City guide / Santa Clara County
Title 24 planning in Palo Alto
Preparation guidance for energy compliance documentation in Palo Alto, California. Remote statewide service; local requirements come from your building department.
Hypothetical example / Palo Alto
Custom-home goals, addition size and changed HVAC: separate the decisions
Illustrative scenario: an architect develops a custom-home addition while the owner also considers changing the existing cooling system. The owner wants performance beyond minimum compliance. Separate the proposed addition/alteration area, the existing-system changes and the voluntary design goals before comparing options. Ask Palo Alto which local ordinance provisions apply to this permit’s recorded application date and scope. A favorable preliminary model is not an answer to that jurisdictional question. Keep the required permit package distinct from optional whole-house analysis and give every design decision a named drawing revision.
Illustrative scenario only; not a statement about local projects, climate or permit rules.
Scenario checklist
- Document the addition and alteration areas separately
- Identify altered space-conditioning equipment
- Confirm the ordinance layer and application basis with the City
- Separate permit compliance from voluntary performance goals
Palo Alto: coordinate the local layer before choosing design options
Project-preparation guidance, not a statement of local requirements. Confirm applicability with your project team and reviewing agency.
What the CEC approved—not a complete applicability ruling
The CEC’s 2025 approved-local-ordinances list, checked November 6, 2026, records approval of Palo Alto Ordinance 5665 on January 21, 2026. Its topics include efficiency improvements for single-family additions and alterations greater than or equal to 1,000 sq ft. It also describes a mechanical-cooling requirement for altered space-conditioning systems in existing single-family homes that encourages air-source heat pumps while allowing air conditioners with additional efficiency measures. Those are the CEC’s summarized topics, not a complete reproduction of the ordinance, exceptions or submission instructions. Do not infer a parcel-specific result from the summary alone.
Ask about the application basis before committing equipment
A CEC approval date is not automatically the City’s adoption date, effective date or the controlling date for your application. Confirm current application-date rules and plan-check expectations with Palo Alto’s Building Division. Supply the actual application history and describe both the area changes and equipment work. Statewide 2025 Energy Code guidance generally follows applications on or after January 1, 2026, but a local-layer inquiry must also address the City’s implementation. Keep its direction with the coordinated plans rather than relying on an older project or an equipment supplier’s general assurance.
Build an addition-and-alteration scope sheet
For an owner or architect, the useful first deliverable is a clear scope description: which spaces are new, which existing spaces change and which systems are altered. The CEC summary’s 1,000 sq ft topic makes that area discussion important, but this page does not define how Palo Alto measures or aggregates the affected work. Ask the City rather than assuming that total house size, addition area and permit valuation are interchangeable.
- Show existing/proposed floor plans, conditioned boundaries and separately labeled addition and alteration areas; ask which area definition the City needs for its review.
- Identify retained, replaced and newly installed HVAC and affected spaces; distinguish a whole-house option study from the work actually proposed in the permit.
- Provide window sizes, U-factor/SHGC, assemblies and system schedules; mark provisional choices so an early model is not mistaken for final evidence.
- Include the recorded application date, prior accepted energy package and any comments discussing local energy provisions; retain the actual City response.
Use early modeling to answer a defined design question
A custom-home performance goal can include comfort, operating preferences or voluntary analysis beyond permit compliance. Define that goal separately from the required Energy Code demonstration. Ask the preparer which envelope and equipment options are supported by current plans and which inputs remain uncertain. Compare alternatives using the applicable edition and confirmed local basis; do not treat an attractive compliance margin as permission to disregard a mandatory or local requirement.
For the illustrative project above, one review tracks the addition’s design inputs and another tracks the proposed change to existing cooling. The architect resolves drawings, the systems designer resolves equipment and the energy preparer documents the coordinated assumptions. This is a workflow example, not a claim that the project complies, that a heat pump is universally mandatory or that an air conditioner is universally exempt.
Choose documents by project type—not by the city name
Single-family work may use the CF1R design pathway and applicable installer/verification records. An ADU requires separate classification of new detached work, attached additions or conversions; the word ADU alone does not establish the energy scope. Commercial tenant work follows the affected nonresidential systems and NRCC pathway rather than borrowing a house’s certificates. Confirm the building and form family before assembling a submittal.
Current residential verification terminology is ECC, Energy Code Compliance; HERS may remain on older-cycle records. CF1R design documentation, installer CF2R and required CF3R verification are different responsibilities. This remote preparation service does not claim to perform field testing, acceptance testing or City review. Registry fees, CALGreen and AHJ permit fees remain separate.
Residential CF1R and construction handoffsADU documentationCommercial TI/NRCC support
Make a resubmittal traceable
If plan check requests additional local-energy information, send the complete numbered comment and the report/drawing revision actually reviewed. Identify whether the issue is a missing explanation, an inconsistent input or a later architectural change. A response should name the affected sheet and energy record, not merely attach a new model without context. No consultant can guarantee review timing or permit approval by revising documents.
Prepare a remote project request
Title 24 Lab serves Palo Alto remotely; this is not a local branch listing or evidence of City affiliation. Use the published residential/commercial square-footage menu, then send the scope and plans for review. Intake is not payment or production acceptance. This educational page is not legal advice, and it assigns no climate zone or local permit fee. The City determines applicability and submission expectations for the actual project.
PricingGet a QuoteWhat to sendSanta Clara County guideMountain View cooling-replacement guideSan Jose project preparation
Checklist for Palo Alto
- 01Identify which agency reviews permits for your Palo Alto parcel (city, county or other).
- 02Confirm the building climate zone for the exact address using the CEC tool.
- 03Ask which Energy Code cycle applies to your application date.
- 04Ask whether local amendments or reach codes apply to your scope.
- 05Ask how energy forms should be included: on plan sheets, uploaded separately, or both.
County guide: another example
Lab-adjacent office tenant improvement
Read the Santa Clara County guideQuestions
Does the CEC list identify an approved Palo Alto ordinance?
Yes. The list checked November 6, 2026 records Ordinance 5665, approved January 21, 2026, with the summarized single-family addition/alteration and altered-cooling topics. Confirm the full applicable requirements and application treatment with the City.
Is every existing-home HVAC change required to use a heat pump?
Do not infer that from this page. The CEC summary describes encouraging air-source heat pumps while allowing air conditioners with additional efficiency measures. The City must confirm how the ordinance applies to the proposed equipment and permit.
Does a passing model settle the local ordinance question?
No. First confirm the governing edition, local applicability and supported scope. A modeled result depends on its inputs and rules; it does not establish that the City has accepted an interpretation or that later substitutions need no review.
Can voluntary whole-house analysis replace permit documents?
No. Keep the owner’s broader design goals separate from the required compliance package. Agree which analysis is preliminary, which output matches final drawings and who confirms the applicable local layer before production.
Do you have an office in Palo Alto?
No. Service is remote and statewide; this page is a planning guide.
Where do I confirm Palo Alto requirements?
With the building department that reviews your permit. Many incorporated cities run their own; confirm whether Palo Alto or Santa Clara County reviews your parcel.
How to use the official resources
Government links below are starting points for identifying the authority for the actual property and scope. They are not evidence of an affiliation, an office or approval of this service. Start at Palo Alto’s city site for city department navigation; the county link provides separate county context.
The CEC climate tool supports a location-specific lookup; this guide assigns no climate zone. The CEC Energy Code Support Center separates edition-specific forms and building categories. Confirm the applicable edition, document family and any registration or verification requirements before using a form.
CEC Energy Code Support Center: forms, FAQs and trainingNext step
Preparing a project in Palo Alto?
Published flat pricing from $149 residential and $399 commercial. Upload plans privately; no payment is taken online.