November 28, 2007

British Columbia proposes green changes to provincial building code

RICHARD GILBERT

STAFF WRITER

The B.C. government is looking for public input on proposed changes to the B.C. Building Code that would make it more environmentally friendly.

Changes proposed in the first stage of greening the B.C. Building Code focus on improving sustainability through increased energy and water efficiency.

Updates to the B.C. Building Code are available online for public review and comment. The deadline for comments on the proposed changes is Dec. 21, 2007 and the new code goes into effect in April.

When the new code comes into effect, B.C. will be the first province in Canada to develop unified green provisions for the construction of new buildings.

“B.C. is leading the way in Canada. A lot of the changes that are being proposed in B.C. are also being proposed in the National Building Code for 2010,” said Chris Erb, president of the Canadian Home Builders Association B.C. (CHBABC). “We have been in consultation for quite a while, but instead of a government regulated process, I would prefer a process that was self regulating and voluntary.”

Some builders and developers voluntarily seek green certification for their residential and commercial projects. According to Erb, the CHBABC already has a Built Green initiative, which uses the EnerGuide energy efficiency and sustainability program for residential housing. EnerGuide for Houses is a federal government program developed by the Office of Energy Efficiency in Natural Resources Canada.

“Drawings are evaluated by a third party and the builder goes through a checklist to get points for raising the EnerGuide level of the new home,” Erb said.

“The process is voluntary. The builder goes through and picks from a check list of 80 or more items, which includes things like, on demand hot water, the type of windows, air source heat pumps.”

The annual education seminar of the Building Officials’ Association of B.C. (BOABC) on Nov. 22 to 24 was part of the provincial government’s public consultation process to get feedback from the industry.

“We had a three-day educational seminar. The theme was green building and the new regulations that will be put into the 2006 B.C. Building Code,” said Richard Bushey, executive director of the BOABC.

“The education seminar aimed to educate people on all the proposed changes to the building code, which comes into affect in April 2008. From what we heard, the government is proposing a number of proscriptive measures, such as increasing insulation and introducing a number of energy conservation measures.”

The new building code rules will require better insulation and water-saving fixtures in all new residential construction including new homes, additions to existing houses and residential buildings up to four storeys.

High-rises and commercial construction will be required to meet international standards for energy efficiency in buildings.

The Building and Safety Policy Branch (BSPB) is seeking public input on three different changes to the B.C. Building Code: 1) energy efficiency requirements for single family houses and smaller multi-family residential, commercial and industrial buildings; 2) energy efficiency requirements for high-rise multi-family residential buildings and larger industrial, commercial and institutional buildings; 3) water-efficiency requirements for the B.C. Building Code.

To review and comment on the changes to the B.C. Building Code visit the BSPB web site at www.housing.gov.bc.ca/ building/green/#seventh.

The B.C. building code amendments stem from the province’s commitment to cut one-third of B.C.’s carbon emissions by 2020.

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