Strata councils in most regions of B.C. must submit an electric planning report that assesses their building’s electrical capacity by December 31, 2026.
Q & A: Tony Gioventu on electrical planning reports for stratas
Condo owner Tony Gioventu lives and breathes strata life in B.C. He's the executive director of the Condominium Home Owners' Association of B.C. (CHOA), and writes a weekly Condo Smarts column that runs in several B.C. newspapers. Active in the development of building standards and strata corporation legislation, the CHOA recently published a BC Hydro-supported guidance document to assist stratas in preparing electrical planning reports (EPR).
We sat down with him to discuss the EPR requirement, which helps strata corporations assess current electrical capacity and meet new electricity demands, including electric vehicle (EV) charging and heat pumps.
Powering Change: Why do we need electrical planning reports?
Tony Gioventu: They're really important to help stratas and communities understand their power limitations and administer its use fairly and effectively. In B.C., we were running into electrical limitation problems in a variety of stratas across the province, whether it was an apartment building, a high rise, a townhouse or a bare land strata in a residential community. Many issues were popping up where there was insufficient power for buildings that were wanting to do conversions to the likes of heat pumps and EV charging.
PC: Did CHOA lobby for the EPR legislation?
TG: No, it was a government decision to promote the legislation. Many organizations were consulted in the development of the legislation.
PC: What changes have you seen so far?
TG: For buildings who've done the reports, it's been quite a revelation around the capacity of available power they have. In many apartment-style condos, there's quite a lot of capacity available. For example, if EV charging systems are installed in a way that allows for a regulated charging time, with lower charging thresholds, there's generally more than enough power available in buildings.
PC: What capacity challenges have arisen with the adoption of heat pumps?
TG: Heat pumps have a substantial electrical draw because they're used for temperature regulation year-round. They're important for summer cooling. Issues arose when heat pumps were stacked throughout an apartment building, sometimes alongside EV charging.
PC: The report deadline for most regions is December 31, 2026. How quickly should stratas get the reports done?
TG: Ideally, the sooner you can have the report done, the better your understanding of your electrical capacity will be before you're receiving permission for any alterations. As we approach 2026, there'll be a demand for these reports. Getting in the queue now will give you better control over the availability and pricing. So far, the pricing has been reasonable and they’re getting done quickly.
PC: Some condos have done EV Ready Plans to qualify for BC Hydro EV Charger Rebates. Will an EV Ready plan satisfy all, or at least some, conditions of an EPR?
TG: Not at all. The purpose of the EV Ready Plan is to identify the ability of the parking area to be electrified for EV charging and plann for the installation of charging infrastructure. It doesn't fully evaluate the building's electrical demand or capacity, so it's not a substitute for the EPR.
PC: For stratas, has legislation been the key driver behind installing the likes of heat pumps and EV charging?
TG: Even before legislation, there was already significant demand for climate comfort within communities, and for EV accessibility. The government's objectives around eliminating the sale of internal combustion passenger vehicles by 2035 has added pressure.
PC: In your Condo Smarts posts, you often mention that stratas should start by converting common area lighting to LEDs. Why?
TG: Especially in larger stratas, such as in a 28 or 40-floor high-rises, converting all your common area lighting to LEDs can result in substantial electricity and cost savings. You can get very quick cost recovery on those projects. Stratas should encourage individual homeowners to upgrade to LEDs in their own homes, because it all adds up.
PC: What else is your organization working on to help stratas in B.C.?
TG: We're working with the BC Retrofit Accelerator to provide a concierge service for strata corporations, at no cost, to evaluate their energy systems once they have their EPR in hand. We want to help them plan, and encourage stratas to consider their upgrade options when they're doing other renewals.
PC: Can you elaborate on that?
TG: For example, there's a real interest in installing photovoltaic (PV) solar arrays on buildings with larger rooftop ratios to generate power. You don't want to put a PV array on a roof that's due to be replaced in five years, right? If everyone takes a moment to evaluate their EPR and depreciation reports, and starts coordinating upgrades, they can avoid spending money twice or undoing what's already been done. This approach helps make housing affordability possible.
PC: What's your number one piece of advice to strata councils?
TG: It's always the same: don't wait until building components fail before you replace them. It compounds urgency, often results in insurance claims and deductibles paid by corporations. It doesn't give the corporation the opportunity to plan or negotiate repair and replacement costs. Don't wait until something breaks to fix it.
B.C. readies for the first Zero Carbon Step Code requirement
Call it a step or a technical requirement. Just under two years after it was introduced in an update to the BC Building Code, the Zero Carbon Step Code (ZCSC) grew some teeth on March 10.
That's the day all builders in B.C. were required to report on a new building's modelled emissions or mechanical equipment. It's a measure-only requirement that nearly everyone seems ready to comply with, but it's important. Until March 10, the ZCSC was entirely optional for local governments. other than those like Victoria and Saanich, which adopted the code early.
"It's super straightforward, and all energy advisors are trained to do it," says Bertine Stelzer of BC Hydro's market transformation team. "For local government building officials, it means they have to pay attention to one section of the provincially standardized compliance form." The ZCSC is different than the BC Energy Step Code in that it regulates the actual operational emissions of buildings. While the building code addresses the energy-efficiency of a building and its envelope, the ZCSC relies on code and policy changes to shift buildings away from carbon intensive mechanical systems to low carbon mechanical systems for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water.
The measure-only requirement that took effect on March 10 is known as EL-1, the first of four levels of increasing stringency around the code. EL-2, EL-3, and EL-4 require lowering carbon intensity of space and water heating systems based on modelled carbon intensity. Where a prescriptive pathway is applied, decarbonization of space heating (EL-2), space and water heating (EL-3) and other systems such as cooking and laundry (EL-4) should be as close as possible to achieving zero carbon emissions.
In addition to this provincial requirement, local governments can enforce higher levels of the Code, and there's been strong uptake. Beginning this summer, half of the municipalities in Metro Vancouver's Regional District (representing over 60% of the district's population) will've implemented the Code. Eight of the 13 Capital Regional District municipalities have already implemented the highest level.
Across B.C., nearly three dozen local governments have now accelerated the adoption of the ZCSC, representing approximately 45% of B.C.'s total population. Most of these local governments that have accelerated the ZCSC are requiring at least Level 3.
Most local governments that have adopted the Zero Carbon Step Code are following the modelling compliance path, which still allows for hybrid heating systems to be installed in new homes under the different ZCSC performance levels.
One of the energy-efficient homes in New Westminster that will be opened for the April 26 Climate Friendly Homes Tour.
Save the date, April 26: Climate Friendly Homes Tour
Across B.C., homeowners are building and retrofitting houses to be more climate-friendly. On April 26, residents in select B.C. communities will open their homes to the public for a Climate Friendly Homes Tour.
Supported by the Canadian Energy Association (CEA) with funding from BC Hydro, the tour allows practitioners and residents to explore homes that are built to the higher steps of the Energy Step Code and Zero Carbon Step Code. As we get nearer to the event, check the website for details and maps of participating homes. Communities taking part include Nanaimo, Victoria, New Westminster, Richmond, Maple Ridge, Squamish, Whistler, Kamloops, Kimberley, Rossland, and Vernon.
The newly built Maplewood Fire & Rescue Centre on Dollarton Highway in the District of North Vancouver is an energy-efficient 48,000-square-foot facility.
All-electric beauty: North Van's Maplewood Fire & Rescue Centre
A state-of-the art fire hall and training centre that gives emergency response times and training top billing has risen from the site of what was once a refuse dump for District of North Vancouver public works projects.
The Maplewood Fire & Rescue Centre is absolutely nothing like the dump or the fire department facilities it's replacing. It's a combination of beauty, brains, and function.
"It's stunning," says Nicola Chevallier, the District of North Van's general manager of engineering public works. "We sometimes get criticized for design, even when we build to a modern standard. But we've incorporated First Nations art in the glass bay doors, and with those doors you can see natural light inside. It's comfortably warm and requires minimal lighting."
The centre is more efficient than the three aging facilities it's replacing: the fire station on Mountain Highway, an old fire training centre, and administration offices at the fire station on Lynn Valley Road. The new building is anticipated to reduce energy use by 71% and greenhouse gas emissions by 92% compared to those old buildings. The district is leveraging solutions like:
- Introducing daylighting through bay doors and other proven technologies to help reduce energy consumption, including heating and ventilation by heat recovery ventilator (with a heating coil), and radiant in-slab heating.
- In the dormitory and administration office, space-saving, quiet, and ductless fan coil units for heating and cooling, and ventilation provided by a centralized heat recovery ventilator.
- Two air-source heat pumps for domestic hot water, space heating and cooling, with an electric boiler backup for when temperatures dip below -10°C.
- A 13.5 kilowatt solar panel array for electricity generation.
Chevallier says the decision to go all-electric was an easy one after the District of North Vancouver declared a climate emergency and came up with a community and energy emissions plan. To avoid the use of fossil fuels, the District prioritized minimizing the need for lighting, heating, and cooling by ensuring that the building’s roof and walls were built to a higher insulation standard, while still letting in plenty of natural light.
"We put a lot of thought into the envelope," says Chevallier. "As a first step, you want to reduce the energy that's needed before you electrify. So, we put money into the envelope, and a lot of thought into the orientation of the building. The energy modelling was important, and that informed how the building was designed."
The key to making a more energy-efficient building that works well for crews and staff was enlisting an architect with experience in fire hall construction. "Everything is designed in a way that enhances response times," she says.
"I think we will do all-electric buildings from now on"
The emergence of super-efficient electric technologies has dove-tailed nicely with the District of North Vancouver's energy emissions plan, making it easier to commit to buildings powered exclusively by clean electricity.
"I think we'll always do all-electric buildings, as we have a policy to eliminate emissions and the use of fossil fuels in our buildings," says Chevallier, noting that the one exception at the Maplewood facility is an emergency backup diesel-fired generator. "Whenever we replace gas-fired equipment, we always look to convert to electric."
Powering Communities: What's in our new newsletter name?
Our market transformation team’s newsletter has a new name: Powering Communities.
This reflects our core mission of supporting, through our various programs, local governments, First Nation communities, builders, developers, trades, and education professionals. We help with everything from policy to codes, standards, and high-performance building skills. We're here to support and connect the different jurisdictional and professional communities we serve, with our programs to make your work successful.
Thanks for continuing to join us on this journey.
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