It’s widely recognized that addressing new buildings alone will not be enough to get us to our emissions reduction targets. Deep building retrofits are a crucial component of the decarbonization transition.
To ensure we are effectively decarbonizing the building sector, we need energy and GHG performance data. We also need to ensure that the building sector (especially non-profit housing providers), can utilize this data in a cost and time-effective manner to develop practical and effective decarbonization plans.
When it comes to retrofitting a home, replacing a gas furnace or water heater with a heat pump will result in additional electrical load requirements. If adding electrified equipment to an existing electrical panel results in exceeding the existing panel capacity, these retrofits could result in additional costs to a homeowner. But, what if these costs could be avoided/reduced? A B2E article from March 2022 summarized research findings on this very topic.
The debate continues. When it comes to ventilation strategies, there are lots of pros and cons to decentralized, centralized and semi-centralized systems. Cost, ownership type and the building’s energy performance target all influence the decision. For this Tech Demo Workshop, we’ve invited HVAC Systems, distributors of both small and large heat recovery ventilators by Swegon, to give our community the big picture.
BC's green building community has been targeting operational emissions reductions for many years now - in both new and existing buildings. And we're getting the swing of it, slowly but surely. But did you know that embodied emissions reductions are just as important? A key strategy to reduce embodied emissions is ensuring that we keep building materials out of landfills. To achieve this circular built environment, we can relocate buildings or we can disassemble them, reusing as many components as possible in a new building.
Our next Tech Demo workshop is the Canadian launch event for made-in-BC Model N by ZAMBA Technologies. Incorporated in 2021, ZAMBA is a new BC-based company that’s garnered significant attention with its innovative HVAC technology that provides and maintains superior indoor air quality and comfort. In 2022, it was one of only seven recipients of the CleanBC Building Innovation Fund.
As governments begin focusing their emissions-reduction plans, policies and regulations on existing buildings, the market is responding. The demand for retrofit-related services and products is growing, but so is the supply.
Yes, we can't believe it either! It's been FIVE years since ZEBx launched with a big splash - and even bigger aspirations - in the summer of 2018.
As governments begin focusing their emissions-reduction plans, policies and regulations on existing buildings, the market is responding. The demand for retrofit-related services and products is growing, but so is the supply. Bondi Energy, headquartered in Toronto, is one of a handful of Canadian companies that provide the full range of services required to decarbonize a building’s heating system, typically with Daikin or Innova electric heat pumps. They take care of design, project management and installation and have decarbonized over 3,000 residential suites in multi-family buildings.
BC’s new Zero Carbon Step Code has arrived! As of this May 1 2023, municipalities across BC now have a new regulatory tool they can use to target emissions. Although it’s the finish line for the Province’s Building and Safety Standards Branch, it’s a starting line for the building industry. There will be some challenges to overcome on the road to achieving the highest step of the ZCSC by 2030.