By Steve Hubrecht
Local residents are urging Invermere council to adopt the Zero Carbon Step — the final step in B.C.’s Energy Step Code — as soon as possible.
Zero Carbon is the fifth out of five steps in the program. The District of Invermere adopted Energy Step Code Step 3 this past January, which requires all new homes be built to meet energy efficiency standards. Step Code 5 (the Zero Carbon Step) requires that all homes be constructed to “net-zero” standards, meaning they produce as much energy as they consume.
ThinkBright Homes Ltd. director Meredith Hamstead appeared before Invermere council at its Tuesday, Oct. 10 meeting, making the case for Invermere to adopt the Zero Carbon Step well before the provincial government is scheduled to mandate it in 2032. (Step 4 is scheduled to become mandatory in 2027).
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity,” Hamstead told council. “It’s absolutely viable, it’s absolutely affordable.”
Hamstead shared a few statistics to begin her presentation; pointing out that natural gas, fuel oil, and propane burned in buildings make up 12 per cent of B.C.’s overall carbon emissions.
In the Columbia Basin those three sources make up 29 per cent of the basin’s overall carbon emissions. And here in Invermere they account for 34 per cent of the district’s overall carbon emissions.
A total of 55 per cent of building emissions in Invermere come from residential fossil fuels — 34 per cent from residential propane and 21 per cent from residential heating oil. What is that energy used for? As Hamstead outlined, 64 per cent gets used for space heating; 35 per cent for water heating; and just one per cent for cooking.
This is actually good news when it comes to reducing emissions, since traditional home heating systems and water heating systems can relatively easily be replaced by electric heat pumps and electric water heaters. Hamstead noted, under the Zero Carbon Step, wood burning stoves are still allowed, which would be “great for our region.”
She used a thinkBright Home constructed in 2018 in Westside Park as a case study, noting that it was built in excess of Step 3 requirements (which were not even in place at the time), yet cost roughly the same to construct as a house built to code requirements of the time.
“It’s very, very airtight,” Hamstead said of the house, adding that energy efficiency is “a matter that can be sorted out in design . . . there’s no need to say only fancy homes can have this kind of energy efficiency. This is a modest home.”
Hamstead outlined that the Columbia Valley as an advantage when it comes to going Zero Carbon: it does not have a natural gas, so there is no need to wean people off that fossil fuel as a home energy source. It’s a different story in Kimberley and Cranbrook, where natural gas is the main energy source in a great many homes.
With no natural gas, high propane prices, and most homes in Invermere already using electricity as their primary energy source “in our region it’s not a question of cost,” she said, later adding “something like this will always ruffle some feathers, but if the District of Invermere were to early adopt this (Zero Carbon Step), the consequences would be essentially none.” She further added that Step Code 5 would apply only to new builds and “it doesn’t hit people who are already in their homes”.
Councillor Theresa Wood said that although the Zero Carbon Step may not entail any extra costs, public perception could well be very much the opposition. “There’s an education piece there that may be missing,” said Wood, adding that with the district in the grip of a housing crisis, anything that is perceived to be making things more expensive, even if the perception is untrue, would not be well received by the public. Wood also asked if it was wise to “put all the eggs in one basket” by using electricity as the only primary energy source for homes.
Hamstead said this is a legitimate concern, but not a credible reason not to go forward. She noted the planet is heating up and becoming more combustible each year.
Local resident Tracy Flynn outlined that there are many rebate programs to help homeowners looking to become more energy efficient, in particular programs that help low income households to install heat pumps. “It’s almost a no-brainer for low-income households,” she said.
