President Of Canadian Home Builders Association of Northern BC. Speaks Out On Green House Gas
By 250 News
Wednesday, December 02, 2009 04:57 PM
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Prince George- The President of the Canadian Home Builders Association Of Northern BC , Allen Creuzot, issued the following release today concerning the move to reduce green house gas emissions.
In 2007, the BC government passed legislation requiring a 33% reduction in green house gas emissions by the year 2020. All public organizations, including municipalities, are required to follow suit and many are drafting Climate Action Plans, which include increasing energy efficiency in buildings.
As BC learned from the past leaky condo problem, increased energy efficiency in building adds stress to the building envelope and reduces the margin for error in construction. CHBA’s Built Green program addresses this issue through mandatory education for Built Green builders, ensuring energy efficiency targets are supported by training. Also, there are several levels of energy certification to accommodate housing affordability.
However, there is no widespread mandatory education for BC builders to ensure buildings resulting from these Climate Action Plans are built responsibly and professionally. Untrained homeowner builders apply for approximately 25% - 45% of BC’s building permits.
Builders that are licensed are not required to have any training certification by the Homeowner Protection Office. Also, a provincial license is not required for renovators working on older homes, the least energy efficient buildings in our communities.
The Canadian Home Builders’ Association supports energy efficiency initiatives and that’s why we established R2000 and the Built Green programs, long before BC’s Green building Code and Climate Action Plans. CHBA recognized that both affordability and training must go hand-in-glove with increased energy efficiency.
Climate Action is an important initiative, but much of its benefit is lost if due diligence is not practiced. Increased energy efficiency in homes is without benefit if:
1. They are unaffordable;
2. Moisture issues compromise the building envelope.
Now is the time to implement mandatory education and training for builders in British Columbia, to ensure Climate Action is achieved effectively, affordably, and responsibly.
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Posted by: seamutt on December 2 2009 11:29 PM