LOW CARBON, HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS

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1 Tonnes of CO 2 e LOW CARBON, HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS 2050 VISION: By 2050, Victorians will enjoy highperforming, comfortable buildings that are affordable to operate. New buildings are netzero energyready 1 and powered by renewable energy. Existing buildings are upgraded to improve indoor environmental quality, minimize heating and cooling costs, with substantially reduced carbon footprint. oil systems are a thing of the past, and homes and offices instead are powered by renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric, solar, and renewable natural gas for heat and power. BASELINE DATA 120, ,000 18,045 80,000 60,000 5,451 6,495 40,000 20,000 34,760 8,067 17,378 21,392 77,365 Residential buildings Manufacturing industries and construction Commercial and institutional buildings and facilities Electricity Natural Gas Oil Propane Wood Figure 1. Building GHG Emissions by Fuel Use. 1 A netzero energy ready building is one that is designed to be ultraefficient and ready to produce all of its energy needs through the future installation of an onsite renewable energy system

2 Lighting 5% Cooling 1% Cooling 5% Street Lighting 0% Appliances 17% Water 25% 52% Auxiliary Motors 8% Lighting 14% Auxiliary Equipment 16% Water 8% 49% Figure 2. BC Residential Building Energy Consumption by End Use. 2 Figure 3. BC Commercial Building Energy Consumption by End Use. 3 The building sector produces 50% (197,000 tco 2e) of the City s GHGs emissions, and represents the largest opportunity for improvement. Based on our 2007 community GHG emissions, residential buildings contributed 16.5% of all GHG emissions, while commercial buildings contributed over 25%, with half of the total GHGs coming from the combustion of natural gas for building heating and cooling, (Figure 1). Of the City s building GHG emissions, 17% come from heating oil use. High performing buildings not only result in reduced GHG emissions, they also result in more comfortable homes and offices that are cheaper to operate. Figure 2 and Figure 3 provide and overview of how energy is typically consumed in BC residential and commercial buildings. KEY GOALS Projecting our 2050 GHG performance using the current commitments (accounting for energy reduction and efficiency actions underway), the 2050 buildings emissions are estimated to remain relatively steady and we will not meet our targets. To do so, the City will need to reduce GHG emissions from buildings by at least 200,000 tco 2e. The goals, targets and actions described in this chapter, represent the City s approach to achieving these overall targets GHG reductions are expected to come from meeting the following goals, Table 1. 2 NRCAN National Energy Use Database Residential Sector British Columbia NRCAN National Energy Use Database Commercial/Institutional Sector British Columbia 2014

3 Table 1 Low Carbon, High Performance Buildings s Sector Low Carbon, High Performance Buildings Climate Action s 1: Buildings are highly energy efficient, using only a small fraction of their 2017 operational energy needs 2: Buildings are powered by renewable energy GOAL 1: BUILDINGS ARE HIGHLY ENERGY EFFICIENT, USING ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF THEIR 2017 OPERATIONAL ENERGY NEEDS Approximately 12 % of Victoria s buildings are replaced annually, and many without the necessary efficiency upgrades to ensure that throughlife operational energy and GHGs are minimized. New building GHG reduction can be achieved through better design, improved building envelopes and mechanical system efficiency, and the use of renewable energy. The new BC Energy Step Code establishes progressive performance steps in energy efficiency for new buildings from the current BC Building Code level to net zero energy ready buildings by 2032, and offers a significant opportunity for the City to establish energy efficiency requirements in new construction. Existing residential and commercial buildings combine to contribute over 40% of the City s GHG emissions. Dedicated strategies will realize reductions to decarbonize fuel supplies, deep energy retrofits and efficiency gains, and other strategies that incent owners and tenants to reduce energy use, each year. Victoria s building stock is aging, with 70% of the existing building stock built prior to 1980, and 8% of buildings requiring major repairs (2011 National Household Survey). Landlord BC estimates that over the next 10 years 10,000 rental apartment units will require significant upgrades in Victoria. This forecast represents a once in a generation opportunity for energy retrofits and reduced GHG performance improvements. Currently, there is no national energy code that applies to existing buildings, however, the National Buildings Strategy highlights the Federal Government s commitment to define a model code for existing buildings by The City will work with federal partners and local stakeholders to develop strategies and actions that prioritize costeffective building energy upgrade programs that provide resources, incentives, and financing for property owners to undertake deep and tiered energy efficiency retrofits. GOAL 2: BUILDINGS IN VICTORIA ARE POWERED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY While energy efficiency measures and programs will be prioritized, replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources will be required in order to meet our 100% renewable energy commitments. The City will encourage uptake of renewable energy in residential and commercial buildings by reducing barriers to implementation and supporting rebate and promotional programs. The BC Energy Step Code and other green building requirements typically do not account for embodied emissions that occur as a result of energy used and GHGs emitted from the full life cycle of building construction, from resource extraction, production, transportation, and

4 construction practices. This is largely due to the fact that the GHG emissions associated with the energy used in the operation of a building are much greater than the emissions embedded in the materials required for its construction. However, over time and as our operational emissions are reduced, the relative importance of addressing GHG emissions embodied in building materials and construction practices will become a more significant consideration to reduce overall buildingrelated GHG emissions. As an example, some building materials, such as wood, have much less embodied energy than steel or concrete and mass timber structures are becoming more commonly seen in Canada and around the world. KEY TARGETS The following table summarizes our specific targets as it relates to each goal, Table 2. Table 2. Commercial and Residential Building GHG Reduction Targets. GHG Target 1 2 By 2030, all new buildings are net zero energy ready 4 Before 2050, all existing buildings are retrofitted to new efficiency standards (TBD)* Oil heating is phasedout by 2030 Before 2050, all buildings will only use renewable energy Total Estimated GHG tco 2e / % Reduction 200,000 / 50% *These standards are being developed now, with input from federal and provincial stakeholders and will be defined in the near future. PRIORITY ACTIONS By 2020, the City will implement the following priority actions: 1. Develop and implement a BC Energy Step Code adoption strategy that will review and recommend updates to bylaws and City policies. 2. Update the current Sustainability Checklist to include Step Code requirements for new buildings 3. Support the development and establishment of a Building Centre of Excellence in Victoria to showcase leading edge building design and construction practices and establish a culture of high performance within the building industry 4. Develop an energy equity program to promote solutions to advance GHG reduction initiatives that are economically justified, feasible and equitable. 4 A netzero energy ready building is one that is designed to be ultraefficient and ready to produce all of its energy needs through the future installation of an onsite renewable energy system

5 5. Develop and implement a Deep Energy Retrofit Strategy. As part of this strategy, the City will prioritize the following: a. Actions for Single Family Homes: i. Deliver a program for bundled and easy to achieve energy retrofits that aim to deliver priority energy improvements without the recipient s burden / barriers due to detailed administration, time and complexity, while still leveraging all available external funding. ii. Train staff to gain skills unique to zeroemission buildings, and renewable energy systems iii. Partner with utilities and higher levels of government to support innovative financial incentives and programs to encourage retrofit behavior and to provide a consistent process and funding source. Actions for multiunit residential and commercial buildings: i. Complete a Market Rental Revitalization Study (MaRRS) to determine how to best retrofit and revitalize existing rental housing stock while preserving affordability and improving energy performance. ii. Complete a retrofit study to identify opportunities to initiate deep energy retrofits for market residential buildings (e.g. condominiums). 6. Partner with property owners/managers to identify the most attractive energy efficiency upgrades in commercial buildings and develop a formal plan to support rapid adoption/penetration. 7. Advocate for the development of a compulsory benchmarking and energy labeling program for homes and larger buildings, as committed to in in the National Buildings Strategy. As an interim, support the development of a voluntary commercial building energy benchmarking program (e.g., a 2030 District). 8. Partner with utilities and higher levels of government to develop innovative financial mechanisms and programs to encourage retrofit behavior and to provide a consistent process and funding source. 9. Develop and implement a transition plan to inventory and incentivize the phasing out of heating oil systems in residential, commercial, and institutional properties by 2030, aligning benefits across cost, insurance and environmental risks. 10. Reduce City owned barriers to incentivize the adoption of building renewable energy systems and develop complementary planning guidance documentation and education tools to help achieve successful applications (e.g. create a "Want to go solar?" FAQ sheet to make it easier to navigate the City in terms of permits required). 11. Establish a program to collect data from new property developments on their estimated embodied carbon in order to inform future incentive, policy, and potentially regulatory mechanisms targeted at reducing the embodied emissions of new buildings as these become an increasingly significant portion of overall building lifecycle emissions