In the early years of my career, I was led to believe by many of my mentors that the true enemies of good design are those who create and administer the Codes. Whether it was the Building Code or the local zoning codes, they were all obstacles to overcome so good design would prevail. Sadly, I held on to the point of view way too long.
Time and perspective have a way of moving your point of view along if you let it. For me, I came to an understanding that Code and good design are companions, not adversaries. I now find myself as one of the strongest advocates for the newer kid on the block, the National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB).
For many of my colleagues, the NECB was yet another example of the Code police interfering with the design process. The additional requirements for Code compliance would take away from already tight project budgets. In fact, when the 2017 version was introduced in our province, several colleagues chose to leave the professional all together.
The Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNEC) was introduced in 1997 and was the first national building energy standard. In 2011 it was updated and renamed the National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB). Since then, versions 2015 and 2017 have been released with a new update expected mid 2022.
The NECB was a long overdue missing piece of the puzzle and going forward it will be a crucial part of our nations’ strategy to meet our commitment to the global climate strategy. Several jurisdictions have already taken a more aggressive approach to energy building standards. BC’s Step Code and Vancouver’s ZEB (Zero Emissions Building) plan are prime examples. This proactive approach needs to be the standard and not the outlier.
My introduction to building green was way back in 1984. Through my work colleagues I met an individual whose goal was to become the city’s first green home builder. He had just built a new home for his family in Gardener Park and used the opportunity to explore numerous cutting-edge building science technological advantages. Sadly, he was ahead of the curve and couldn’t attract any clients. The premiums were just too high to build green.
What became clear back then that remains true today is without legislated Code or substantial financial incentive programs, when the client gets to choose between a granite counter or triple glazed windows, the windows very seldom win. While the cost differential is closing, energy efficiency beyond Code compliance is still a tough sell. For now, the only way we are going to make the national targeted goals for climate change mitigation is to do it through legislated code.
In future posts I look forward sharing some thoughts on some of my favourite topics. These include the direction of upcoming Energy Code revisions, the benefits of building to the Passive House Standard and why I prefer the Performance compliance path over Prescriptive or Trade-off.
Hopefully, I can encourage you to make friends with the NECB and other green building standards.
