FAQs

Net-zero energy building:  A building that is designed and constructed to produce as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis. A net-zero energy building uses renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, or geothermal to generate the energy it needs.

Low carbon building:  A low carbon building replaces some or all fossil fuel heating, cooling and cooking appliances with electric appliances that use clean grid electricity. 

Energy resilience 

Energy resilience refers to the ability of a building or community to withstand and recover from energy disruptions or emergencies. This can include power outages, extreme weather events, or other unexpected events that impact energy supply. Buildings and communities that are designed and operated with energy resilience in mind continue to function and provide essential services even during times of energy scarcity or disruption.

This consultation is intended to solicit feedback from building industry members, who represent local experts on the challenges and opportunities for high-performance new construction in RDN. Interested building industry members should “Register to Get Involved” (by clicking the Register button in the top right corner) to receive email notifications about project updates, access the stakeholder survey (coming soon) and submit any questions you have. They may also contact sustainability@rdn.bc.ca to request an invitation to our industry stakeholder consultation event (see "Key Dates" on this page).

In British Columbia, the building sector is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, second only to transportation. This is true in our region too and it is important that we address this key emission source. The construction, operation and maintenance of buildings contribute to emissions through energy use for heating, cooling and lighting, as well as the production of building materials and waste. One approach to reducing carbon and energy use in the building sector is to encourage the construction of energy-efficient and low-carbon new buildings. This contributes to a more sustainable future but also offers long-term cost savings for building owners and occupants.

Using low emission/energy efficient design at the time of initial construction avoids the high cost of having to renovate the home for better efficiency or a different energy system later. The buildings we build today will last past our own lifetimes, meaning that the decisions make about them now will impact their carbon emissions and energy use far into the future.

The intent of the work is to:

• Assess non-regulatory policies (e.g., incentives) and regulatory tools available through the BC Building Code (BCBC, the BC Energy Step Code and the Zero Carbon Step Code) for applicability in the RDN.
• Understand the environmental, social, and financial impacts of different policy options. 
• Engage with building industry stakeholders to understand their perspectives on policy impacts, barriers to action, and opportunities.
• Analyze if builders want a consistent policy approach for all municipalities in the region.
• Understand potential impacts of different options on both greenhouse gas reductions and other reginal priorities, including affordability.

The British Columbia (BC) Energy Step Code is a provincial building compliance path that focuses on energy efficiency in new buildings. It was first introduced in 2017 as an optional compliance pathway for local governments to encourage or require a certain level of energy efficiency in new construction. As of May 1, 2023, Part 9 buildings (e.g., single-family homes and duplexes) must meet Step 3 of the Energy Step Code, while Part 3 buildings (larger multifamily buildings) must meet Step 2.

Following the Provincial adoption schedule, after May 1, 2023, all Part 9 buildings must meet Step 3 and Part 3 buildings must meet Step 2 of the Energy Step Code. The graphic below shows the province’s current timeline for adopting progressively higher steps of the BC Energy Step Code. As the province adopts higher steps, they become the mandatory minimum level of efficiency required in all local government jurisdictions: 

The RDN, City of Nanaimo, District of Lantzville, and Town of Qualicum Beach currently have different approaches to the BC Energy Step Code: 

The City of Nanaimo adopted a phased in approach to the Step Code in 2019, with the following implementation dates:

The cost of complying with energy efficiency and low carbon regulations will vary from building to building and project to project, depending on the project type, goals of the project, product availability and cost, and the decisions made during design.

As noted in the City of Nanaimo's 2018 and 2022 Provincial BC Energy Step Code Metrics reports, historically, the cost premiums of high-performance building components have gone down over time, as the technology develops and as the market matures.  

Overall, the expected cost increase from the baseline National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB 2017) standard ranges from 1 to 8% for single-family homes constructed to Step 5 and 1 to 6% for multiple-family dwellings constructed to Step 4 of BC Energy Step Code.  As currently in BC, single-family homes are required to meet Step 3 and large multi-family dwellings Step 2, the cost increase will likely be less than the above noted ranges. The cost increase for single-family homes is greater in small homes (less than 200m2) than large or medium sized homes over 200m2.  For large and medium sized homes, the cost increase ranged from 1 to 3%.  

More costing studies can be found in the Documents section of the City of Nanaimo's project page.

The BC Zero Carbon Step Code is a provincial BC Building Code standard that local governments can choose to implement in their jurisdiction, starting May 1, 2023. The Zero Carbon Step Code sets a maximum annual amount of greenhouse gas emissions that each new building is allowed to emit.

Local governments may reference the Zero Carbon Step Code in their building or zoning bylaws and may also apply different carbon performance levels, where each higher performance level further reduces building emissions. This allows local governments to find a carbon performance level that is feasible for their local context.

The four Steps are: 

Measure-only: requires measurement of a building’s emissions without reductions, and is intended to build knowledge and capacity;

Moderate Carbon Performance: in most cases, will require decarbonization of either space heating or domestic hot water systems;

Strong Carbon Performance: in most cases, will require decarbonization of both space heating and domestic hot water systems; and,

Zero Carbon Performance: in most cases will require the full electrification of a building.

More detail on the technical specification of the Zero Carbon Step Code can be found HERE.

The Province will require Zero Carbon Performance for all new construction by 2030. They have also signaled the implementation of interim requirements in 2024 and 2027, but have not released details on what levels will be required.

The BC Energy Step Code is a provincial standard that sets energy efficiency requirements for new buildings, while the BC Zero Carbon Step Code sets greenhouse gas performance targets for new buildings.

***Please note that this information should be confirmed with the Building and Safety Standards Branch (BSSB) as they are the official source of information on this matter***

For Part 9 Buildings. - back-up systems that have not been designed to accommodate the entire heating load of the building can be excluded from the zero carbon code calculations. This would include smaller wood stoves and smaller gas fireplaces. Supplemental heat is to be included in the calculations though, for example gas supplemental heating used for an air source heat pump. For Part 3 Buildings: - the City of Vancouver Energy Modelling Guidelines are to be followed, which includes gas fireplaces.

No. Zero Carbon Step Code sets a maximum annual amount of greenhouse gas emissions that a new building is allowed to emit. Development projects have the option to specify low emissions energy sources* (such as electricity) for space and hot water heating and cooking equipment, or include equipment powered by an energy source with a higher carbon emissions factor (such as natural gas) as long as the projects can demonstrate the anticipated carbon emissions are under the required threshold.

Depending on how the building is designed, back up or redundant heating systems such as woodstoves, decorative fireplaces, and other heating equipment may not need to be included in determining an Emission Level (EL). This means those ancillary uses and appliances may still use an energy source with a higher emissions factor and be Zero Carbon Step Code compliant.

In practice, there are a variety of ways to meet the top level of the Zero Carbon Step Code. It is entirely at the designer or architect’s discretion to choose how the building will meet a target Emission Level (EL). Decisions on energy sources and equipment may affect requirements for other building systems and components (such as insulation, windows, etc.).

Homes and small residential buildings (Part 9) have both performance and prescriptive compliance options available. Large complex buildings (Part 3) only have a performance pathway available, where compliance is determined by following the City of Vancouver Energy Modelling Guidelines.

Under the performance pathway for Part 9, the EL is determined by modelling the building and its systems to meet certain metrics. These metrics are the same for all buildings that fall under the Zero Carbon Step Code, independent of the energy source chosen for building systems and equipment. This means that some trade-offs – such as a higher performing envelope – may have to be included in the building design if energy sources with a higher emissions factor* are used. The greenhouse gas emissions of ancillary equipment such as cooktops, fireplaces, and laundry drying equipment are not included in the modelling of a Part 9 building’s EL for determining compliance with the performance path. As it is a performance based compliance pathway, there is no simple archetype of an EL-4 building, as one can be different from the next depending on design decisions made for each building.

The prescriptive pathway for Part 9 is a simplified option to meet an EL which may require energy sources with a low emission factor (≤0.011 kg CO2e/kWh) for building heating systems, service hot water systems, equipment, and/or appliances. An EL-4 prescriptive building uses low-carbon energy sources for all building systems, equipment, and appliances. Cooktops and laundry drying equipment are included in the prescriptive path compliance, and must use energy sources with a lower carbon emissions factor to meet EL-4 under this pathway.

For Part 3 buildings the performance pathway is similar to Part 9, however building’s greenhouse gas emissions are calculated based on the use of all energy utilities on site regardless of what equipment/appliances are being served. This would include all building systems, equipment, and appliances in the performance model. Like Part 9, there may be design trade-offs required if energy sources with a higher emissions factor are predominantly used throughout the building. As it is performance based compliance there is no simple archetype of an EL-4 building, as one can be different than the next depending on design decisions made for each building.

*The emissions factors associated with the use of energy utilities consumed by the building’s systems are published in the BC Building Code as follows:

1) 0.011 kg CO2e/kWh for electricity, and

2) 0.180 kg CO2e/kWh for natural gas.

Further detailed information on the Zero Carbon Step Code can be found in Technical Bulletin No. B23-03 from the provincial Building and Safety Standards Branch, including emissions factors for other energy sources.

BC Hydro is planning for the rapid scale up of building, vehicle, and industry electrification and has developed near- and long-term actions to meet the scale of electrification required for achieving the provincial government’s climate targets.

BC Hydro Staff attended the City of Nanaimo's May 1, 2023 Council meeting as a delegation, and confirmed BC Hydro is currently in an energy surplus and have the capacity to meet projected demand. BC Hydro were partners in the development of the BC Energy Step Code and are aware of, and supportive of, the Zero Carbon Code. Click here to watch the BC Hydro Council presentation.

Will the Zero Carbon Code result in higher utility bills for new homes?

While heating a home with a natural gas furnace is generally more affordable than using electric baseboards, homes heated with a heat pump generally have similar or lower utility bills than those heated with natural gas.  A recent study of Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland heat pump users who recently switched from natural gas noted “at current utility costs and carbon tax rates, heat pumps resulted in the same or lower costs in the majority (70%) of participating homes. With only 12% of homes experiencing a utility cost increase of more than 10%.”

Like capital costs, utility costs can vary widely, primarily due to the type of equipment installed, fluctuating energy costs, and user preferences. Due to the efficiency of electric systems for large buildings, modeling suggests utility costs would decrease between 9% to 24% (depending on Step Code levels and the size of the building) for multiple-family dwellings built to the Zero Carbon Step Code standard. For single-family dwellings, utility costs for a Zero Carbon Performance home range from a decrease of 12% to an increase of 7% compared to a baseline gas heated home. 

A high energy efficiency home is viewed as increasingly desirable by potential home buyers. In a 2020 survey by the Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA), 9 out of 10 respondents said they either “really want” or “must have” an energy-efficient home. An “overall energy efficient home” was listed as the third most desirable feature prospective homeowners look for in a new home.  High-efficiency windows come in at number four. A high-efficiency, low-carbon heating system has also made it onto buyers’ top-ten list of priorities, at number nine.

Higher performance buildings also improve resilience to climate change by safeguarding against increasing temperatures through mechanical cooling, and maintaining indoor temperatures for longer periods of time in the case of power outages. 

A common misconception is that relying solely on electricity puts residents at greater risk in the case of a power outage (compared to having both natural gas and electricity). In general, gas heating systems will not operate during a power outage as they use components that require electricity to operate, including circuit boards, relays, and blower motors and fans. An exception is when homeowners can light a natural gas fireplace or stove with a match; the same is true for some older domestic hot water systems.

Despite that the Zero Carbon Code was only introduced on May 1, 2023, a number of local governments in BC have already taken action to restrict carbon emissions from new buildings. The District of Saanich and City of Victoria worked collaboratively to become the first municipalities to enact regulations referencing the Zero Carbon Step Code. As of May 1, 2023, both Saanich and Victoria require all new buildings to meet the Measure Only tier of the Zero Carbon Step Code. Part 9 buildings in both cities will need to meet the top level - Zero Carbon Performance Level (EL-4) on and after November 1, 2023, Part 3 residential buildings (4-6 storey) will need to meet EL-4 after on and after July 1, 2024, and the remaining Part 3 buildings will need to meet EL-4 on and after November 1, 2024.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler quickly followed Saanich and Victoria in implementing the Zero Carbon Code. Starting on January 1, 2024, Whistler will require Step 4 of the BC Energy Step Code (one step above minimum code) plus Strong Carbon Performance for all Part 9 homes; and Step 3 (one step above minimum code) with Strong Carbon Performance for Part 3 residential buildings. Whistler will then progress to a Zero Carbon Performance by 2026.

On May 23, 2023, District of Central Saanich Council supported the move to implement Zero Carbon Performance for Part 9 buildings by November 1, 2023. They also already require Step 3 (one step above minimum code) for Part 3 residential buildings (4-6 story).

Prior to the Province announcing their intent to introduce the Zero Carbon Code, a number of Lower Mainland municipalities developed low carbon energy system requirements generally to be in lieu of advanced Step Code steps. The Cities of Richmond, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver have developed a policy that allows developers to choose to either meet the top Step Code requirement or meet a lower Step Code requirement and a set emissions standard.  

As of October 1, 2023, the City of Richmond will require Part 9 builders to either meet Step 5 of the BC Energy Step Code or meet Step 3 plus a low carbon energy standard equivalent to the Strong Carbon Standard. Richmond has indicated they will increase the minimum step code requirement in conjunction with a LCES to Step 4 by 2025 and Step 5 by 2027. They plan to follow a similar step up approach for Part 3 buildings.