Mission Hills ADU Construction and the Energy Review
Mission Hills ADUs drawn for the LADBS energy review: insulation, glass, a heat pump and any required solar, sized against the older main house's service.
Before LADBS approves a Mission Hills ADU behind an older house, its plan checker has to see how the unit meets the state energy code. The set carries the energy compliance forms: insulation in walls and ceiling, window performance, the heat pump and water heater, and, for a newly built detached unit, the solar array the code may call for. The old house stays out of that math unless the work reaches into it.
Solar and the old service
Panels on the unit's roof feed back through a breaker, and an older main panel can limit how large that breaker may be. The electrical code ties the solar breaker to the rating of the panel's busbar, so a small old panel may need replacing, or the array can connect on the supply side of the main breaker. If the unit has its own LADWP meter, the array connects there and the old panel is left alone. We work out the connection before plan check, and a shaded or small roof may qualify for a reduced array or none.
Insulation and glass on the forms
The compliance forms also list what goes into the walls, ceiling and windows, and the inspector later checks the work against them. Insulation is installed and inspected before drywall covers it, windows arrive with labels showing their rated performance, and any ducts are tested for leaks. A heat pump water heater is drawn with its condensate drain and the air space it needs. An independent energy rater may verify some items in the field. None of this asks the main house to change, so its plaster walls, original windows and trim stay as they are.
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On paper first. The LADBS set traces the feeder or the new meter, the water branch with its shutoff, and the drain from the unit to the old lateral, with the lateral's condition confirmed by camera. Where solar is required, its tie-in point is shown as well, since it can tip the choice between the house panel and a separate meter.
Often, and a conversion carries lighter energy paperwork. Turning a garage into living space is treated as an addition to an existing building, so the solar rule for newly built units does not apply, though walls, ceiling and windows still have to meet the standard for conditioned space. LADBS also checks light, air and a way out of any sleeping room.
By keeping the energy upgrades out of sight. Solar panels go on a roof face hidden from the street where the code allows, and the heat pump's outdoor unit sits behind a screen in the house's trim color. The unit's roof pitch, eaves, window shape and casing then follow the main house, milled and painted to match.
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