< UPFRONT PERFECT STORM THE RETURN OF IN PERSON INDUSTRY EVENTS, IN THE FORM OF ASSOCIATION MEETINGS, SUPPLIER EVENTS AND MAJOR TRADESHOWS HAS brought a true sense of normalcy to the industry and given us a sense of a return to the way things were. But in the past two years things have changed, and the in the past few months the level of attention being paid to the way home and building owners heat and cool their properties in the near future has become a greater topic of interest among main stream media. On March 29th the Minister of the Environment released the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Canada's Next Steps for Clean Air and a Strong Economy. The Plan addresses multiple issues, including sections on carbon pricing, the production of clean fuels, the electricity grid, heavy industry, the oil & gas sector, transportation, agriculture and yes, buildings. Among the $9.1 billion of investments recommended in the Plan, $150 million is earmarked for the development of a Canada Green Buildings Strategy, designed to lead to new policy, programs, incentives and standards required to "drive a massive retrofit of the existing building stock, and construction to the highest zero carbon standards." In an attempt to share how contractors will be affected and can participate in the transition that will be affecting the industry, we at HPAC pulled together a virtual panel discussion on April 25th inviting a contracting company, HRAI, NRCan and the Electro-Federation of Canada to discuss the topic. Generously sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric and Eaton, the free webinar covered many issues, from heat pumps to the stability of the grid (see more, page 11). One key topic was about selling heating and cooling systems today based on the price of carbon in the future. While in many jurisdictions across Canada the cost of electricity, and even the greenhouse gas emissions from electricity production, is not favourable, but going forward the economics and sustainability strategies suggest electrically-powered HVAC will be the more cost-effective and climate friendly in the near future. These same trends were also key to discussions at the Ontario Geothermal Association meeting held in Mississauga on April 26th. The well-attended event shared research on the benefits of geo-exchange technology when it comes to reducing peak demands on the grid, and attendees heard from developers who are keen on the technology and see the interest in geothermal for multi-unit residential exploding over the next three years. Many in this geothermal community foresee a perfect storm gathering as carbon taxes rise, net zero demands increase and developers sharpen their pencils and realize the future economic benefits of geo-exchange technology. However, the storm clouds may be heavy, because the industry worries about having the capacity to meet the demand. The opportunities for designing, drilling and installing geo systems could be massive, but will there be a workforce to fulfill the demand? This is a question that reverberates across the entire HVAC and plumbing industry - hopefully a return to in-person gatherings can ignite a spark to solve the demand for more resources industry wide. <> – Doug Picklyk, Editor
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HPAC | MAY 2022
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