MAY 11-15 | VICTORIA, BC

CHBA's Home Building Week in Canada (association committee/council meetings + national conference) brings together leaders in the residential construction industry across Canada. Connect with others across the country and learn what our Association is working on during five days of informative business sessions and social events. This year’s event will be held in fabulous Victoria, BC from May 11-15, 2025, with the Net Zero Council (NZC) meeting on the morning of Sunday, May 11. Additionally, the NZC and the Technical Research Committee (TRC) will hold a joint meeting on the afternoon of Sunday, May 11 to discuss the implications of home electrification, including barriers to electrification that builders across the country are experiencing, such as unnecessary electrical panel upgrades. On Thursday, May 15, find out which of the finalists win the coveted Net Zero Home Awards! You can find the full schedule here.

In the first quarter of 2025 (Jan-Mar) 5 Builders, 3 Renovators, and 9 Energy Advisors became qualified under the Net Zero Home Labelling Program! Please join us in welcoming them (listed below) aboard!

Builders

• Baywest Homes (AB)
• Mercia Construction (BC)
• Monarchy Holding Group Inc. (BC)
• QKD Construction (BC)
• Yorkwood Homes (ON)

Renovators

• Retrofit Construction (QC)
• The Lanark Design Build Group (ON)
• V + V Homes (ON)

Energy Advisors

• Brendon Gray, Egnite Sustainability Inc. (BC)
• Candace Hansen, Homesol Building Solutions Inc. (NS)
• Daniel Cogan, Homesol Building Solutions Inc. (ON)
• De Chen (Daniel), Homesol Building Solutions Inc. (AB)
• Derek Jorgensen, Homesol Building Solutions Inc. (PEI)
• Erik Thuswaldner, Homesol Building Solutions Inc. (ON)
• Janice Li, Exland Construction Management (BC)
• Matthew Dimple, Airtight Engineering (BC)
• Riaan Mirza, Homesol Building Solutions Inc. (ON)

You can find our complete Net Zero Builder and Renovator map directory on our consumer page at www.NetZeroHome.com, and our directory of Qualified Net Zero EAs, Trainers and SOs at www.chba.ca/nze under the menu option “who to work with.”

AUG 12 | 10:30-5:00 ET | ZOOM

If you’re an Energy Advisor who wants to gain the ability to perform precise whole-house heat loss and heat gain calculations in the retrofit market, providing essential calculations that HVAC professionals can use to size heat pumps accurately, visit cacea.ca/events to learn more about this session.

CHBA staff are regularly involved in codes, standards, and voluntary programs where greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are a key topic. One common question often asked is whether solar panels are really zero-emission solutions, because emissions are released during their manufacturing, material extraction, transportation, and eventual recycling of the panels. These are known as life cycle emissions, which represent the total GHGs associated with a product’s full life span. For easier comparison with other fuel sources, a research paper published by the US based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) analyzed photovoltaic energy sources using a life cycle emission factor that adds up all associated GHGs in grams of CO2 equivalent emissions per kilo Watt hour (kWh) of generated energy (gCO₂e/kWh). For solar panels, this life cycle emission factor is estimated to be around 43 gCO₂e/kWh, which is significantly lower than the estimated life cycle emission factor of natural gas (486 gCO₂e/kWh) or coal (around 1000 gCO₂e/kWh) according to NREL. So, are solar panels zero-emission energy sources? Strictly speaking, no, but they are a very low-emission solution compared to other home energy sources and – in some regions in Canada – solar panels are currently the only practical answer to building low-emission homes. For more information, please contact Bilal El-Zaylaa.

The Building to Electrification Coalition (B2E) released their 2024 Building Electrification Scorecard this past month, which evaluates progress happening throughout the province toward the implementation of the BC Building Electrification Road Map (BERM). While there are still challenges to achieve building electrification in the province, a few of the positive steps the report highlights include:

• The City of Vancouver confirming its continued support for electricity as the primary energy source for new construction following public backlash to proposed changes to the policy
• Growing early adoption of the Zero Carbon Step Code by municipalities across the province
• The introduction of safe indoor temperature regulations to the 2024 BC Building Code update
• Rebates for energy efficient upgrades to existing homes, which are now tied to household income
• How to avoid electrical service upgrades when undertaking existing home retrofits

Net Zero Council member CACEA is currently piloting a training program for electrification for EAs and is looking for 20 EAs (must be a CACEA member in good standing) to join the in-person pilot training session to be held at BCIT in September. If you’re interested, complete this Application Form. Questions? Email Alison at technical@cacea.ca or Cindy at manager@cacea.ca.

CHBA's new Net Zero Solutions video library offers solution providers with exposure to builders and renovators looking for Net Zero Solutions for their projects. By consolidating essential information and best practices, and offering valuable insight, this new webpage empowers our members to showcase their mechanical, envelope, energy, or other innovations. If you would like the opportunity to add your company’s video, please visit our website to learn more.

Join the Net Zero Council and be part of the leadership group working together to accelerate the voluntary adoption of Net Zero Homes in Canada. Currently there are 2 Bronze Sponsor and 1 Academia Member seats still available. Visit chba.ca/nzc to learn about the benefits of Membership and Sponsorship and review the Terms of Reference before submitting an application form to sonja.winkelmann@chba.ca.