Industrial & Logistics / California
Solar for New Warehouse and Distribution Center Construction
A new distribution center has the largest, flattest, most unobstructed roof in commercial construction. The Energy Code requires PV and battery storage on conditioned warehouses, and the economics of a large array make solar worth planning even where the code does not require it. The decisions that matter, roof structure, roof membrane, electrical service, and export strategy, are all made before the tilt-up panels stand.
Eventure's Role
Eventure works with industrial developers, REITs, and general contractors across Southern California and the Inland Empire to plan and deliver warehouse solar from the structural design forward.
We bring solar into the project at schematic design, size the Energy Code requirement, coordinate the roof, structure, electrical rooms, and battery location with your architect and engineers, and carry the system through permitting, utility interconnection, inspection, commissioning, and closeout.
Title 24 treatment
Warehouse is a listed occupancy under Section 140.10. Newly constructed conditioned warehouses must install PV and battery storage; unconditioned warehouses are not subject to the PV and storage requirements. Which case applies depends on the building's conditioning and climate zone, and is confirmed during design.
Design Considerations
What is different about warehouses & distribution.
- Conditioned or unconditionedConditioned warehouses are subject to Section 140.10. Unconditioned warehouses are not required to install PV or storage, though solar-ready provisions and market demand often lead developers to include infrastructure anyway. Spec buildings that may be conditioned later deserve a strategy.
- Roof structure and membraneArray dead load, purlin spacing, and attachment or ballast method belong in the structural calculations. Roof membrane warranties should contemplate the mounting system. Both are simple to address on paper.
- Electrical service and exportA large warehouse roof can produce far more than the building uses. The utility service size, the interconnection application, and the export tariff determine how that production is valued. We model it during design.
- Floor-area method usually governsWith so much roof, the Solar Access Roof Area calculation is large, so the floor-area method sets the required minimum. Developers often build beyond it.
Keep Solar Off the Critical Path
Don't let solar be the last thing standing between your project and its Certificate of Occupancy.
On warehouses & distribution projects, as on every California building, the Energy Code requirement, the fire authority's review of the battery, the utility's interconnection timeline, and the building's final inspection all depend on the solar scope being designed, permitted, installed, and documented in sequence. We treat it as a scheduled trade from day one.
Solar and the Certificate of Occupancy
Questions
Warehouses & Distribution solar, answered.
Is solar required on a new warehouse in California?
It depends on whether the warehouse is conditioned. Conditioned warehouses are listed occupancies under Section 140.10 and must install PV and battery storage. Unconditioned warehouses are not required to, though many developers include solar for export revenue, tenant demand, or future conditioning.
How much solar can a warehouse roof hold?
Far more than the code minimum in most cases. The practical limits are roof structural capacity, fire access pathways, rooftop equipment, and the utility's interconnection capacity. We evaluate all four during schematic design.
What about export programs for large warehouse arrays?
In LADWP territory, the Feed-in Tariff purchases output from systems of 30 kW and larger under long-term contracts. In investor-owned utility territories, net billing and wholesale options apply. The strategy affects the system design, so it is settled early.
Related
More industrial & logistics building types.
All industrial & logistics · All building types · Where we work
Discuss Your Project
Planning warehouses & distribution in California?
Send us the drawings at any stage. We will size the Title 24 requirement, review the roof and electrical approach, and map the path to a Certificate of Occupancy that does not wait on solar.