Built Environment News

Okanagan College professor Brian Rippy retrofitted his own 1950s single-family home to build a safer, more comfortable living space for him and his family. And as an expert in sustainable building technology, he also turned it into a research project.

A novel use of municipal revitalization tax exemption is incentivizing heat pumps in Victoria and Saanich apartments and condos.

This forum demonstrated how capacity-building can be initiated by a First Nation with the involvement of local governments and the private sector, leading to the establishment of a self-identified community of practitioners committed to realizing improved housing and economic benefits for the region.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler aims to reduce natural gas use in commercial buildings by 40% by 2030. Partnering with Prism Engineering and BC Hydro, they hosted a series of “Carbon Reduction at Your Hotel” workshops for general managers from Whistler’s largest hotels. These workshops are helping hotels better understand their emissions and identify real opportunities to reduce them, one step at a time, in the spirit of collaboration and progress.

The four-day Hands-On Envelope Retrofit Training course being delivered in Terrace next week is the latest in a series of local training and information-sharing events facilitated by CEA.

Natasha and Cameron found a hybrid heat pump was the right choice for their 1970s home in Fernie, BC. Learn how they made the switch.

The cost of a community-scale home energy retrofit program can be estimated more realistically, thanks to a recent workshop held in northwest BC with the Community Energy Association, Nisga’a Nation’s Housing Committee and Natural Resources Canada.

CEA’s Retrofit Assist, a program to encourage home energy retrofits by supporting homeowners and connecting them to energy advisors and contractors, has been recognized by Canada’s Clean50 for its ability to inform and inspire Canadians.

Stattonrock Design+Build's back-to-basics approach builds net-zero homes without a price premium.

This will be the largest event of its kind in the region, bringing together some of BC’s leading experts on building science, renovation and trades training.

Home builder Bruce Murdoch found opportunity in 2023's frigid temperatures, by revisiting Cranbrook BC's first net-zero home to check on its cold-weather performance.

“Basically, we're trying to make a 100 year old house, a passive house,” says David Claus, whose Prince George home retrofit is expected to exceed the requirements of a brand-new Step 5 house, dropping energy use by 63%.

Trainer Rob Pope demonstrates air leakage data from a blower door test. CEA helps educate Rossland homeowners and contractors on heat pump fundamentals. In Rossland, BC, homeowners and contractors recently...

On Oct. 14, 2023, homeowners in Greater Victoria and the Kootenays opened their doors to the public. Visitors had the opportunity to get up close with net-zero and other high-performance homes built right in their own communities.

BBQs, Burgers and Building Science, what’s not to like?

They say it can’t be done: an affordable, high-performance home in the unforgiving climate of northern BC. Maybe the naysayers have just been proven wrong by a longtime builder in Quesnel.

Homeowners may be interested in retrofitting their homes to reduce energy costs and increase comfort, or building new homes that incorporate climate friendly measures, but they often don’t know what...

The short answer to that question is “yes,” but unlike new homes which are built according to a building code that now requires greater levels of energy-efficiency, transforming an existing...

May 1, 2023 Changes to the BC Building Code taking effect today mark an important milestone on the path to making new buildings – and especially new homes – more...

March 16, 2022  New homes in British Columbia are about to get more energy-efficient thanks to changes that are coming to the BC Building Code. These changes are outlined in...

Local governments influence about half of BC’s greenhouse gas emissions through decisions on land use, transportation, and infrastructure that affect where people live and work, how they get around, and...

Clean Air Partnership created a Green Development Standards Toolkit. Funded by FCM, the Toolkit can be broadly applied to any jurisdiction in Canada but draws on many Ontario examples. CEA...

Community Energy Association’s previous publication “Business Model Innovation to Support Air Source Heat Pump Retrofits in Metro Vancouver” (2019) discussed the potential for a new business model to re-align the...

Whether you are an elected official, a builder or a tradesperson, it’s important you know what the BC Energy Step Code is, and how the Province of BC is supporting...

Hosted by the Community Energy Association with support from the Regional District of Central Kootenay, City of Nelson and the City of Castlegar, this is a workshop for builders, tradespeople,...

Builders, building officials, and other interested parties are invited to learn about building to the lower steps of the BC Energy Step Code. The full-day workshops are an extension of...

Building to the Energy Step Code – a Performance-Based Approach to Above Grade Walls and Glazing Assemblies CEA is thrilled to offer Kelowna and Okanagan builders, building officials and other...