California ENERGY STAR Program Requirements

Which Version of the Program Requirements Should I Use?

Use the table below to determine which version of the program to certify homes under. Note that EPA has created Version 3.1 of the Program Requirements for California to ensure that ENERGY STAR certified homes will continue to offer meaningful savings relative to non-certified homes, because California has adopted the more stringent 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards.

Version #	Applicable to Homes with the Following Permit Date	Version Description
Version 3	10/01/2012 to 03/31/2016	≥ 15% above 2008 Building Energy Efficiency Standards Size Adjustment Factor applied and enforced All checklists completed and enforced
Version 3.1	On or After 04/01/2016	California Advanced Home Program (CAHP) score of ≤84 or ≥ 10% above 2013 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. All checklists completed and enforced

How to Certify a Home

Select the core energy efficiency measures

• Version 3 Program Requirements for California (183KB) — This document defines the core efficiency specifications under Version 3 of the program.
• Version 3.1 Program Requirements for California (129KB) — This document defines the core efficiency specification under Version 3.1 of the program.

Complete Mandatory Measures

Certification of a home also requires the completion of the following:

• Rater Design Review Checklist and Rater Field Checklist (632KB)
• HVAC Design Report (249KB)
• HVAC Commissioning Checklist (184KB)
• Water Management System Builder Requirements (120KB)

Sampling Protocol

’Sampling’ allows builders who have demonstrated an ability to consistently meet the ENERGY STAR Program Requirements to minimize production interruptions and verification costs. For more information, see the California Home Energy Rating System Program Regulations.

Policy Changes and Clarifications

EPA periodically makes policy changes and clarifications, typically in response to a unique situation within a particular climate zone, and shares frequently–asked questions. See Recent Policy Changes and Clarifications.

Training Requirements and Resources

Version 3 includes new and more rigorous requirements for builders, Raters, and HVAC contractors. EPA requires that they each complete training on Version 3 to promote successful adoption and has created a number of resources to assist them in understanding the Program Requirements. Learn More

California Archives

• Summary of Public Comment Period for Draft Version 3 California Program Requirements (40KB) This document contains a summary of comments received during the California comment period, along with EPA's response to each point raised and the resulting policy change, if any.
• The draft Version 3.1 Program Requirements for California were available for comment from 10/20/2015 through 11/09/2015. During this period EPA did not receive any comments.
• Homes permitted between 01/01/2012 to 09/30/2012 were certified using the Version 2.5 Program Requirements.
• Homes permitted prior to 01/01/2012 were certified using the Version 2 Program Requirements.