Industry News

Canada’s 2020 National Model Codes released

By Leah Den Hartogh

After a two-year delay, the 2020 National Model Codes have been released as of March 28. It provides Canada with an updated set of construction codes that include the National Building Code, National Plumbing Code, National Fire Code, and the National Energy Code.

“These new Codes are more reflective of the current world we live in,” said Kevin Griffiths, chair of the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC). “Thanks to these updates, it will be easier for Canadians with accessibility considerations to navigate different spaces; large farm buildings are now included in the Codes

The National Model Codes received its first update since the 2015 edition.

to reflect the evolving agricultural sector; and energy performance levels have been introduced to make buildings more energy efficient.”

According to Kevin Wong, Canadian codes manager at Uponor and a member of more than a dozen technical committees, there are plenty of reasons the industry can celebrate after the release of the Codes. “This is the first time all three codes are released at the same time,” explained Wong. “There are no misunderstandings between the three model codes. Cross coordination was a big step and having all three released at the same time was worth the wait.” This is also the first time the model codes are free to access by all users, says Wong. “That by itself is a celebration for us.” National Resource Canada (NRCan) and the standing committees for the plumbing, energy, and building codes all work on cross coordination committees to ensure that the message, objectives, and approaches are aligned, reported Wong.

Across the four codes, there are a surplus of changes made since the 2015 iteration. However, there are a few points to highlight— greywater updates now include rainwater, a move to nominal pipe sizing (NPS) instead of measurements in the codes, and the clarification for vertical spaces, reported Wong.

Nearly 400 technical changes, which was

approved by CCBFC, were introduced into the 2020 edition. Some of the highlights from the CCBFC for the National Building Code include: 1. Encapsulated mass timber construction was introduced and will enable the construction of wood buildings up to 12 storeys. 2. Air leakage requirements were revised to establish performance classes for air barrier assemblies. 3. Requirements for evaporative equipment and drain pans are revised to minimize the growth and transmission of Legionella

and other bacteria. 4. An energy efficiency performance compliance path was established with five tiers. 5. Performance requirements for HVAC and service water heating equipment were updated to align with Canada’s energy efficiency regulations.

The National Plumbing Code of Canada will now allow for fibrocement pipe and fittings to be used as a solution to replace asbestoscement pipe and fittings. PE-RT tubing, PVC pipe, and their fittings are also introduced as acceptable solutions, with the use of cellular core PVC pipe limited to residential buildings containing one or two dwellings and row houses with up to three storeys. Copper pipe prohibition has been extended to all urinals. Non-potable rainwater harvesting systems received new requirements to ensure that they are designed, fabricated, and installed in accordance with good engineering practice, according to CCBFC.

Under the National Energy Code of Canada, whole-building airtightness testing has newly been introduced. Maximum overall thermal transmittance valves for opaque building assemblies and fenestration are reduced to improve the thermal performance of the building envelop.

Each province is set to adopt the same base code, but will have the ability to make jurisdiction specific adjustments to fit within their legislative framework, explained Wong. “It also gives them the ability to make changes or corrections in the fly if the code got something wrong.” He goes on to describe how the role of the standing committee is never done as the codes are a living document and are always being made better as new technology is introduced into the market.

The code cycle is every five years with a mid-cycle updated to errata and critical updates. That being said, the next iteration of the National Model Codes will be released in 2025 and is expected to address lessons learned from the pandemic, including indoor air pathogens. Provinces and territories were provided with advance copies of the Code changes in December 2021, so that they could prepare regulations based on the updates, reports NRCan.

The OGA conference returned in-person for the first time since prior to the pandemic.

Geothermal industry discusses ways to reach Canada’s net-zero goals

The Ontario Geothermal Association (OGA) 2022 conference returned on April 26. Held at the Hilton in Mississauga, the conference was host to municipal advisors, HVAC/R professionals, consulting engineers and designers, as well as developers, educators and utilities.

The theme for the conference was “Closing the Loop,” and the all-day event covered various topics and issues regarding climate change and how Canada can meet its goals of net-zero emissions by 2050. The conference had a jam-packed agenda and showcased new plans and technologies to help the industry meet its climate action goals.

Topics of discussion

The day commenced with a presentation by Martin Luymes, vice president of government and stakeholder relations at the Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) and Jean Philippe Hardy, managing consultant at Dunsky Energy and Climate. The presentation focused on the Dunsky Energy Report titled,“Driving GroundSource Heat Pump Adoption.” For more details on the report, visit www.plumbingandhvac.ca/ ground-source-heat-pump-adoption.

Hardy highlighted how the Dunsky report responded to an earlier report by the ICF and CGA, where they excluded ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) from its electrification and decarbonization solutions analysis. “Our report essentially replaced air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) with ground source heat pumps, and the findings saw that GSHPs keep performing even in lower temperatures. Whereas ASHPs lose performance in lower temps.”

While GSHPs are costly, the Dunsky report demonstrated how Canada could see around $50 billion to $150 billion in savings.

The presentation showcased how Canada is lacking in the adoption of ground-source heat pumps, and Hardy further explained this by comparing Canada to other countries. “For every one GSHP installed in a Canadian home, that equals six in Austria and the USA, which equals 22 in Sweden.”

Falling short

Another presentation from the day was held by Gabriella Kalapos, executive director at Clean Air Partnerships. During her presentation, Kalapos discussed the commitments made over the years regarding climate change and how most commitments have not been followed-up. She looked at how more collaboration within the industry could be made as Canada accelerates its netzero plan. She highlighted that while reducing greenhouse gas in new builds is relatively easy, the challenge is retrofitting existing buildings to be more green.

Attendees of the conference were also able to hear additional presentations on “Successful Commercial Geothermal Project Analysis – Geothermal in Rental Building and Condos” by Jennifer Burstein, VP of Collecdev Developments, “Leveraging Collaboration Between Municipalities and Contractors for Small and Rural Community Climate Action Plans” by Adler Gross, climate change project officer of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, and “Residential Decarbonization 2030—How do we motivate the unwilling residential contractor?” by Victor Hyman, executive director of ClimateCare.

The conference also hosted a Town Hall meeting that discussed membership and industry engagement related to the OGA’s vision and how it can continue to grow in geoexchange. The Town Hall meeting consisted of a question session featuring a panel made up of Jeff Hunter, chair of the OGA board of directors, Luymes, Tim Weber, business development lead at Diverso Energy, and Jim Bolger, owner and president of Waterloo Energy Products.

During the questioning session, Hunter was asked to explain and give more detail on the OGA’s vision for the future. Hunter responded by saying that “Buildings in the future need to be connected geo-thermally. We as an industry have to continue advocating for this change, and we can do this through advocacy, education, industry leadership, and a growth mindset.”

The conference also featured a small tradeshow, which saw several exhibitors, including Belimo, Geosmart Energy, Versa Profiles, First Work Ontario’s Youth Employment Network, EnerTech, Rathco, Eden Energy Equipment, and GPA Inc.

(From left to right) Jeff Hunter, Jim Bolger, Martin Luymes, and Tim Weber were part of the Town Hall meeting, which focused on membership and industry engagement.

Political landscape shifting in Canada as Conservatives up in projection polling

The Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) hosted its second ever, Quarterly Government Relations Round-Up webinar on May 12.During the hour-long presentation, attendees heard from Martin Luymes, VP of government and stakeholder relations at HRAI, Kyle Larkin, VP of Impact Public Affairs, Chelsea Goberdhan, government relations specialist for Ontario at HRAI, and two pre-recorded videos by Steven Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change, and Julie Dubrusin, parliamentary secretary to the minister of natural resources and to the minister of environment and climate change. The webinar reported on the activities of HRAI’s third quarter, which began in January 2022 and ended in March 2022. Larkin kicked off the presentations by speaking about the shifting political landscape in Ottawa.

The biggest takeaway regarding the current federal political climate was that the Conservatives are ahead in federal vote projections. “This is the first time the Conservatives have surpassed the Liberals in federal seat projections since the 2015 election,” explained Larkin.

For the NDP-Liberal agreement, the majority of MPs and Canadians are in support of the partnership. “Polling has shown that the majority of Canadians are in support of this agreement lasting until 2025,” said Larkin. “I would say that the majority of Canadians don’t want to hear about politics anymore. They just want their government to work on issues that matter to them.” He anticipates that the partnership won’t last until 2025 and foresees that it could last another year, “Politics always get in the way of agreements like this.”

Additionally, Larkin broke down the top contenders for the Conservative leadership race. The current top contender is Pierre Poilievre, MP of Carleton, Ont. Jean Charest, former premier of Quebec, is believed to be second in the race. Both Leslyn Lewis, MP of Haldimand—Norfolk, Ont, and Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton, Ont, were also mentioned.

Next on the webinar’s docket was Luymes’ federal advocacy update. He highlighted HRAI’s 2022 Budget (which was released in April 2022), HRAI’s Workforce Development Plan (which included potential government funding towards HRAI's initiatives), and a climate leadership statement.

Goberdhan wrapped up the presentation by speaking about the efforts made at their recent 2022 Day at Queen’s Park, which was held on March 2.

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Successful turnout for 2022 MEET Show

Atlantic Canada’s largest trade show and social event for the mechanical trades returned in 2022 to the Moncton Coliseum Complex in New Brunswick for the first time since prior to the pandemic. The Mechanical, Electrical, Electronic and Technology (MEET) Show, ran on May 4 and 5 and recorded 5,772 registered attendees.

“This edition of the MEET Show was a great success,” said Shawn Murphy, show manager of the MEET Show. “We saw professionals from all across the country showcase the latest technology—from robots to heating units and smart building innovations, there was a lot to take in over the course of two days. We are hearing lots of positive feedback from exhibitors and attendees alike.”

In addition to the trade show, the event hosted several educational seminars for attendees.

Four innovation awards were given out by the show’s four sponsoring associations— Venmar AVS/Virtuo Air Technology received the ACME Innovation Award for its AVS N Series, Acuva received the CIPH Innovation Award for its ArrowMax Home 2.0 UVLED water purification system, Intellimeter Canada Inc. received the EFC Innovation Award for its i-Meter EV charger meter and demand controller, and Dals received the IES Innovation Award (Maritime Sections) for its MFD03-CC.

MEET is produced by Master Promotions Ltd. in Moncton and sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Plumbing & Heating (CIPH), IES (Illuminating Engineering Society) – Maritime Sections, ElectroFederation Canada (EFC) and ACME (Atlantic Canada Mechanical Exhibitors). The MEET Show is expected to return in 2024.

Correction : April 2022

In the “Fire Stopping Systems” article, on page 25, when referencing conventional products, the correct listing should have been “sealants, collars, wrap strips, and putty pads.” Fire scruff devices should have been firestop sleeves. When referring to “rock solid, a fireproof insulation,” the product referred to here was mineral wool material. Additionally, the product seen in the picture on page 25 was HoldRite’s castin-place firestop sleeve

At the 2022 MEET Show, there was 5,772 registered attendees over the course of the two-day show.

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