The province of Manitoba is leading the way: starting December 1, 2014, all large commercial buildings are mandated to be built to the National Energy Code for Buildings 2011 (NECB 2011), with a few made-in-Manitoba adjustments.
There are three options to show compliance: 1) Prescriptive, which requires that all envelope, HVAC, service water, electrical system and lighting meet a minimum performance (R-value, efficiency, etc.), 2) Trade-off, which allows you to trade-off requirements within one system (e.g. for envelope, can have poor windows if you have great walls), and 3) Performance Path, which uses an energy model to essentially allow you to trade-off between all systems (e.g. can have an average envelope if heating system is great).
Thurston Engineering Services can help with the Performance Path!
While the other two options can be very limiting, Performance Path allows complete flexibility for a design to meet MECB and, if modeller is brought in early enough, can provide cost estimates that help make those early decisions (e.g. is it cost effective to invest in R-40 walls? Will we see a return, given other design factors?). No matter what stage, our energy modellers will provide all modeling documentation needed to prove the design’s overall energy performance in comparison with MECB.
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