Unlocking Low-Rise Housing Retrofits with Data Analysis, Online Tools and Case Studies

The City of Vancouver will partner with the Township of Langley and the Regional District of East Kootenay to run a pilot project demonstrating the potential of a data-driven approach to facilitating the wide-spread adoption of residential deep-energy retrofits. Specifically, this pilot will test out the tools required for Vancouver to cap annual residential building emissions at incrementally reduced limits over time. This type of policy will not be possible without a precise compliance database and services to help residents comply. The pilot therefore includes the following four key components: 1. Developing a comprehensive housing stock database that aggregates data such as energy usage, building benchmarking, solar potential, tax assessments, etc. 2. Developing a retrofit program with home packages (“Bundles”), combining home archetyping data, and existing incentives, rebates, and financing options. 3. Retrofitting 20 homes in Vancouver and Langley that the housing stock database has identified as high-emissions homes with high energy bills to gather feedback on homeowners’ retrofit experience. Homeowners who participate in the pilot will be able to take advantage of the tools and program described above. Additionally, the province of British Columbia has signaled their intent to build a province-wide database of Virtual EnerGuide assessments, which if successful, has the potential to streamline the city’s residential retrofit program. The city will work closely with the province to ensure alignment between the two programs. The project is also in line with Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Response, Greenest City Action Plan, Renewable City Strategy 2050, and Zero Emissions Building Plan. Partners on the initiative include the township of Langley, East Kootenay District, the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, and Natural Resources Canada. Innovative aspect(s): • The comprehensive database will enable Vancouver to pass what will likely be North America’s first policy regulating emissions from existing single-family homes • Home archetyping is considered a relatively new approach to residential retrofit programs, with the potential to greatly improve client experience Replicability: Natural Resources Canada is a formal partner acting in a research capacity, meaning that the outcomes of this pilot could be scaled up to a nation-wide level. If successful, the province of British Columbia plans to scale the database up province-wide, which will not be a significant financial investment once the concept has been proven through this pilot. Environmental benefits: • The pilot will fund the retrofit of 20 high-emitting homes; combined, these retrofits are anticipated to save 140 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year • If this pilot is successful, the resulting legislation will limit annual housing emissions for certain homes to 12 tonnes per year in 2025, six tonnes by 2030, and one-and-a-half tonnes by 2035 Economic benefits • The database will be able to identify “positive cashflow homes” that could save money on heating and electricity bills by pursuing certain retrofits • The energy-coaching service has the potential to generate revenue for the city • Once launched, the program is anticipated to add numerous jobs to the green building industry Social benefits: • A data-centered approach will allow the city to develop an equitable emissions policy that takes energy poverty into account and puts a greater burden on higher-income homeowners • The online portal will provide homeowners targeted resources to increase public understanding of energy-efficiency measures (Project description from original funding application)