Outcome-based Energy Codes: California Begins Advancing a New Path Toward Grid Optimization and Decarbonization

California's Building Energy Efficiency Standards, Title 24 Part 6, have been an integral part of the state's energy efficiency landscape, contributing to a stable energy-efficient supply-demand contour that has helped California weather market disruptions and changing load profiles. These standards have also been extremely influential in the development of other energy efficiency code frameworks. Today is an ideal time for continued standards evolution as a means of helping achieve California's ambitious climate and decarbonization goals, as well as its vision for a smarter, more integrated, and more resilient electricity grid. An outcome-based code (OBC) relies on realistic, agreed-upon energy use intensity (EUI) budgets instead of connected load calculations, overly prescriptive requirements, and project-by-project complex modeling, and also measures compliance through the reporting of actual energy performance outcomes of the building post-occupancy. An OBC approach offers great promise to close the gap between claimed or anticipated energy savings and actual realized savings. Further, OBC offers building design, construction and operation professionals more flexibility to adopt technologies and solutions that meet functional and aesthetic goals, rather than expending large amounts of creative capital "designing to code." This session explores the need for outcome-based codes as well as collaborative efforts underway to develop a pragmatic, sustainable, "future-proof" OBC framework. The session also examines learnings from "early adopting" jurisdictions and explores how these combined efforts may shape the energy management marketplace for the foreseeable future. Finally, the session explores how design and energy management professionals may find emerging opportunities beyond their traditional spheres of influence related to building performance and integrated grid operations.