BC Step Code

The BC Energy Step Code is a voluntary provincial standard enacted in April 2017 that provides an incremental and consistent approach to achieving more energy-efficient buildings that go beyond the requirements of the base BC Building Code. It does so by establishing a series of measurable, performance based energy-efficiency requirements for construction that builders can choose to build to, and communities may voluntarily choose to adopt in bylaws and policies. The objective is to prepare both government and industry to achieve “net-zero energy ready” new construction by 2032. The Energy Step Code will soon be mandatory. Gradual increases to energy efficiency requirements in the B.C. Building Code have been proposed in 2022 (Step 3), 2027 (Step 4), and 2032, when the highest step “net zero energy ready” (Step 5) is to be achieved.

The BC Energy Step Code groups energy-efficiency requirements into a series of “steps”. Step 1 entails modelling energy performance and measuring airtightness to ensure that a building will meet or exceed the minimum energy efficiency requirements in the base BC Building Code. This means builders are required to work with a qualified energy consultant (an Energy Advisor or energy modeler). At the opposite end of the scale, the highest step represents a “net-zero energy ready” standard – a standard that is being met by the most energy-efficient projects being developed today. The City of Penticton implemented Step 1 on March 15, 2019 and will be introducing Step 3 in March 2020 for residential homes (Part 9).

Net-zero energy buildings produce as much clean energy as they consume. They are up to 80 percent more energy efficient than a typical new building, and use on-site (or near-site) renewable energy systems to produce the remaining energy they need. A net-zero energy ready building is one that has been designed and built to a level of performance such that it could, with the addition of solar panels or other renewable energy technologies, achieve net-zero energy performance. For more information, go to energystepcode.ca