The purpose of this solicitation is to fund applied research and development (ARD) and technology demonstration and deployment (TDD) projects that improve the customer value proposition of end-use efficiency measures through envelope solutions for the existing residential building sector. With more than 14 million existing residential units in California, a variety of building decarbonization strategies and the California Building Energy Code (Title 24) are needed to reduce building sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although new construction must meet Title 24, existing buildings are required to conform to Title 24 standards only when specific or significant renovations trigger code compliance. Since older existing buildings are leakier and less efficient, tighter and more energy efficient building envelopes are particularly valuable to reduce heating and cooling loads, improve occupant comfort, and reduce infiltration of outside air. Retrofits in existing buildings offer significant opportunities to address decarbonization, energy use and costs, occupant health and comfort, and GHG emissions. However, existing building retrofits face considerable challenges as well, from high upfront costs, occupant disturbance, and remediation concerns to split incentives for renter-occupied homes. Overcoming these challenges is crucial to meeting the state’s GHG reduction goals of limiting statewide GHG emissions to at least 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2045[footnoteRef:2] while realizing the myriad benefits for existing buildings. [2: The California Crisis Act. Chapter 337 of 2022 (Assembly Bill 1279, Muratsuchi) https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1279 ]
