ECC and HERS rating, handled end to end.
Energy Code Compliance verification: the field testing and registration that turns a compliance report into a signed-off building. Same role HERS always was, new name under the 2025 code.
HERS is now ECC. Nothing else moved.
The California Energy Commission renamed HERS, Home Energy Rating System, to ECC, Energy Code Compliance, with the 2025 Energy Code. It's the same verification programme, the same field tests, and the same providers.
You'll still see both acronyms on paperwork and in plan-check comments for a while. Both refer to the same thing, and we work under either name.
| Form | Who signs it | When |
|---|---|---|
| CF1R | Me, the energy consultant | With the permit application |
| CF2R | The installing contractor | As work is installed |
| CF3R | The independent rater | Before final sign-off |
Why the chain matters: all three have to be registered with an approved provider, in order. A missing CF2R is the single most common reason a project stalls at final inspection with everything physically finished.
The measures that need a person on site.
Which of these apply to your project depends entirely on what the compliance model took credit for. Your CF1R lists them explicitly.
Duct leakage
Pressurised and measured against a target. Triggered by new ducts, replaced ducts, or a new system on existing ducts, which is most HVAC work.
Refrigerant charge
On split systems in the hotter climate zones. Either a charge verification or a fault indicator display, depending on the equipment.
Airflow & fan watt draw
Measured airflow per ton and watts per CFM. Fails more often than people expect, usually because of undersized return ducts.
Quality insulation (QII)
Inspected during framing and again before drywall. Has to be scheduled early. Miss the framing visit and the credit is gone.
Envelope air leakage
A blower door test, where the model claims a tighter envelope than the default. Real margin in the cold and desert zones.
Ventilation airflow
Indoor air quality ventilation measured against the required rate. Cheap to pass, easy to forget until the rater is standing there.
The cheapest time to think about verification is before the plans are final
Every verified measure is a scheduled site visit and a line on the budget. Some of them are worth it. QII often pays for itself in a hot zone. Some are being claimed by default when the project didn't need them at all.
When we run your model we'll tell you which measures the margin depends on, and which you could drop. That conversation costs nothing and happens before anyone is committed.
Call (909) 914-0305 for a quote →Registry and coordination
Add ECC/HERS coordination to any report and we'll handle the registry side: registering the CF1R, chasing the contractor's CF2R forms, scheduling the rater, and confirming the CF3R lands before you need the sign-off.
Quoted on a call
Added to any Title 24 report. Third-party rater fees are separate and billed by the rater.
ECC / HERS reports are quoted on a call.
Everything else on this site is priced in the open. Field verification is the one thing that isn't, because the scope is set by your measure list rather than by floor area.
Have the CF1R in front of you if you can, because the measure list is most of the quote. Two minutes on the phone and you'll have a number and a date.
How much does an ECC/HERS report cost?
It's quoted per project rather than off a price list, because the scope genuinely varies: which measures your CF1R calls for, how many dwelling units, how many site visits the schedule needs, and where the project is.
Call (909) 914-0305 for a quote. If you have the CF1R to hand it takes about two minutes on the phone. If you don't have one yet, the address, project type and unit count get close enough to budget from.
Why isn't ECC/HERS on the price calculator like the reports are?
Because a single ADU needing a duct leakage test and a twelve-unit building needing QII on every unit are not the same job, and one number covering both would be dishonest in one direction or the other.
Registry and coordination, which means registering the CF1R, chasing the contractor's CF2R forms, scheduling the rater and confirming the CF3R lands, is quoted on the same call: (909) 914-0305.
What do you need from us to quote the verification?
The CF1R, if there is one. It lists the verified measures, and that is most of the answer. Failing that: the project address, what's being built, and how many units.
Call (909) 914-0305 or email the plans over. You'll get a number and a realistic date, not a range.
How much notice do you need to get a rater on site?
Call as soon as you have a rough inspection date rather than the week you need the CF3R. Duct and airflow testing has to happen at a specific point in the build, and the cost of missing that window is a return visit.
(909) 914-0305. A two-minute call now usually saves a scheduling problem later.
About ECC and HERS
Is ECC the same thing as HERS?
Yes. With the 2025 Energy Code the California Energy Commission renamed HERS (Home Energy Rating System) verification to ECC (Energy Code Compliance) verification.
The field tests, the CF2R and CF3R paperwork, and the registration process are the same. Only the acronym changed. If someone is telling you it's a brand-new requirement with a new fee, they're mistaken.
Who has to hire the rater, us or the contractor?
Either, and it varies by builder. What matters is that it happens before final inspection, because the certificate of occupancy depends on registered CF3R forms.
What actually gets tested in the field?
Most commonly duct leakage, refrigerant charge, airflow and fan watt draw, and quality insulation installation where the model takes credit for it. Your CF1R lists exactly which measures apply. It is not a fixed list, it depends on what the model claimed.
Can we avoid field verification altogether?
Sometimes. If the model doesn't take credit for any verified measure and the ducts are untouched, nothing needs testing. That's a design decision worth making early, and it's one of the things we flag when we run the numbers, while it is still cheap to change.
Where your forms get registered.
The CEA is the credential California's energy-code trade is measured by, issued by the California Association of Building Energy Consultants and earned by examination. Plenty of people produce Title 24 forms; far fewer have been tested on the standards behind them.
CABEC · Certified Energy Analyst
CALGreen is Title 24 Part 11, the green building code that shares your permit with the Part 6 energy code. Certified to examine those plans and inspect the work, so the second code doesn't ambush you at plan check.
International Code Council
CF1R, CF2R and CF3R documents are registered through CHEERS, a CEC-approved data registry. Registration is what makes a compliance form count. Unregistered, it is a printout.
CEC-approved data registry
Need a rater lined up? Call and we'll scope it.
The CF1R decides which measures need verifying. Get that right and the field work is predictable, and the quote takes one call.
Prefer email? info@title24master.com. Send the CF1R and we'll quote it back.