Natural Resources Canadas New Housing Programs

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• Natural Resources Canadas New Housing Programs
• Barbara Mullally Pauly
• Chief, Housing Programs
• Office of Energy Efficiency
• May 11, 2005
• Ottawa, Ontario

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The Kyoto Gap
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Government of CanadaNew Housing Mandate

• Climate Change - reduce the impact of residential
  construction and operation by reducing greenhouse
  gas emissions
• Coordinated approach provincial, utilities,
  industry, etc.
• A house is a house, what is new today is existing
  tomorrow.
• Improve the energy and resource efficiency of new
  houses by certifying houses that meet voluntary
  energy performance targets
• Target is to have all new housing built to the
  R-2000 Standard and/or EnerGuide for New Houses
  (EGNH) level of 80 by the year 2010
• Performance measurement and data tracking
• Create market for energy-efficient equipment,
  healthy materials, environmental products
• Training R-2000 / EGNH / HRAI

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New Housing Options for Canadians

• R-2000 Standard
• A voluntary performance standard and quality
  assurance procedure for the construction and
  certification of energy-efficient home
• EnerGuide for New Houses (EGNH)
• An energy evaluation program developed by Natural
  Resources Canada (NRCan) that helps new home
  builders and buyers to identify ways to make the
  houses they build more comfortable and
  energy-efficient.
• NRCan Supports Regional Market-Driven Initiatives
• Built Green Alberta, Power Smart New Home Program
  Manitoba, Novoclimat for Quebec, GreenHome
  Program Yukon, ENERGY STAR for New Homes

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The R-2000 PerformanceStandard

• All Building Code prescriptive legal minimums,
  plus requirements for
• energy performance
• indoor air quality (ventilation and low-emission
  materials)
• environmental responsibility
• quality assurance process

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Airtightness Improvement
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Satisfaction(overall with the house)
72
Very satisfied
20
Somewhat satisfied
1
Neutral/Undecided
Somewhat dissatisfied
5
Very dissatisfied
3
0
20
40
60
80
100
N1187
COMPAS NRCan, March 2002
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The R-2000 Standard is great .but how do we
improve the energy performance of all new houses?
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What is EnerGuide for New Houses?

• An energy evaluation initiative developed by
  Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) that helps new
  home builders and buyers understand which energy
  efficiency upgrades make sense to incorporate in
  to the new houses that they build. Each final
  evaluation includes a written report as well as a
  rating label that shows how energy-efficient the
  home is.
• Over 1000 houses labelled across Canada to date.
• Over 2000 houses rated.

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EGNH ToolBenefits

• Consistent energy evaluations, ratings across
  Canada
• Compares house performance, not occupant
  behaviour
• Based on house as a system approach
• Third Party Quality Assurance
• Adds credibility to advice, gives idea of cost
  potential savings
• Married into the R-2000 Infrastructure
• Rates all houses on the common EGH scale

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EGNH Label
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Regional Initiatives

• Built Green Alberta (prescriptive) EGNH
  labelling of all houses and builder training are
  mandatory requirements
• Power Smart New Home Program Manitoba
  (prescriptive) EGNH labelling of all houses is
  mandatory, most houses rate at EGNH 77 or higher
• GreenHome Program Yukon (performance based)
  each house is generally EGNH 80 or higher
• Novoclimat Quebec (prescriptive) each house
  is generally EGNH 78 or higher

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Ontario

• Like the other regions, consulted with wide
  variety of stakeholders. Specifically large
  volume builders.
• Other models examined
• ENERGY STAR for New Houses drew the greatest
  praise.
• Over 200, 000 homes certified to the ENERGY STAR
  standard in the US last year
• ENERGY STAR means best in class
• Consumers know they are getting the best
  energy-performing product on the market
• Prescriptive approach means builders can have
  their own method without constant change
• Inspection protocol simplified

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ENERGY STAR QualifiedNew Houses pilot project

• Announced by Minister Efford on Jan 12, 2005 as a
  pilot project in Ontario
• Developed at industry request with stakeholder
  input
• Prescriptive approach - based on builder option
  packages
• 1000 kWH electrical savings
• ENERGY STAR qualified equipment and appliances is
  mandatory
• ENERGY STAR labeled windows, doors and lighting
  are encouraged
• Equivalent EGNH rating is 78 (will be changed to
  80 after pilot phase)
• Builders have the option to develop custom BOPs
  (NRCan approval must be obtained) based on a
  reference house
• 15 Builder Participants and many sponsors already
  committed

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ENERGY STARBenefits

• This initiative has been successful in
  established product categories
• Industry driven
• Targeted at tract builders for large industry
  impact
• Pilot project allows for testing of methodology
• Recognizes house performance, not occupant
  behaviour
• Third Party Quality Assurance
• Married into the R-2000/EGNH Infrastructure

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Some of the tech specs

• ENERGY STAR Builder Packages available or two
  OBC zones, with builder-selected options
• Builder Packages include
• Specified insulation levels
• Full-height basement insulation
• ENERGY STAR qualified high-efficiency windows
• ENERGY STAR qualified high-efficiency furnace or
  boiler
• Achievable ventilation airtightness
  requirements
• Electricity savings target

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ENERGY STAR for New Houses Label
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Successful launch of pilot project

• Approx 15 builders in Ontario are now ENERGY
  STAR Participants and another 20 have indicated
  their intention to become ENERGY STAR
  Participants in the near future
• Canadas First Community of ENERGY STAR qualified
  new houses was announced in the Ottawa area
• Supporters include Ontario Ministry of Energy,
  EnerQuality Corporation, OHBA, Union Gas,
  Enbridge Gas, and Owens Corning.

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Contact Points

• NRCan contact info
• Sylvain Quilliam, Manager, New Housing
  ProgramsOffice of Energy Efficiency, Natural
  Resources Canadasquillia_at_nrcan.gc.ca(613)
  943-0740
• EnerQuality Corporation is the service
  organization responsible for training new builder
  participants and inspectors in Ontario only
• EnerQuality Corporation contact info
• Lenard HartEnerQuality Corporationlhart_at_summerhi
  llgroup.ca(416) 922-9038 ex 22

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• Questions?