Preparing for the BC Energy Step Code

We would like your views on how we can help the building industry prepare to implement the Energy Step Code in the 2022 Building Code. Subscribe to updates for this project, take a survey, ask a question or make a comment. But here's what you need to know first:

The Province of BC has committed to taking incremental steps to increase energy-efficiency requirements in the BC Building Code to make buildings net-zero energy ready by 2032. The Province has committed to a first step of requiring all new buildings to be 20% better than current building code by 2022. The BC Energy Step Code, a part of the BC Building Code, supports these efforts.

The Energy Step Code is a performance-based compliance path in the BC Building Code that is currently optional. The Step Code does not specify how to construct a building—instead, it identifies an energy-efficiency target that must be met and lets the designer/builder decide how to meet it. To comply with the Step Code, builders must use energy modelling software and on-site testing to demonstrate that both their design and the constructed building meet the requirements of the Step Code.