How a new home gets built in Nelson is about to change.
New municipal legislation has been passed to require designers, general contractors and homeowner builders to work with an energy advisor early in the design stages of a project to ensure the building design meets up to a provincial Step Code four of energy efficiency requirements — completed using software modelling.
“A building permit will not be issued until a compliance report is submitted from an energy advisor confirming that the building’s design meets the required efficiency level,” noted a report from the City director of Development Services and Climate Leadership, Sebastien Arcand.
“Upon completion of a build, a blower door test will confirm performance compliance.”
As of May 1, Part 9 residential homes must hit either Step Code 4 of the B.C. Energy Step Code or hit Step 3 if they also achieve the EL-3 (strong) level of the Zero Carbon Step Code.
To meet the requirement of any step of the B.C. Energy Step Code, a model of the proposed building design must be completed prior to construction, demonstrating the design meets or exceeds the minimum required metrics.
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