Buying A Home? Don't Panic! with John Laforme

HVAC Title 24 Energy Efficiency Compliance! What Home Buyers, Realtors and Home Inspectors Need To Know.

January 28, 2022 John Laforme Episode 15
Buying A Home? Don't Panic! with John Laforme
HVAC Title 24 Energy Efficiency Compliance! What Home Buyers, Realtors and Home Inspectors Need To Know.
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Show Notes Transcript

HVAC Title 24 Energy Efficiency Compliance! What Home Buyers, Realtors and Home Inspectors Need To Know.

What is Title 24?

The California Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards are designed to ensure new and existing buildings achieve energy efficiency and preserve outdoor and indoor environmental quality. These measures (Title 24, Part 6) are listed in the California
Code of Regulations. The California Energy Commission is responsible for adopting, implementing and updating building energy efficiency. Local city and county enforcement agencies have the authority to verify compliance with applicable building codes, including energy efficiency.

 Why are energy standards important?

 Since 1978, Energy Efficiency Standards make buildings more comfortable, lower energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Standards ensure that builders use the most energy efficient technologies and construction.

 Why do the standards need to be updated?

 The Energy Commission is required by law to adopt standards every three years that are cost effective for homeowners over the 30-year lifespan of a building. The standards are updated to consider and incorporate new energy efficient technologies and construction methods. The standards save energy, increase electricity supply reliability, increase indoor comfort, avoid the need to construct new power plants and help preserve the environment.

 Who supports the standards?

 The California Building Industry Association supports the adopted standards as does the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups, investor owned utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, and publicly owned utilities such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

 What buildings are covered by the standards?

 All new construction of, and additions and alterations to residential and nonresidential buildings are covered with the exception of correctional centers, jails, and prisons.

 Why do the standards vary by climate zone?

 Measures that are cost effective in more extreme climates may not be cost effective in milder climates. Requiring measures by climate zone ensure that a building will have the most energy efficient features for that area. There are 16 climate zones in the stat

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John Laforme:

Buying a home. Don't panic. Just listen to the rest of this podcast welcome to Home Inspection authority straight talk podcast with me, John laforme. Are you a homebuyer, a realtor, or maybe a home inspector? If you are, then this podcast is definitely for you. So let's get right into some straight talk about home inspections. For a quick word from our sponsor, are you a music lover, but don't know how to play a musical instrument. And check out guitar ninjas.com Ellie's leading Music School for both kids and adults specializing in guitar, bass and drum lessons locations in Los Angeles and Orange County or worldwide with online lessons. A unique gamified way of learning to play music membership includes access to our app and desktop portal loaded with lesson videos and other useful learning tools. To book a free trial lesson go to guitar ninjas COMM And mention this podcast. Rock on Alright, happy belated New Year everybody. Whoo. Crazy opening of the year for me. came down with COVID messed up my schedule for quite a few weeks. It was not fun. I hope you don't get it. So I do apologize for the gap between my shows. I was trying to put out one a week and then January came and bam, I got sick. So I had to cancel several guests probably gonna have to postpone all of them till February. That's what it looks like already. Because here it is close to the end of January already. Wow. This month went by pretty fast. So anyway, welcome to the Straight Talk podcast with me, John the forum. I'm the owner of home inspection authority. And I'm active home inspector Korea certified inspector. And today's topic is going to be title 24 Energy Efficiency code. Section six HVAC. So I want to talk about what this means for homebuyers. The homebuyers, realtors, and home inspectors, and how this affects even a current homeowner how this can affect all these different people. So what is title 24? Well, Todra 24 is part of the California Energy Code. The California Energy Code is the sixth section of the California Building Standards code. The code was created by the California Building Standards Commission in 1978. In response to legislative mandate to reduce California's energy consumption, so this is designed to cut down your utility bills, electricity mainly to make sure that your heating and cooling systems are working efficiently. Okay, so maybe wondering, what's the big deal about making sure everything's up to the energy standards code? Well, when I'm inspecting houses, one of the biggest problems I see the most consistent type of problem is heating and cooling. Amateur installations when new piece over here, old, an old section over there, it's kind of like people are just taping things together when it comes to H fac. So H fac is a common common problem for me, when I'm inspecting homes, I really look into hvac systems because most of the time, there's a upgrade to one section of the system and all the rest of the system is still very old. So the whole point of this is, if someone tells you, a contractor tells you, hey, look, I'm gonna upgrade your system. Wouldn't you feel better knowing that he replaced all the pieces to your system, not just one or two. So that's what this is about. And that's why we're talking about this today to better educate you. So you know what to ask when you're having heating and cooling upgrades done to your house. Because just because you have a new furnace and or a new air conditioning system, but you have 30 to 40 year old ducting in your house, chances are it's going to leak. So what's the point of having a high efficiency furnace, a high efficiency air conditioner, if it just going to get blown into the attic and just leak on you are into the crawlspace that is not a winning combination. So that's the purpose of the test. 24 Energy Efficiency compliance. And this is why you want to have your systems permitted by a licensed contractor. So there's oversight. And the state of California is going to make sure that your system was installed to at least the minimum requirements to make sure you have the energy efficiency you need to help save on your utilities, and keep the indoor air quality in your house as good as possible. I want to point out, I do have a YouTube channel that has a lot of interesting videos on it, of defects I find during my home inspections. So if you want a visual aid to help better understand what we're talking about here, go to YouTube and look for a home inspection authority. I'll have a link to that in the podcast description, as well as the link to the title 24 information for the state of California. So check out YouTube. And you'll get some more a better understanding of what I'm trying to explain here regarding the HVAC defects in amateur installations I run across just about every other day. Did you know that HVAC systems are the number one neglected system in any home. That's a fact. Most people ignore their HVAC systems until they stop working. So it's important to maintain your system. And what that means is you need to change your filters. You have return filters. Most homes only have one filter. Some bigger homes may have multiple return filters. So you want to you know, familiarize yourself with that. And make sure you are on a service plan. So we're contacting a licensed HVAC contractor service. And you know, you can get them on a service plan where they can come out once or twice a year just to check the system, make sure everything's good. And if you're a forgetful person, maybe you never change your filter, a simple way to get around that is get a filter delivery service, you can get that on Amazon. And you can schedule a bi monthly or every three months, whatever you want. And they will just mail you a new filter. And that's your indication. Oh, it's time to change my filter. So it's a good reminder. I think that's an awesome service. So check that out. And keep in mind, take care of your HVAC system. Are your HVAC systems going to take care of your wallet? Because when it breaks down, it can be very expensive. And you're not going to be happy if your breakdown is only because you weren't changing your filter, which does happen. Okay, I'm a home inspector. I know I don't report codes. I know what your other home inspectors are thinking out there. John, why are you talking code? Well, I'm not trying to talk code. So bear with me. This is something any California home inspectors should familiarize themselves with. Because it is a statewide policy in California for this. It's not just LA County or LA City. So in the event, you notice, hey, you know what this system doesn't look like it's up to standards of the energy efficiency code, you can just tell your client. Look, it appears that the HVAC system may be in violation of the title 24 energy efficiency standards. That's how I word it. So then I'm going to recommend immediate further evaluation by a qualified licensed HVAC contractor. Not Uncle Bob or Uncle Joe, you want to contact the right people for this type of issue. So how does title 24 affect homebuyers, homeowners and home inspectors? Well, let's start off with the homebuyers. As a home buyer, you're going to get disclosures from sellers. You should get those pretty quick. I know sometimes it takes a while to get those. You may not even get those until after your home inspections done. I've seen that too many times doesn't mean I agree with it. But your disclosures may not come to you right away. So if the sellers are really proud to advertise that their furnace was upgraded or their air conditioning was upgraded. That's great news. I mean, those are expensive components to do yourself. So if you're buying a home already has it fantastic. You got a new furnace in there, you get a new air conditioning unit great. The most expensive parts are already installed. But the questions you want to ask the seller is Oh, that's great. Thank you for letting me know. Was it a permitted installation? That's the number one question, you and your realtor should be asking the sellers. And the reason for that is, if there was no permit, then there was most likely no, following the title 24 Energy Efficiency code, according to the installation of those new components. So that's something you really want to ask. Now, just because there's no permit doesn't mean it can't be done correctly. You know, a prudent HVAC contractor, somebody who really takes pride in what they do, you know, they're going to go all out and give you everything, you should have to make that system as efficient as possible. And so it runs properly. So no permit doesn't mean it's wrong. But there's a good chance, there was some shortcuts taken to do the install that you're not aware of as a homeowner or home buyer. So the people that had it installed the sellers, they don't necessarily know what the H back guy was supposed to do. You know, they don't, they probably don't know anything about california, title 24 energy code. So these are the questions you want to ask. And if somebody says to you, Well, no, they were not permitted installations. So the first thing you want to do is get your own HVAC contractor there to go through the whole system to make sure it's installed correctly. Now, what does that mean? Is this installed correctly? Well, is the system sized properly for the home? Does it have a programmable thermostat is the return air plenum sealed, where the ducts tested throughout the house to make sure they're not leaking more than 15%? Those are the things that come into play when a permit is pulled, and the proper compliance papers are filled out to get the permit for the job. So that's really important to know this. Okay, so home inspectors, the main thing you need to know if you don't know this already is per the California Energy Commission, beginning October 1 2005. Title 24 of the building energy efficiency standards requires that ducts be tested for leaks when a central air conditioner or furnace is installed or replace. Any ducting that leaks 15% or more must be repaired. We can't tell as home inspectors if ducts are leaking more than 15%. that's outside the scope of what we do. That test can be performed by qualified HVAC contractor. So if you get to a property, and you check on the furnace and air conditioning system, and you see an upgrade, and if you look at the date, manufacture date of that unit, and it's after October 1 2005. Well, then that installation should be following the title 24 energy efficiency standards. It's that simple. That's how I determine all the time what's what when I'm looking at an H PAC system. So as I'm checking each component, I check the date. Okay? If it's a furnace installed in a garage with a plenum underneath it or if it's in a hallway closet with a plenum underneath it, first thing I check is that plenum you will get to the bottom of this real quick just by checking the plenum below it typically they're not sealed up with an approved material for the supposed to be insulated. Technically, it's an insulation approved insulation for these return plenums that's the number one thing or I should say number one indicator that this thing was not permitted and it did not follow the title 24 standards. So moving on. Let's say you got a new furnace and hey, you know what the plenum was sealed up and that's good. Then you get up in the attic. And you notice old Aluma bestest ducting or just really old duck that's looks like it's got holes in it's probably the tapes fallen off. It's all coming apart. Well, now that's another indicator that you know what a probably wasn't permitted. Now, you may also notice the thermostat, you may have a really old thermostat that is not programmable. So if this system was installed after October 1 2005, it should have a programmable thermostat, if the permit was pulled, and the title 24 standards were followed. So those are things that are easy indicators to let you know that you need to let your client know that, hey, you got an upgrade here. But it looks like it might be in violation of the energy efficiency standards. So then what you do is your recommend that they get a immediately get a qualified, licensed HVAC contractor out there, to go through the entire system to make sure everything is correct. And that any repairs can be done just so they can at least get a quote on what it's going to take to bring that thing up to the standards. Compliance. That's the word compliance. Okay, home inspectors another indicator you may come across. When inspecting a new furnace is you may see metal exhaust pipe coming off the new furnace, but it's connecting to a white trans light pipe in the ceiling. Typically, you'll see this in a grudge. You can also see him up in attics too, depending on where that furnace is installed. Sometimes if the furnace is installed, in a hallway closet, you'll see the metal connecting to the ceiling. But then when you get in the attic, you realize from the ceiling up to the roof is all translate that translate pipe does contain asbestos. I've actually tested this pipe before myself, so I can't confirm that. And what happens is the heat produced by the forced air furnace, it starts melting the inside of that white pipe and parts of the pipe start dripping down onto the metal pipe. I've seen this a lot where it's like a white goo that's all over the exhaust pipe. So you might have seen it and maybe wondered what it is. That's what's going on that heats just too much for that pipe. So I have asked many HVAC installers about that and like now that's a no, no, that's wrong, they should replaced all that removed all that translate pipe and Rana approved metal pipe all the way up through that roof. And that's should be the end of it. So that's a good indicator that the install was not permitted. Which means the title 24 compliance was not followed. Now if you see a upgraded 90% furnace. With PVC pipe, sometimes you'll see the PVC, PVC pipe exhaust pipe running up through the trans side pipe and then out the top. That to me is still a no no. They should have just removed all that transit exhaust pipe once again, it's not going to cause the same problem as it will with the metal. But it's still not right. It's just a cheap way of doing it. And I'm pretty confident if you see something like that the system was not permitted. So once again, no permit. And once again, we have no title 24 compliance. Okay, so let's recap what everyone needs to remember from the podcast. If you are a current homeowner, and you're about to have an HVAC system installed, make sure you ask your contractor if he's going to follow the title 24 energy efficiency standards, and he's going to make sure he's in compliance. If you are a buyer, and you're going into a real estate transaction, and your seller has disclosed, hey, look, we got a brand new furnace here we got a brand new air conditioner. You want to ask them was it permitted? So just remember, ask them if it was permitted. And if it wasn't, well then get your own H fat guy in there to go through the whole system because there may be some shortcuts that were taken. So it's not going to be in compliance with Title 24. As a home inspector, look for the indicators I mentioned. Look for the unsealed plenums look for the old duct. You know when you see an a new furnace or a new AC, check the look for an old thermostat. It's not hard to it's really not hard to identify when these systems were not permitted and did not Follow the title 24 compliance. Okay, just a friendly reminder, if you're buying a home, don't panic. Home Inspection of 30s got you covered. You can schedule us online or go into home inspection authority inspection authority for seven or you can call us at 800-950-8184. We offer general home inspections, mold inspections and testing sewer camera inspections, indoor air quality testing, swimming pool and spa inspections, and light commercial inspections. We use specialized tools to provide the most thorough inspection possible such as drone for roof inspections that are not accessible, crawl bought for under homes and tight crawl spaces to get to those areas otherwise not accessible. And we use thermal imaging technology as well. So give us a call at 800-950-8184. Like I said you can schedule online at home inspection of forty.com 24/7 Now for a quick word from our sponsor, are you a music lover, but don't know how to play a musical instrument then check out guitarninjas.com LA's leading Music School for both kids and adults specializing in guitar, bass and drum lessons locations in Los Angeles and Orange County or worldwide with online lessons. A unique gamified way of learning to play music. membership includes access to our app and desktop portal loaded with lesson videos and other useful learning tools. To book a free trial lesson go to guitar ninjas.com and mention this podcast. Rock on