Welcome to Housing Tech News
This e-publication is exclusive CHBA Member content, providing you with updates on the efforts of the CHBA Technical Research Committee, including information on technical research, changes to code and standards, and related events and communications. If there is a colleague in your company or a fellow CHBA member who should be receiving this content, we'd like to help you share it. However, don't just forward this email—that allows other people to unsubscribe you. Instead, please email us with the person's name, company name, and email address and we'll create an account for them and then let them know.
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In this issue:
- The 2030 National Building Code Cycle has Started
- CHBA Responds to Codes Policy Consultation on Embodied Carbon in Homes
- Have Your Say on CSA Z251: Design of Volumetric Modular Structures
- New Lateral Load Requirements Coming – What You Need to Know
- Come Work on CSA Z800: Basement Flood Protection Standard
- Builders Leading the Way on Smart Resilience: Join the Conversation
- CHBA's TRC: Connecting Members with Solutions and Industry Insights
- New Articles for Further Reading
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The 2030 National Building Code Cycle has Started
The 2030 national code cycle is in full swing, and CHBA members and technical staff are spending significant time attending national code meetings. CHBA holds seats on 11 National Model Code Committees and is following or participating in more than 25 Task Groups. The Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes (CBHCC) has identified a broad set of strategic priorities for development during the 2030 cycle. From these, CHBA has identified a subset of topics where participation is essential to represent the residential construction industry. These include energy storage systems (home batteries), modular construction, adaptability, visitability and accessibility in dwellings, radon mitigation, embodied and operational greenhouse gas emissions, grab bars, and tiny homes as well as alterations to existing buildings. Most of the committees are currently in orientation and scoping phases, but they’ll soon begin drafting proposed code changes for 2030. If you’d like to follow the process, CHBA National is posting “Building Code Meeting Briefs” of key meetings on the Member Knowledge Centre. CHBA has also created a Code Meeting Notification Tool that sends out the time and date for the most important meetings, twice a month. Please let us know if you wish to sign up for the notification tool by emailing Alex Bols.
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CHBA Responds to Codes Policy Consultation on Embodied Carbon in Homes
In July 2025, the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes (CBHCC) had consulted stakeholders on its draft policy direction on regulating embodied GHG emissions in the 2030 National Model Codes. The CBHCC considers embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions those emissions released during the extraction, production, and transport of building materials (i.e. stages A1 to A3 on whole building carbon life-cycle ). CHBA submitted a detailed response, but advised that CHBA cannot support the regulation of embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the National Model Codes as proposed at this time. CHBA cautioned that regulating at this early stage—before sufficient data, tools, and impact assessments are in place—could lead to unintended costs and reduced housing supply. CHBA is recommending wood-frame housing, which already performs well on embodied emissions, be exempt. If homes are not exempt altogether, CHBA is advocating for a reporting-only approach for embodied GHG emissions in the 2030 code to establish a baseline, before setting more aggressive performance tiers, and proposing a sufficiently low cut-off value, below which homes would be exempt. CHBA is also urging the CBHCC to integrate embodied GHG requirements with energy and climate resilience planning, rather than layering them in piecemeal over future code cycles. Members can read CHBA’s full submission here, which is also available in PDF in the CHBA Knowledge Centre. For questions, please email Frank Lohmann.
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Have your Say on CSA Z251: Design of Volumetric Modular Structures
CSA is developing a brand-new standard on the design of modular buildings – CSA Z251: Design of Volumetric Modular Structures – and it’s now open for public review until September 22, 2025. The proposed standard aims to bring clarity and consistency to the design of modular-specific elements like transportation loads, connections, fire separation, and services — areas where traditional code provisions don’t always fit the particulars of modular buildings. It’s a big step toward more predictable and aligned requirements across jurisdictions but it also bears the risk of writing best practices into regulation. CHBA is at the table of the CSA committee helping shape this standard, but now it’s your turn — if you design, build, or work with modular homes, we encourage you to take a look and send in your comments – especially if your practice involves off‑site volumetric design, installation, or regulatory approvals. You can participate directly in the public review through CSA’s site, or if you prefer, send your input to CHBA so we can represent your views in our ongoing work. Check out the draft Z251 standard here. For more information, please email Frank Lohmann.
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New Lateral Load Requirements Coming — What You Need to Know
The 2025 National Building Code will require all homes across Canada to meet lateral load requirements – not just those in high wind or earthquake zones. Depending on provincial adoption, by mid-2027, these requirements will likely be in effect nationwide. This is a big shift: homes in areas where stricter requirements did not apply may soon need to include structural bracing, primarily due to wind loads. CHBA has prepared a Lateral Load Backgrounder to help explain what’s changing, why it’s happening, and how to prepare. These new rules are complex, and it’s important that the industry across Canada is aware and planning ahead. The rationale for the new requirements is that they became necessary because of changes in home design that reduce lateral stability (open plans, bigger windows, fewer interior walls). Now is the time to understand how these changes affect your region and the way you construct homes and how cost and construction methods may shift, depending on your location and design choices. Check out the backgrounder to get started. CHBA’s Lateral Load Backgrounder is available in the Member Knowledge Centre. Let us know what you’re seeing and what supports you’ll need to adapt. For more information, please email Bilal El-Zaylaa.
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Come Work on CSA Z800: Basement Flood Protection Standard
The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is turning its guideline on basement flood protection into a formal standard, CSA Z800, and strong building industry representation is urgently needed. Input from builders, renovators, and especially plumbers is needed to ensure the standard is practical and effective. The many topics covered in the guidelines include ensuring proper site grading, appropriately sizing drainage systems for both the lot and community, selecting flood-damage-resistant building materials, and raising electrical service panels and appliances safely above the basement floor. CHBA is at the table of the CSA committee, but more voices from the field are essential. If you work on drainage, backwater valves, or basement retrofits, consider joining the committee or sending your input to CHBA. For more information, please email Bilal El-Zaylaa.
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Builders Leading the Way on Smart Resilience: Join the Conversation
CHBA is working with the Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) to integrate practical, cost-effective climate resilience measures into Canadian homes. This joint project, the Resilient Homes Task Force (RHTF), has conducted field trials, including design charettes and builder-led evaluations of resilience measures that will help create tiered checklists of solutions for wildfire, high wind, hail, and urban flooding—designed to be constructible and impactful. CHBA would like to thank the many CHBA builders and renovators who have so far contributed their time and insights into the RHTF project. With many of you providing critical input through surveys and field trials, this initiative is now grounded in real-world experience. At CHBA’s Fall Meetings, the Net Zero Council will dedicate an entire afternoon session on October 20th to share the outcomes of this work. Builders will get a first look at the checklists, hear from peers involved in the field trials, learn about the insurers’ perspective, and can be part of the conversation on how CHBA and ICLR can help builders integrate more resilience into their projects. We encourage all members to attend and be part of this important conversation. For more information, please email Bilal El-Zaylaa.
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CHBA's TRC: Connecting Members with Solutions and Industry Insights
CHBA’s Technical Research Committee (TRC) has helped builders tackle technical challenges, stay ahead of code changes, and build better homes more affordably for over 30 years. The TRC acts like a forum connecting CHBA members with research, solutions, and industry insights. For this reason, CHBA’s partner organizations submit reports with helpful information for members for each TRC meeting. Seven reports were submitted for the May 2025 TRC meeting. The Canadian Wood Council, for example, provided updates to wood design values for structural and fire resistance values and updated environmental product declarations (EPDs) in its report. It also links to CWC’s new Wind and Seismic Bracing Calculator. CanmetENERGY, a division of Natural Resources Canada, submitted their 2024 research compendium of housing related research. There are five other reports on the CHBA Resource Centre from the Canadian Association of Consulting Energy Advisors (CACEA), the Plumbing Manufacturers Advisory Council (PMAC), the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program (C-NRPP) and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR). The information posted on the TRC Resource Centre is available to all members. CHBA will also post information for the upcoming fall meeting there. For more information, please email Jack Mantyla.
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News Articles
This section includes articles that you might find interesting. They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of CHBA.
- BBC article on Power Shift: How Sodium-Ion Batteries and China Are Shaping the Future of Energy Storage.
- CBS News video story about an innovative "ice battery" system cooling a building and lowering its energy costs.
- An explainer from the Rocky Mountain Institute on how solid-state cooling works – the next revolution in space-conditioning technology for buildings.
- Why Canada’s power grid is not ready for extreme weather – Part one and Part two of a two-part report on the resiliency of Canada’s power grid in the face of climate change and increasing extreme weather.
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