North Shore to build the most energy efficient homes in all of B.C.

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – New homes on the North Shore will now be the most energy efficient in the province.

On July 1, both the City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver joined West Vancouver as the only municipalities in B.C., so far, to require the highest level on the BC Energy Step Code.

That level (step 5) means new homes – whether they be single-family, condos and townhouses – must be net-zero energy consuming.

West Vancouver was first out of the gates, adopting the stringent code in February of this year. The District of North Vancouver is giving builders the option to build to step 5 requirements, or to strive for a lower step if the new building includes a low carbon energy system to provide heating and cooling.

Municipalities have been given flexibility in how quickly they adopt all five steps, but step 5 must be in effect for buildings by 2032.

Ron Rapp, CEO of the Homebuilders Association Vancouver, says the code doesn’t dictate how a home is built, but how it will perform energy-wise, with a big focus on the prevention of air either escaping or entering – the leakiness – of the home.

“That includes the significant tightening of the building envelopes. It also has to do with the type of the mechanical equipment in the home and windows would have to be significantly improved,” he explains.

Windows, he concedes, will be a challenge.

“It might mean the orientation of windows and the window construction itself might be different. There might be walls that are northern exposure to reduce the amount of heat loss.”

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He admits the new type of window that will be needed to comply with the code will drive up the price of new homes.

“Windows are going to be considerably more expensive. Of course, they are the weak link right now in the envelope. Even the better windows out there are not performing anywhere close to the wall assembly as a whole.”

Rapp notes well over half of greenhouse gases and emissions in the housing sector are concentrated in homes built before 1984, so he says it would make sense for older homes to begin adopting aspects of the new code.

Back in May, the Homebuilders Association Vancouver took a survey, to see where other municipalities are in adopting the step code. It would appear most Lower Mainland cities are at step 3.

In producing the findings of the survey, the association said it “has concerns that many municipalities are rushing to go beyond the recommended approach and there is now a discrepancy in implementation across Metro Vancouver municipalities. An accelerated implementation can contribute to increased costs and time-frame of construction.”

Rapp says they are asking that municipalities temper their enthusiasm for the building code.

“It is commendable to try to get to the maximum level. But we have to do it in a sustainable manner – we have to have the resources to get there from here. It’s not going to do any good to set the bar high, but not be able to administer it.”