Natural Resources Canada s New Housing Programs Barbara Mullally

Natural Resources Canada’s New Housing Programs Barbara Mullally Pauly Chief, Housing Programs Office of Energy Efficiency May 11, 2005 Ottawa, Ontario

The “Kyoto Gap”

Government of Canada New 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 Ener. Guide 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

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 • Ener. Guide 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, Green. Home Program – Yukon, ENERGY STAR® for New Homes

The R-2000 Performance Standard All Building Code prescriptive legal minimums, plus requirements for: • energy performance • indoor air quality (ventilation and low-emission materials) • environmental responsibility • quality assurance process

Airtightness Improvement

Satisfaction (overall with the house) 72% Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Neutral/Undecided 20% 1% Somewhat dissatisfied 5% Very dissatisfied 3% 0% COMPAS: NRCan, March 2002 20% 40% N=1187 60% 80% 100%

The R-2000 Standard is great… …. but how do we improve the energy performance of all new houses?

What is Ener. Guide 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.

EGNH Tool Benefits • 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

EGNH Label

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 • Green. Home Program – Yukon (performance based) – each house is generally EGNH 80 or higher • Novoclimat – Quebec (prescriptive) – each house is generally EGNH 78 or higher

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

ENERGY STAR® Qualified New 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 ü ü ü 1000 k. WH 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

ENERGY STAR® Benefits • 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

Some of the tech spec’s • 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

ENERGY STAR® for New Houses Label

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 • Canada’s First Community of ENERGY STAR qualified new houses was announced in the Ottawa area • Supporters include: Ontario Ministry of Energy, Ener. Quality Corporation, OHBA, Union Gas, Enbridge Gas, and Owens Corning.

Contact Points • NRCan contact info: Sylvain Quilliam, Manager, New Housing Programs Office of Energy Efficiency, Natural Resources Canada squillia@nrcan. gc. ca (613) 943 -0740 • Ener. Quality Corporation is the service organization responsible for training new builder participants and inspectors in Ontario only • Ener. Quality Corporation contact info: Lenard Hart Ener. Quality Corporation lhart@summerhillgroup. ca (416) 922 -9038 ex 22

………Questions?