Light House Sustainable Building Centre drafts a white paper on energy labeling for Canadian commercial buildings
Light House Sustainable Building Centre, a not-for-profit company dedicated to advancing green building and the sustainable infrastructure, has released a white paper titled “Energy Labeling for Commercial Buildings in Canada: What Property and Facility Managers Need to Know” that provides a summary of the existing Energy Star, ASHRAE Building EQ, and CaGBC GreenUp programs in Canada as well as labeling procedures, regulatory context, and available resources to help building owners learn about and obtain energy labels.
“Although the industry is moving towards green building, we felt there was a need for specific information about energy efficiency and building labels,” explains Curtis Dorosh, Senior Project Manager and Energy Specialist and one of the co-authors of the report.
Similar to measuring fuel use in a vehicle, building energy labeling is a useful performance-based tool to help owners, operators and managers understand how much energy their facility is using and how that compares locally and nationally to other similar buildings.
Globally, public labeling of building energy performance is becoming increasingly common as government and property managers look to reduce energy usage as part of carbon reduction strategies. In the EU, energy performance certificates are already required for buildings being constructed, sold or rented, and the City of Vancouver is considering establishing building labeling as part of the renovation permit process. “There is increasing interest in energy labeling,” says Dorosh. “And we want to help building owners and operators stay ahead of the curve.”
The full report is available free to the public at http://www.sustainablebuildingcentre.com/resources/white-papers/