California Title 24
What is Title 24?
In 1978, Title 24, the Energy Efficiency Standards for Buildings section of the California Code of Regulations was passed into law. When the law was updated, effective October 1, 2005, it was adapted to regulate energy efficiency for roofs in California.
With this latest update, cool roofs are required on low-slope buildings when the owner or developer is using the prescriptive envelope component method for meeting Title 24 requirements.
Below is a quick reference chart about the three different methods for complying with Title 24:
| Envelope Component Approach | Overall Envelope Approach | Whole Building Performance Approach | |
| Complexity | Simplest | More complex | Most complex |
| Flexibility / Tradeoffs | Least flexible. Does not allow tradeoffs - each building component must meet or exceed the requirement for that climate zone | Somewhat flexible. Allows tradeoffs - if one building component does not meet the requirement but another exceeds it, it may offset the component that does not meet the requirement | Most flexible. Allows tradeoffs - if one building component does not meet the requirement but another exceeds it, it may offset the component that does not meet the requirement |
| Calculations | Fewest calculations | Requires more calculations | Requires computer simulations |
| Cool Roof Requirement | Cool roof is required for low slope buildings | Cool roof is not necessarily required | Cool roof is not necessarily required |
How Can Sarnafil Help You Meet Title 24’s Requirements?
Sika Sarnafil’s highly reflective roof membrane can easily help you meet the requirements of a “cool” roof. In order to meet the cool roof requirements, a roof must have an initial reflectance of 0.70 or greater and an initial emittance of 0.75 or greater. Sika Sarnafil’s white and tan roof membranes meet these requirements.
| Membrane | Reflectance | Emittance |
| Sika Sarnafil EnergySmart White | .83 | .90 |
| Sika Sarnafil EnergySmart Tan | .73 | .85 |
| Sikaplan 45 | .81 | .85 |
