Page 210 - Alternative Energy Systems in Building Design

186 ENERGY CONSERVATION

California Title 24 Electric Energy

Compliance

In response to the 2000 electricity crisis, the California legislature mandated the CEC
to update existing indoor lighting energy-conservation standards and to develop out-
door lighting energy-efficiency-compliant cost-effective measures. The intent of the
legislature was to develop energy-conservation standards that would reduce electricity
system energy consumption.
Regulations for lighting have been enforced in California since 1977. However, the
measures only addressed indoor lighting through control requirements and maximum
allowable lighting power.

SCOPE AND APPLICATION
Earlier energy-regulation standards applied only to indoor and outdoor lighting of
buildings that were air-conditioned, heated, or cooled. The updated standards, however,
address lighting in non-air-conditioned buildings and also cover general site illumina-
tion and outdoor lighting. The standards include control requirements as well as limits
on installed lighting power. The standards also apply to internally and externally
illuminated signs. For detailed coverage of the energy-control measures and regula-
tions, refer to CEC’s standard publications.

INDOOR LIGHTING COMPLIANCE

This section will review the requirements for indoor lighting design and installation,
including controls. It is addressed primarily to lighting designers, electrical engineers,
and building department personnel responsible for lighting and electrical plan checking
and inspection purposes.
Indoor lighting is perhaps the single largest consumer of energy (kilowatthours) in
commercial buildings, which amounts to approximately one-third of overall electric
energy use. The principal purpose of the standards is to mitigate excessive energy use
and provide design guidelines for the effective reduction of energy use without com-
promising the quality of lighting.
The primary mechanism for regulating indoor lighting energy under the standards
is to limit the allowable lighting power, in watts, installed in the buildings. Mandatory
measures apply to the entire building’s lighting systems, and equipment consists of the
use of such items as manual switching, daylight area controls, and automatic shutoff
controls. The mandatory requirements must be met either by prescriptive or perform-
ance approaches, as will be described here. Figures 5.7 and 5.8 depict electrical wiring
and installation configurations.
As a rule, allowable lighting power for a building is determined by one of the
following five methods: