BIV MAGAZINE
12 | BIV MAGAZINE: THE CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUE 2021 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER
STEPPING UP
The B.C. Step Code is the most energy-saving building code in Canada, but some builders claim it is expensive, elitist and ineffectual in battling climate change FRANK O’BRIEN
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n December 2017 the B.C. government introduced the ambitious BC Energy Step Code, a building code with five steps towards creating net-greenhousegas-emitting residential buildings, or ‘net-zero’ homes, by 2032.
It is the toughest code in Canada and a testing ground for the new national building code, now in the works, that will also put an emphasis on climate change. The Step Code is not yet mandatory and gives B.C. municipalities the option to have residential construction meet one or more steps of the Step Code as an upgrade to the existing code. (The City of Vancouver has its own building code and is moving towards having all new homes becoming net zero by 2030). Step 1 is a minor improvement over the existing code, while the second step is a 10% improvement in efficiency. Step 3, which nine Metro Vancouver municipalities have already moved to, along with some of the larger centres in the Greater Victoria region, specifies a 20% improvement. Step 4 is a 40% upgrade from current standards. Step 5 requires builders to construct homes that have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, meaning the home produces more energy than it uses. Rather than mandate particular building practices or materials, builders are free to choose how to achieve the performance targets. Home efficiency is measured in the number of kilowatt hours per square metre the home requires, the security of its envelope and how airtight it is. “It is a function of the efficiency of the HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] equipment, the tightness of the envelope, the degree of insulation, all these different things,” explains Ron Rapp, CEO of the Homebuilders Association of Vancouver (HAVAN). A certified energy adviser must sign off on plans that meet performance models; then the final structure is checked with a blower door test, which uses a specialized fan to measure how tightly a building is sealed against air leakage. A typical older house, due to natural leakage, may have 10 to 20 air changes per day. A Step 5 level house would have less than one air change daily.
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Casey Edge, executive director of the Victoria Residential Builders Association, fears the Step Code is being introduced too fast • SUBMITTED
2021-03-30 2:51 PM
