From The Tyee - Jan 27, 2011

by Monte Paulsen

Thirty-two years elapsed between the invention of the Saskatchewan Conservation House and the erection of Austria House in Whistler (structures this series profiled in the previous two stories).

Canada's second certified Passivhaus was completed just a year later. And a dozen more Canadian Passivhaus projects are underway.

Passivhaus buildings -- which include schools, offices, apartments as well as a growing number of renovated structures -- use 90 per cent less energy for heating and cooling than conventionally built buildings. Since buildings consume up to half of all energy in North America, the prospect of a 90 per cent reduction poses what green building advocates believe is the most affordable way to reduce energy costs and slash the emission of greenhouse gasses.

Europe has embraced the idea. The continent already has more than 25,000 Passivhaus certified buildings. And by 2020, every new building in the European Union must be a "near zero energy building." With that shift has come a steep rise in new green construction jobs.

Given that both the City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia have committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020, it's worth asking: Is B.C. ready for Passivhaus building codes?

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