Changes in store for next National Energy Code

The commission responsible for updating the National Energy Code for Buildings has outlined the direction it will take for the next issue of the code, which is scheduled for publication in 2011.
The Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes is suggesting, for example, that the 2011 code set energy performance goals 25% higher than the 1997 code.
It supports the use of a simple payback approach for cost-benefit analysis, based on the concept that payback on individual components (the building envelope, lighting systems, HVAC, etc.) will vary according to their anticipated service life.
The commission also believes the code should not differentiate a building’s requirements based on the energy source, since these vary between the provinces and territories. Instead, the building’s overall energy use would apply.
For assembly constructions, the commission says it would be preferable to “let the market drive design.”
Also, the commission would move away from setting different levels of thermal performance for the building envelope based on what  type of occupancy the building will have. The commission’s reason: “advances in construction materials and techniques have made it possible to achieve similar energy performance levels.”
An interim report on proposed objectives and functional statements for the NECB, produced in collaboration with the provinces and territories, was presented at  a meeting of the commission in February, which requested they be made available to interested stakeholders for comment.  The proposed objectives and functional statements for the 2011 NECB, as well as its technical content, are to be finalized in June 2010 and submitted for broad public review this fall.
For more information, e-mail cathleen.taraschuk@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.