Energy Efficient Building Standards

Energy Efficient Building Standards

The purpose of this arcticle is to stimulate discussion about the implementation of an energy efficient building standards to be included in the City of Yellowknife’s Building By-law. The consultation is a result of direction from Council given on Monday, Feb 26, 2007 where Council voted unanimously “to direct Administration to proceed with public consultation to determine the schedule of a phased implementation strategy for incorporating the residential energy efficient building standard of EGH-80 into the Building By-law as prescribed in the Community Energy Plan.”

What is the Community Energy Plan (CEP)?

In 2005, the City of Yellowknife created a Community Energy Planning (CEP) Committee. The CEP Committee was a voluntary body comprised of 12 representatives from local business, industry, the general public, the school system, and the electricity utilities, Ecology North, the City of Yellowknife and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Over the course of 18 months the committee held numerous meetings, consulted with the public, created an energy baseline for the community, and oversaw a number of studies that explored options for the City’s energy future.

Acknowledging the City’s wish to be a leader in addressing climate change and the rising cost of energy in a manner that made economic sense, the plan outlines 12 areas of recommendations, one of which is the adoption of minimum standards for the energy performance of buildings.

Why is the City adopting minimum standards for the energy performance of buildings?

Ultimately it is because of global warming. Buildings are the largest users of energy in Yellowknife. The findings of the CEP Committee determined that 73% of Yellowknife’s green house gas emissions are caused by the space heating of homes and buildings.

Critics maintain that global warming is a naturally re-occurring cycle, such as the ice age, a phenomena over which society has no control. How do we know that the current warming trend is not a natural cycle and is not being driven by the emission of green house gas as claimed by some?

A summary report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released in Paris in February 2007. This report, written by more than 600 scientists and reviewed by another 600 of their peers has been referred to by the media as the ‘smoking gun’ that climate change is not a natural phenomenon because the evidence is unequivocal that the warming of the climate system is driven by human activity.

What criteria is the City using to develop a minimum energy efficient building standard?

The CEP Committee recommended the energy performance of new houses score at least 80 on an EnerGuide for New Houses (EGNH) scale. This is a program developed by the Federal Government’s Department of Natural Resources and is a standard to measure a building’s energy performance. The purpose is similar to the EnerGuide label fixed to large appliances and new vehicles sold in Canada. The label shows how efficiently the building uses energy, which affects green house gas emissions and is also as a measure of the relative operating costs.

Will the minimum energy efficient building standard mean an increase in the cost to build or purchase a new home in Yellowknife?

Yes, the capital, or first time cost will increase, however the yearly operating costs for energy will cost less for a home constructed to the energy efficient building standard compared to that same home not constructed to the energy efficient building standard.

Goal #2 item 2.6 of the draft 2007 Goals & Objectives states: “Promote affordable housing options.” Is the additional cost not associated with a minimum energy efficient building standard counterproductive to this goal?

Regarding reducing the use of non-renewable energy sources Amory Lovins, founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute and internationally recognized consultant and energy advisor has stated, “The whole climate debate has been distorted by a sign error; that is, people are mixing up a plus sign with a minus sign….climate protection is not costly, it is profitable, because efficiency is cheaper than fuel. That is, it costs less to save fuel than to buy fuel.” Mr. Lovlin’s clients include Coca Cola and Walmart. Both have dramatically reduced energy consumption while boosting profits.

Regarding the local costs of energy efficient buildings a business case study was commissioned by the CEP Committee to determine the cost to build a house in Yellowknife to the minimum energy efficient building standard of EGNH-80. The model selected for the baseline was a 3 bedroom single detached house with a full basement. The energy performance rating of this house was EGNH-71(this score is a typical rating of a new house built to the minimum requirements of the National Building Code). The increased cost to go from EGNH-71 to EGNH-80 was estimated to be approximately $11,700. With the energy efficient upgrades added the house modeled 37% more energy efficient than the baseline example. By increasing the energy efficiency of the houses the annual operating costs for energy is less. The simple payback of the increased construction cost is 8.3 years. After the payback period home-owner saves over $1,400 a year in avoided energy costs throughout the useful life of the house.

The Community Energy Plan Study can be found on the City’s website on the Community Energy Plan Committee Page page under Energy Standards for New Buildings (Residential and Commercial) - Action Area 7.

How does the rating system work?

The building's energy efficiency level is rated on a scale of 0 to 100. A rating of 0 represents a home with major air leakage, no insulation and extremely high energy consumption. A rating of 100 represents a house that is airtight, well insulated and sufficiently ventilated and requires no purchased energy.

For a new house, a rating of 80 or higher is excellent

How Is the Rating Calculated?

The rating is calculated by a certified Energuide evaluator by using information collected in a 2 or 3 step procedure.

The first step is an analysis of the building plans before the home is built. The evaluator works with details about the building’s energy systems, construction materials and assembly methods, and uses a modeling software program developed for the purpose by Natural Resources Canada. To ensure the rating measures how the house itself uses energy – irrespective of the occupants’ energy-using habits – the calculation is based on the house having the following standard parameters:

• four occupants
• thermostat set to 21°C (70°F)
• total domestic hot water consumption of 225 litres (50 gal)per day
• electricity consumption of 24 kilowatt hours per day
• monthly average ventilation rate of 0.35 air change per hour during the heating season

The second step occurs at the time of the insulation and vapour barrier inspection of a new house. A certified evaluator will use specially designed blower door test equipment to measure the house’s rate of air leakage. A blower door test is not mandatory at this time. Another option is to perform the blower door test after construction of the house is completed. The advantage of doing it at this stage of construction is that it is easier to identify the source of air leaks and more importantly much easier to fix air leaks at this phase of construction before the finishing materials are installed.

Whether performed at the insulation stage or when the house is complete the blower door test is an important step in validating the energy performance of the house. The test supplies "as built" results of the modeling described in the first step 1 and the results are incorporated into the final rating for the new house.

The third step is performed after the building is complete. Here an evaluator will verify that the energy upgrades identified at the time of the plan review have been incorporated into the built house. If a blower door test was not previously performed this will also be done at this time. After the data has been collected, an EnerGuide rating label is affixed to the house and a report is issued to the home-owner or builder.

How will the minimum energy efficient building standard of EGNH-80 be incorporated into Yellowknife’s Building By-law?

The requirements of a minimum energy efficient building standard to the EGNH-80 building standard will be set out in the Building By-Law as a prescribed procedure. The exact procedures and the schedule to implement the standard will not be finalized until the City has heard input via the consultation process from the pubic and stakeholders.

The City has developed a framework for the procedure modeled on the Built Green Program in voluntary use in Alberta and British Columbia. The Built Green Program uses a pick list of energy efficient improvements a builder chooses to incorporate into the building to achieve a predetermined EGNH rating.

The starting point with the procedure is to model the house plans for the proposed building using the HOT2000 software. Construction details taken from the plans and specifications, such as framing details, foundation construction, insulation thickness (RSI or R values), type of windows and exterior doors, heating system and ventilation system are input into the computer program. After all the inputs are entered the program performs calculations and produces a written report that predicts the EGNH score the house is predicted to achieve and an estimation of the annual energy consumption of the house.

Generally most generic house plans will score somewhere around 70 on the EGNH scale. In order to attain the minimum energy efficient building standard of EGNH-80 energy efficient upgrades such as increased insulation, more energy efficient windows, advanced framing techniques, higher efficiency heating and ventilation systems will need to be selected. These items are chosen from a pick-list and modeled by the software program to raise the planned buildings predicted ENGH score to 80. Depending upon the builder’s preference several combinations of upgrades may be selected that will achieve the desired target EGNH. For an example of what the Draft Pick List looks like refer to the attachment if you are using a printed copy of the information package.

The HOT2000 report that is generated following the final modeling of the house plans along with the energy efficient upgrades selected from the pick- list will next be listed on the building permit plan review document as a condition of the permit approval. A failure to build the house in compliance with the conditions of the permit approval (including the EGNH rating and the pick-list items) will result in a non-conforming permit and subject to the same sanctions provided in the Building by-law for any other kind of non- conforming construction.

Why was the energy efficient building standard modeled after the Built Green Program?

The adoption of the minimum energy efficient building standard of EGNH-80 into the Building By-law is the direction the City has chosen. To facilitate a smooth transition to that standard the City wants to apply a flexible standard that can be adjusted to meet its needs. For example an inflexible option would be to adopt the R2000 Standard. A house built to the minimum R2000 guidelines is the equivalent to EGNH-80 rating. However it is a technically demanding standard that offers limited prescriptive pathways to achieve the EGNH-80 result. Also builders have to be R2000 certified and are required to maintain that designation through recurrent certification.

On the other hand the Built Green model offers considerable flexibility. The pick-list incorporated into the Building By-law allows builders and prospective home-owners latitude in selecting upgrades to configure their houses to meet the minimum energy efficient standard.

This flexibility also influences the timing to implement the minimum energy efficient standard of EGNH-80. Some may feel that the standard can be achieved more successfully by working towards EGNH-80 through incremental steps as opposed to going from no minimum energy efficient standard to EGNH-80 in one step as would be the case with the R2000 Standard. For example in the first year the Building By-law is adopted, the pick-list could be used to target energy performance at EGNH-75. In subsequent years the performance target could move upwards until EGNH-80 is achieved.

An important reason for the consultation process is to hear from the public concerning how the standard should be implemented. Should the EGNH- 80 standard be implemented all at once or should the EGNH-80 energy performance target be staged incrementally over several steps? Should the standard become effective in 2007 or should it be deferred until a later date? The City looks forward to your feedback.

I am planning a renovation. Will the minimum energy efficient standard to EGNH-80 apply to my renovation?

The EGNH was developed to measure the energy performance of new houses only. There is a corresponding EnerGuide rating for older homes to which the federal government is currently making some adjustments. A press release on March 12, 2007 stated, “Canada’s new government announces ecoTrust funding for the Northwest Territories” The announcement referenced an Energy Efficiency Financing Program that supports residents in making energy-saving investments in their homes, appliances and vehicles.” The City will monitor these developments and incorporate the program guidelines in the Building By-law as they are appropriate.

Home-owners contemplating additions to their existing homes can expect that new construction including an addition will be required to conform to the minimum energy efficient building standards where reasonable. It is recognized that some construction involving renovations and/or additions may encroach onto some gray areas between what is new construction and what is an upgrade to existing construction. In these situations the City will seek a practical solution in consultation with the permit applicant and the discretion of the building official.

The CEP also made the recommendation that the building By-law should use CBIP as the standard for new commercial construction. What is CBIP?

CBIP stands for Commercial Building Incentive Program. It was a program of the previous federal government that provided financial incentives for builders and developers to design buildings that would perform energy wise 25% better than the prescriptive requirements of the National Model Energy Code (MNEC). The current federal government discontinued the program so CBIP is no longer in effect. However the premise upon which CBIP was based, the MNEC is still used and this is the standard the City will reference in the Building By-law.

Is the commercial building energy efficient building standard included in this consultation process?

The focus of the consultation is the energy efficient building standard for new residential buildings especially where feedback where the public is concerned. In addition to the public the City is also consulting with those who have a direct stake in the Building By-law such as developers, engineers, architects, general contractors and contractors involved in buildings of all types. During the consultation the City invites comments from the stakeholders regarding the minimum energy efficient building standard for new commercial buildings.

• COMMENT FORM - Energy Efficient Building Standards into Building By-law