If you are planning to remodel a kitchen or bath, or build a new house, you should read the 2005 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards:
- during the design stage when you are working with an architect, and
- again during the construction stage before you head out to the lighting store to pick your lighting fixtures.
Here’s all you need to know: “The most dramatic change since the previous Standards is that high efficacy luminaires are required for almost all rooms in residential buildings.” In other words, if you are installing something other than fluorescent lighting (and using screw-in compact fluorescents doesn’t count), California imposes all these additional requirements—some easier to satisfy than others.