Canada

Current Codes

National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB) 2015
This code applies to all new buildings and renovations of 10 square meters or more, except for houses three stories or less. The NECB is designed to have a flexible method of compliance; buildings can use a prescriptive, performance, or tradeoff path to meet efficiency requirements. The code sets requirements for a large variety of building elements, including building envelope, lighting, HVAC, and insulation.

The Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC), funded by code sales and the National Research Council (NRC), is responsible for developing and updating six of the model national codes.


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History

The CCBFC prepared both Model National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (MNECB) and the Model National Energy Code of Canada for Houses (MNECH), and NRC first published them in 1997. NRC, NRCan, the Canadian Electricity Association, and the provincial and territorial ministries of energy funded the research to develop the model code and the supporting software. MNECB and MNECH were heavily influenced by ASHRAE 90.1-1989. The MNECH was a regionally based code that took into account construction and energy costs and resources available. In April 2008, NRC and NRCan announced that they were joining forces to update MNECB. NRCan provided technical expertise and up to $5 million to support this initiative.
Source: Country Report on Building Energy Codes in Canada April 2009