For all newly constructed residential house projects submitted on or after January 1, 2020, HERS verified QII (Quality Insulation Installation) will be part of the “prescriptive standard” that each project is compared against for compliance purposes. If QII is required to achieve compliance on a project, it is imperative to hire a HERS Rater early in the construction or design process, as they are required to inspect the air sealing and insulation work at various phases before sheetrock is installed. It is also important to make sure the Insulation Contractor knows that the project will need to meet QII standards, and ideally, have experience meeting those standards.
The QII (Quality Insulation Installation) verification procedure and number of inspections required varies due to many factors, but in general, there is a building envelope air sealing component, and an insulation installation quality component that will need to be met for all exterior roof, walls, and insulated floors adjacent to conditioned space. The specific QII requirements can be found on the CF2R Installation forms, and all items on the forms must be met, if applicable.
For more information about the QII verification process, and what is required to meet the QII standards, please visit the web links below.

CA Energy Commission – CF2R Installation Forms:
2019 CF2R ENV 21 HERS QII FramingStage
2019 CF2R ENV 22 HERS QII InsulationStage

Energy Code Ace: “Decoding QII” PowerPoint Presentation