BC’s new energy code won’t significantly impact sheet metal contractors, but tougher energy standards are coming that could throw a curveball the industry’s way. 

BC’s new energy code won’t significantly impact sheet metal contractors, but tougher energy standards are coming that could throw a curveball the industry’s way.  In 2010 or 2011 the code will be upgraded to meet stricter energy standards – a 30 percent less energy agenda, for example – when EnerGuide 77 is replaced by EnerGuide 80. How that will affect the sheet metal industry remains to be seen. 

“There is the potential for change to how building systems are designed,” says Blair McCarry, a project engineer with Stantec Consulting Inc. “It might mean we’ll be tending a bit more toward a European model, which means supply air volumes [sheet metal] will be reduced. And there might be a shift away from all-air systems [power air conditioning] to more cooling through water, such as radiant, fan coils and things of that sort.” 

The new BC energy code is based on ASHRAE 90.1 2004 standards. It won’t affect contractors in Vancouver because that city has had an energy bylaw in place for about two years that meets those ASHRAE standards. In other regions and municipalities around BC, however, there are no parallel energy bylaws or codes, points out McCarry, who is Stantec’s project engineer for a number of high-profile jobs including Vancouver’s new convention centre and the Olympic Oval. 

He suggests that contractors used to doing things on the cheap might see some changes in their workload (different sheet metal designs?) but there might be less work for them because architects, engineers and designers will be looking at innovative ways of reducing building energy requirements. Think smaller windows, for example. That could translate to smaller air systems requiring less sheet metal. At the same time, more energy efficient water-based cooling units that move air by local office area fan coils, rather than huge central air ducts, could become a standard.  

Revised system designs won’t be the responsibility of most SMACNA-BC contractors. That work primarily rests in the hands of mechanical contractors, points out Bruce Sychuk, executive director for SMACNA-BC. 

Any significant design changes coming won’t happen overnight, however, because BC’s energy code, introduced in September, doesn’t contain dramatic changes in the way systems are designed. “As this is the introduction of an Energy Code in BC, the officials did not want to rock the boat too much,” explains McCarry.

Andrew Pape-Salmon, acting director, energy efficiency, of the BC government’s Electricity and Alternative Energy Division, says insulation contractors, however, will see some changes. And that could impact sheet metal contracts. ASHRAE has offered training and education on the new code standards and training is available through the Building Officials Association of BC. 

Pape-Salmon points out that ASHRAE has a number of requirements for HVAC systems specific to each climatic region. At the same time, there is a requirement for heat recovery in HVAC systems for commercial buildings. “That may entail different types of duct systems.” In temperate coastal regions like BC’s Lower Mainland, ASHRAE mandates the use of economizers to help cool buildings.

ASHRAE 90.1 energy standards are required in Ontario and provinces such as Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia are looking at introducing energy codes as well. But Canada is behind the US, according to McCarry, where about 40 states and many cities having adopted energy codes that meet ASHRAE 90.1 standards. 

To understand the changes in HVAC designs, check out ASHRAE’s website <www.ashrae.org> for free downloads of several energy design guides including small offices, schools and warehouses. The guides include data tables for different climatic regions and examine ways to achieve 30 percent energy reductions over the 2004 code standards. The next design guides will feature data on 50 percent energy reductions and three years later the revised guides will deal with a 77 percent reduction in energy usage, he says.

New York City has set highest building energy efficiency standards in North America. Its ambitious PLANYC 2030 program incorporates a number of green initiatives, including a mandatory energy renovation requirement within ten years for all buildings over 50,000 square feet. The plan offers subsidies for seven years on a declining year-by-year basis for renovations. “It’s very progressive, even by international standards.”

While neither the Canadian nor the US federal governments has done much on the energy code front, McCarry thinks they will be forced to get on the bandwagon soon. “Corporations are pushing developers to get greener buildings. It is the marketplace that is fundamentally shifting.”

One of the biggest concerns over the next few years, however, is the growing skilled labour shortage, he says. “We have to find a way to build things efficiently and economically with a reduced work trade.”

SMACNA-BC has taken big steps to minimize the shortage of skilled workers in the field through the development of its training centre in partnership with the Sheet Metal Workers Local 280. “We have addressed the labour shortage over the last four years by increasing our number of apprentices from 140 apprentices in the system to 400, with another 70 pre-apprentices in the system and approximately 100 applicants on a waitlist,” explains Sychuk.

The association has also created a means for retired journeypersons to return to work. The program doesn’t affect their pensions and lets them determine their own hours each week. “It has been an enormous asset in providing mentors for the apprentices,” he says.

McCarry believes it makes sense that ASHRAE would be the standard for energy codes to emulate because it is updated every three years. However, the BC government supports a switch to the Model National Energy Code for Buildings because it will reflect Canadian conditions. It will be implemented in 2012. n