Existing buildings, change is coming for you (and it's a good thing).
Imagine moving into your newly leased and fully renovated office space: open-concept working areas, collaborative spaces with modern, functional furniture, and freshly painted walls with massive windows allowing the natural light pour in. The space is up to date with workplace trends and standards, but over time your experience makes you question whether it’s up to date with the current energy codes. When sitting by perimeter windows you feel drafts and are much colder than when you’re in the interior, and at times you even notice condensation on the glass. Your thermal comfort seems to shift as regularly as the weather. What’s worse, when you review your monthly utility expenses you are shocked. Your bills are significantly higher than you anticipated. This is not what you expected when you signed the lease for a fully renovated space. Doesn’t Ontario have stringent energy codes and regulations that prevent this from happening?
The surprising answer is no, at least not for existing buildings. The Ontario Building Code, and energy requirements within it, currently only apply to new construction. So, when an existing building undergoes a renovation owners are not required to upgrade the space to address energy efficiency criteria. Fire, structural and accessibility requirements are mandatory, but energy performance is not. For this reason, it is often neglected as a cost avoidance measure. Focus is placed on making a space look beautiful, rather than operate optimally. The results of which are buildings that remain energy hogs, and significant carbon emitters. What is particularly disheartening is that the price of this inefficiency is often borne by the tenant, not to mention our environment. But this is about to change.
Canada and Ontario have set ambitious targets for cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions federally and provincially. Under Ontario’s Climate Change Action plan a commitment has been made to reduce emissions by 37% over 1990 levels, by 2030. To reach these targets industry sectors, including the buildings sector, must commit to doing better. Older, existing buildings account for the majority of the GHG emissions within the building sector and need to be a focal point for improvement. This is particularly important since it is anticipated that seventy-five percent of the 2030 building stock will be composed of buildings that are already here today. If Ontario is to meet it’s GHG targets, significant change is required, now, for addressing the short comings of how some existing building are operating. For cities like Toronto and Hamilton this is especially important as the urban fabric in these areas is largely built-out and renovation represents a significant portion of building activity.
The good news is that the Province of Ontario is proposing mandatory energy efficiency requirements for renovation work as part of the 2019 Ontario Building Code. These proposed changes were made public for comment in the fall of 2017 and are slated to take effect on January 1, 2019. Proposed modifications include energy efficiency provisions related to insulation, ventilation systems, space and water heating systems, lighting systems, windows and doors, and infiltration. It is important to note that special allowances will be made for heritage buildings, or situations where specific renovations may not be practical or cause structural or construction difficulties, however these exceptions will be limited.
The new code changes go hand-in-hand with the mandatory energy and water reporting requirements in Ontario, another provincial initiative aiming to drive our building stock towards efficiency. Property owners investigating redevelopment opportunities or renovation projects today will be well positioned if they ensure energy efficiency is a key component, rather than an after thought. By future-proofing themselves for the upcoming legislative changes, owners will ensure their asset holds value and is attractive for tenants for many years to come. It’s always better to be ahead of the curve than behind the eight ball.
Contact Pratus Group to learn how to make your next renovation project energy efficient, and to discover what incentives are available to help you get there.