The government of Saskatchewan is reverting some energy efficiency guidelines for home building in what it calls a move for affordability.
The recent announcement by the province is putting all construction into tier 1 of the national building codes, including the National Building Code of Canada (NBC), National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB), and the National Plumbing Code of Canada (NPC).
Construction Association of Saskatchewan Treasurer Dan Yungwirth supported the change in the release.
“Let’s be clear—our industry will continue to build safe, durable, and energy-efficient structures because we take pride in our work and the communities we serve. This change allows us to prioritize affordability while still achieving exceptional outcomes.”
The different tiers were put in place in 2023, and what they represent is an increase in energy efficiency compared to the guidelines announced in 2020 for the building codes.
For example, tier 1 represents a home that is no more efficient than a baseline home with no efficiency measures. Tier 2 is a 10 per cent efficiency improvement, tier 3 is 20 per cent more efficient, tier 4 is 40 per cent more efficient, and tier 5 is 70 per cent more efficient.
The provincial government's newest changes would see housing and small buildings revert from being mandated to be tier 2 to being tier 1.
Larger buildings would remain at tier 1, similarly needing no change from the baseline building.
When the tiers were originally put into place in 2023, the province originally sought to expand those tiers further, but a delay by the Ministry of Government Relations put a pause on that increase as they compared energy efficiency parity with other provinces.
The province says that builders will still be able to pursue higher-tier energy efficiency targets as they wish, as per their building practices and customer demands.