Title 24 energy code for the electrician: high-efficacy lighting, JA8, sensors and dimmers, outdoor controls, and the readiness circuits
In one paragraph
Title 24, Part 6 is the energy code, and for a residential electrician it is mostly a lighting code with a set of readiness circuits attached. The 2025 edition, which applies to permit applications filed on or after January 1, 2026, says: every installed luminaire and light source is JA8-certified and marked; recessed cans have no screw bases, are airtight and gasketed; every room has a manual on-off switch; bathrooms, garages, laundry rooms, utility rooms and walk-in closets get an occupancy or vacancy sensor that turns lights off; living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and bedrooms get dimmers; undercabinet lighting is switched separately; and outdoor fixtures on the house need a photocell plus a motion sensor or a time switch, or an astronomical clock, with overrides that reset within six hours. On new work the panel also carries the heat pump, cooktop, dryer and battery readiness circuits the Electrical Code now points to. Knowing this is what keeps a kitchen remodel from failing its final on a $12 switch.
The rule
Under the 2025 Energy Code, applicable to permit applications on or after January 1, 2026, all installed luminaires and light sources in single-family dwellings comply with Joint Appendix JA8 and are certified and marked to it (150.0(k)1A); recessed downlights may not contain screw-base sockets and must be certified airtight and sealed (150.0(k)1C); lighting must have readily accessible manual on-off controls, at least one luminaire in each bathroom, garage, laundry room, utility room and walk-in closet must be controlled by an occupancy or vacancy sensor with automatic-off, and lighting in habitable spaces must have dimming controls, with the listed exceptions (150.0(k)2); outdoor lighting on the building needs a manual switch plus a photocell with a motion sensor or automatic time switch, or an astronomical time clock, with any override returning to automatic within six hours (150.0(k)3). The Electrical Code incorporates the Energy Code's readiness circuits (CEC 408.2(B), 422.3, 440.3, 706.10).
Why it matters
The energy code is the inspection most electricians fail without knowing why: the fixture was fine, the wire was fine, and the final was turned down because the bathroom had a plain switch or the recessed cans had screw bases. Every item here is a line on the estimate and a decision made before the drywall, and the customer who gets the sensor and dimmer conversation at the kitchen table thinks you are thorough instead of expensive.