirement for new single-family and low-rise multifamily construction and additions over 700 square feet.

What plan checkers actually look for

• The right code vintage for your permit-application date — 2022 or 2025.
• A registered, signed CF1R whenever HERS / ECC measures are required. Unregistered printouts get bounced.
• Calcs that match the plan set — conditioned floor area, window schedule (U-factor / SHGC), equipment efficiencies, orientation. Mismatches between the report and the drawings are the most common source of plan-check corrections.
• Mandatory measures on the plans, not just in the report.
• The HERS / ECC verification list — the field inspector will expect matching CF2R (installer) and CF3R (rater) certificates at the end of the job.

The report and the field tests — one company

Most Title 24 report desks never set foot on your job site. ERE is a CHEERS-certified HERS / ECC rater that also prepares the report — so the verifications your CF1R commits you to are tests we know how to pass in the field, and you have one number to call from plan check to final. When ERE runs your HERS / ECC testing, CF1R, CF2R, and CF3R preparation and registration are included at no additional charge. We also handle QII verification and final inspections and permit closeout on the same project.

Turnaround

Simple alteration and addition reports usually turn around in a few business days once we have your plans; larger custom homes take longer. If you're up against a plan-check deadline, tell us when you book and we'll commit to a date.

What a Title 24 report costs

Published 2026 price lists from California Title 24 calculation providers put the market here:

• Addition / alteration reports: $200–$500 flat is the going market range; published Southern California schedules cluster around $360 for homes up to 2,400 square feet.
• ADU reports: roughly $250–$500, with new-construction ADU reports commonly quoted around $500.
• New custom homes: priced by square footage — published schedules run roughly $350–$595+ as size climbs past 3,500 square feet.
• What moves the price: square footage, new construction vs. alteration, plan-page formatting, revision rounds, and rush turnaround.

Those are market figures, not our menu. Call (310) 807-4800 or request a quote and we'll give you a fixed price for your project — and tell you if you don't actually need performance calcs at all.

Frequently asked

What is a Title 24 report (CF1R)?

A Title 24 report is the energy-calculation package that shows your project complies with California's Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24, Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations). Its core document is the CF1R — the Certificate of Compliance — which the building department requires with your permit application and on your plans. ERE prepares the calculations, generates the CF1R, and registers it when registration is required.

Do I need a Title 24 report for my addition or ADU?

Almost certainly yes. New homes, ADUs, and additions all need a CF1R with the permit application, and most use performance-method calculations so the design has room to trade off windows, insulation, and equipment. Many smaller alterations — like a straightforward HVAC changeout — can instead comply prescriptively with a CF1R-ALT form. Send us your plans and we'll tell you which applies.

What's the difference between the performance and prescriptive method?

Prescriptive compliance is a fixed checklist — every component must individually meet the minimums in the standards for your climate zone, with no trade-offs. The performance method models the whole building in CEC-approved compliance software and compares it to a standard-design energy budget, so a weak spot in one area can be offset by doing better in another. Most new homes, ADUs, additions, and custom designs use the performance method.

What changed under the 2025 Energy Code?

The 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards took effect January 1, 2026 and apply to projects whose permit applications are submitted on or after that date — earlier applications stay on the 2022 code. The biggest changes for calculations: the compliance metric moved from Time Dependent Valuation (TDV) to Long-term System Cost (LSC) plus a source-energy budget, and heat pumps are now the prescriptive baseline for space heating in all 16 climate zones, so designs that keep gas equipment generally have to make up the difference in the performance model.

How much does a Title 24 report cost?

Market data for California: residential addition and alteration reports generally run $200 to $500 as a flat fee, with published Southern California price schedules around $360 for homes up to 2,400 square feet. ADU reports run about $250 to $500, and new custom homes scale with square footage. Size, revision rounds, and rush turnaround drive the price. Call ERE at (310) 807-4800 for a fixed quote on your project.

How long does a Title 24 report take?

Simple alteration and addition reports usually turn around in a few business days once we have your plans; larger custom homes take longer. If you're up against a plan-check deadline, tell us when you book and we'll commit to a date.

Is the Title 24 report the same as HERS testing?

No. The Title 24 report (CF1R) is the paperwork stage — calculations that get your permit approved before construction starts. HERS testing, which the California Energy Commission renamed ECC (Energy Code Compliance), is the field stage — a certified rater physically tests the measures the CF1R lists, like duct leakage and refrigerant charge, and registers the CF3R at the end of the job. ERE does both, so the tests your report commits you to are tests we know how to pass in the field.