JohnAmardeil.com

As I’ve written before, the new Ontario Building Code will come into effect on January 1, 2012. Thanks to stricter standards, this OBC will ensure homes in Ontario use less energy, reducing emissions and helping homeowners save money.

Brookfield Homes’ Pathways is one of many communities featuring Energy Star-qualified homes.

Admittedly, the new OBC has the potential of becoming somewhat onerous for builders to enforce. It has, after all, up to 10 different compliance packages that pertain to builders in the GTA. They involve many variations in insulation levels in the attic, basement walls, and exterior walls, plus an option to include a heat recovery ventilator depending on the chosen package, as well as an increased furnace’s annual fuel utilization efficiency.

Luckily, things are now simpler. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has just published amendments that make it possible for builders to bypass these packages, settling instead for current Energy Star specifications.

In other words, every new home that meets the Energy Star technical requirements will be considered compliant with the energy efficiency requirements for the 2012 OBC. In effect, Energy Star has become the 11th choice for local builders to comply with the new OBC.

This will greatly simplify builders’ lives, making it easier for them to build far more Energy Star-qualified homes while complying with the new OBC. This is why we’ll be calling our clients today to inform them about the new amendments and to encourage them to make their upcoming communities Energy Star-compliant.

This is a good day for green. And with that in mind, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.