Can you build better than Title 24?
Certainly, one of the hottest topics of conversation in the building industry is the update of California’s building code, the 2025 Title 24 revisions, which became effective on Jan. 1, 2026. As the Founder of Wellness Within Your Walls®, an education, certification and self-assessment organization in the building industry and the Owner and Lead Designer of DES-SYN, a residential and commercial interior design firm, I assess Title 24 from a more holistic perspective. I say, “Yes, you can build better.”
No doubt, Title 24 plays a crucial role in California’s and influential on other states’ commitment to energy efficiency and sustainability by creating energy conservation standards as a tool to reduce energy consumption and increase energy costs savings, while minimizing environmental impacts. The 2025 revisions focus heavily within Part 6 on deeper energy efficiency, including solar and storage requirements, mandating heat pump water heaters and HVAC, improving insulation and adding strict wildfire and Wildland-Urban Interface codes. This is all aimed at reducing energy use and increasing grid resilience for new construction and major renovations. These revisions set forth mandatory performance standards that surely emphasize high-performance systems and products to promote smart living. In addition, certain changes, such as the promotion of all-electric homes, tend to provide a “healthier by-product” for occupant outcomes by increasing air quality.
Approaching the residential construction industry from a holistic perspective, I contend that Title 24 is not enough, and we can do better. Better for the environment. Better for people. I have been working with industry professionals – architects, developers, builders, designers and manufacturers – for the past 20 years to focus on high-performing building envelopes and systems coupled with non-toxic materials and products to construct healthier, planet-friendly homes. Building beyond code is doable and should be the goal to achieve healthier, safer, more resilient, more affordable and aesthetically pleasing homes for all.
With the current climate of federal deregulation, a new opportunity arises for builders to claim consumer confidence. Aligning design and build brand platforms with affordable self-elected third-party certifications and self-assessments demonstrates a dedication to the wellbeing of both home buyers and the planet. Deregulation aims to reduce or remove government rules on industries, with the goal of boosting economic activity, lowering costs and increasing competition. Of course, deregulation spurs debates over its impact on safety, markets and the potential need for states to fill regulatory gaps. Without federal funding for incentive programs, industries need new pathways to bring healthier, more sustainable, affordable homes to the market. Third-party certifications, self-assessment protocols and hybrid programs provide a needed pathway forward in 2026 to make America healthier.
For over a decade, I have participated on projects, like ABC Green Homes developed by Builder Media and Villa Bilancia, a home built by Bill Hayward of Hayward Score, which feature homes designed and built to achieve performance results surpassing code requirements, receiving numerous energy and wellness third-party certifications. As well, these homes incorporate healthy home design that ensures better air quality, humidity control, thermal comfort and quality sleep. Building “beyond code” should become part of brand platforms, appealing to lenders, community leaders, health and eco-conscious home buyers. Occupants can breathe easier, both literally and figuratively, when their home is built beyond code, implementing cutting edge technology along with healthy-home design protocols from the outset.
As I look back over the timeline of ABC Green Homes 1.0 – 4.0, I am reminded that each of these homes advanced the design/build protocol for efficient, high-performing, sustainable, healthier homes, as I’m sure will be the case with ABC Green Home 5.0. I anticipate that, in 2026 and beyond, homes will continue to seek higher sustainability and performance goals, integrating smart and cost-saving technology like 3-D printing, intuitive HVAC systems that learn user habits, advanced solar power, square-footage adaptability and off-site production. I also see innovative financing, bringing creativity to the industry with community land trusts and shared equity programs. Interiors will focus on non-toxic materials beyond low and no-VOC paint and feature minimalist design with clean lines, geometric shapes with neutral and impactful colors, all derived from nature implementing a biophilic approach.
The overall aesthetic will lend itself to responsive and intuitive living. New homes will anticipate occupants’ needs through technology, AI-driven devices, multi-functional furnishings and spaces, but also lean on legacies of the past heirlooms, vintage finds and recycled products.The fusion of high-performance, wellness and aesthetics will create homes that demonstrate restorative qualities for occupants, perhaps influencing new, healthier behavioral strategies for holistic and smart living.
By Jillian Pritchard Cooke. She is the founder and CEO of Wellness Within Your Walls, Inc. She can be reached at jillian@wellnesswithinyourwalls.com.
This is featured in the Green Home Builder February issue, read the print version here.
