1. ecoENERGY Efficiency Initiative:
Programs and Codes and for Buildings
Green Building Festival
October 2007
Jim Clark
Senior Officer
Stakeholder Relations
Office of Energy Efficiency
Natural Resources Canada

2. ecoACTION
Structure
ecoACTION
ecoENERGY
(Natural Resources Canada)
ecoENERGY Renewable ecoENERGY Efficiency ecoENERGY Technology
Initiative Initiative Initiative
(Electricity Resources) (Office of Energy Efficiency) (CANMET)
Other OEE programs for
ecoENERGY ecoENERGY Retrofit
industry, housing,
for Buildings and Houses ($)
transportation, etc.

3. ecoENERGY
Retrofit Incentives
 The OEE delivers new financial incentives:
 ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes
 ecoENERGY Retrofit – Small and Medium Organizations
 ecoENERGY Retrofit
Incentive for Industry
 ecoENERGY Retrofit
Incentive for Buildings
- Intake window from Oct 15 – Dec 14
 NRCan also delivers ecoEnergy for
Renewable Heat

4. ecoENERGY
Activities
 Through ecoENERGY Buildings and Houses, the
OEE promotes energy efficiency in commercial and
institutional buildings with:
 Training and workshops
 Software and tools
 Publications and newsletters
 Awards and recognition
Continued

5. ecoENERGY
Other Activities
 Continued:
 Design validation
 Coordinate national benchmarking studies
 Promote building optimization (commissioning and
recommissioning)
 Promote energy performance contracting
 Link to stakeholder organizations and service providers

6. ecoENERGY
Codes and Labelling
 We are consulting with stakeholders to:
 Update the Model National Energy Code for Buildings
(MNECB)
 Develop a new energy rating and
labelling system for buildings

7. ecoENERGY
Design Validation
 Validation of new building design models:
 Confirms the design performance is at least 25 percent
better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings
(MNECB) requirement.
 Shows compliance for utility or regional incentive programs
or provincial, territorial, and or municipal requirements,
including the LEED Energy and Atmosphere prerequisite
and for the purpose of energy rating.

8. The Model National Energy
Code for Building
 The reference building is based on the 1997
Model National Energy Code for Buildings
(MNECB)
 MNECB has mandatory requirements for
building envelope, lighting, HVAC, service
water, heating and electrical
 To be eligible for validation a building must
meet:
1. The MNECB mandatories
2. The performance of the proposed
building must be 25% more efficient
than a reference building built to the
minimum MNECB standard.

9. Codes & Labelling
Oversight
Council of Energy Ministers (CEM)
Assistant Deputy Ministers
Steering Committee on Energy Efficiency (ASCEE)
Demand Side Management Working Group (DSMWG)
Codes Labelling Others

10. Building Codes in
Canada
 In Canada the responsibility for building regulation rests
with the provinces and territories (P/T). The Canadian
Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) is
responsible for developing and updating six model
national codes for adoption by the P/T.
– National Building Code of Canada (NBC)
– National Fire Code of Canada
– National Plumbing
– National Farm Building
– Model National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (MNECB)
– Model National Energy Code of Canada for Houses (MNECH)

11. Update of Model National
Energy Codes
 MNECB and MNECH, published in 1997, are outdated and need
upgrading to reflect current standards and practices.
 MNECB only adopted by one jurisdiction. However, many
juridictions have work underway related to energy codes and
regulations.
 Support in 2005 by CEM for the update Model National Energy
Codes.
 P/T energy and code representatives currently participate in a
Building Energy Codes Collaborative (BECC) to advance the
CEM priority.
 BECC submitted a Business Plan for the update of the MNECB
1997 to the CCBFC at the end of 2006. The project is now
underway.

12. Building Labelling
Drivers Towards a Building Energy Label
• Increasing priority on building energy efficiency
• Growing popularity of environmental rating systems
• energy labelling exists in other sectors & jurisdictions
• the time is right for the introduction of a specific Energy
Label for buildings

13. Activities during 2006
1 – Building Energy Labelling Subcommittee
 Under the DSM Working Group, labelling committee
formed in 2006 to advance Residential and Building
Energy Labelling
2 – Two Stakeholder Meetings on Building Energy Labelling
 Consensus Reached and Options Suggested

14. Stakeholders Respond...
Consensus on…
• Genuine, wide-spread interest in developing an energy
label for buildings
• Awareness, benchmarking and performance recognition
seen as an important elements
• Label and delivery process, should be simple, clear and
inexpensive
• “EnerGuide”-type scale preferred format
• “Expiry date” increases validity

15. Draft Label Developed
Identifier
Building Type
Assessed annual energy
consumption (kWh/m2)
Top/bottom benchmarks
Assessment and expiry dates
Website for more info

16. Next Steps
For Buildings Energy Label:
• Analyse on-line survey of professional stakeholders,
including comments on draft label
• Pilot-test label in selected regions/sectors
– RFP at http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/commercial/regulations-
standards/labelling-pilot , closing November 16
• Develop a national building energy database
• Review draft label in context of feedback
• Coordinate with provinces and develop delivery
mechanism(s)

17. For More
Information
 Visit our Web sites or contact us:
 www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/
 info.services@nrcan.gc.ca
 1-877-360-5500 (toll free)