ZEBx

Reducing emissions from existing buildings will make a bigger contribution to our 2030 and 2050 climate targets than eliminating emissions from new buildings. The City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver and the Province all have 2030 emissions targets for the building sector, but so far, only the City of Vancouver is moving forward with regulating emissions from existing buildings. In May 2022, Vancouver City Council approved a proposal to limit emissions from large, existing residential and commercial buildings beginning next year.

Low-Carbon Energy Systems for Homes (T39)

ConEd Credits: AIBC 1 Core; BC Housing 1 CPD (Construction technology)

Location: Level 200 (Room 206)

• Architecture
• Construction
• Engineering
• Interior Design
• Homebuilding & Renovation
• Sustainable, High Performance & Net Zero Buildings | Zero Waste | Energy Efficiency & Electrification

Theme: Decarbonization & Electrification

Cold winters in BC’s northern communities can make designing and building fully electric homes a challenge, but Northern Homecraft has risen to the occasion.

Do you know what the carbon footprint of your home is? The embodied carbon of the materials that go into constructing a home can be as much as, if not more than, the operational emissions generated by the building during its life span.

Across the province, embodied carbon is responsible for approximately 10% of the provincial emissions. That's approximately 8 MtCO2e every year.

Back in our Oct 2021 Decarb Lunch, ZEBx featured a near-zero emissions, multi-family, Metro Vancouver Housing project on Welcher Avenue in Port Coquitlam with a novel and innovative mechanical system. The building has a hot water loop connected to a heat pump and an energy transfer panel in each unit. Both the domestic hot water and space heating is generated on-demand through the energy transfer panel.

Last month, ZEBx released the sixth case study from the CleanBC Net-Zero Energy-Ready Challenge Winners series. Funded by CleanBC and managed by Integral Group, the program showcases ten exemplary buildings that aim for the highest levels of the BC Energy Step Code and beyond. But the OSO development isn’t just highly energy-efficient – it’s also climate-friendly and climate-resilient.

For our next Tech Demo workshop, we’re proud to feature Oxygen8, a two-time recipient of CleanBC’s Building Innovation Fund. Although the company was incorporated in 2019, its innovative decentralized ventilation equipment is already in use throughout North America.

ZEBx has showcased many high-performance buildings over the years, but with the addition of photovoltaics on the roof, Evolve takes the cake. It even combines heating, cooling and ventilation into one system - which is quite rare in residential buildings, but possible if aiming for ultra-energy efficiency. Despite its outstanding achievements, this project isn’t as unique as you might think… for UBC at least.

About this event

Many households in British Columbia burn fossil fuels (mainly gas) in furnaces, fireplaces, boilers, domestic hot water heaters, and kitchen appliances. In order to meet climate targets set for 2030 and 2050, a swift shift to electric alternatives is needed.

It’s back to school with ZEBx’s Tech Demo Series!