Put a Label on It: The BC Energy Step Code and Home Energy Labeling Disclosure

2018

The Put a Label on It report was created by City Green to provide guidance about how local governments adopting the BC Energy Step Code for Part 9 buildings can, at no additional cost to the builder, enable home energy labelling disclosure.

The disclosure of energy labels can offer the benefits of:

1. Providing industry with a marketing opportunity to differentiate themselves as developers and builders of high efficiency homes,
2. Providing transparency of home energy performance information in property transactions to allow consumers to make informed decisions, and
3. Building industry and consumer awareness, understanding, and demand for more energy efficient homes.

The first steps for local governments to enable home energy labelling disclosure for new Part 9 construction include:

1. Establishing a BC Energy Step Code bylaw
2. Introducing administrative requirements to complement the BC Energy Step Code bylaw and enable the disclosure of home labels
3. Expanding the market transformation potential of home energy labelling disclosure by
   1. Collaboratively working towards a common vision for enabling consumer access to home energy labels, and
   2. Developing an effective online mechanism to make energy labels publically accessible to all stakeholders.

The full report is available at: http://energystepcode.ca/app/uploads/sites/257/2018/08/PutALabelOnIt-Final.pdf