B2E Commercial Building Electrification Guide arrives
Available for download, guide is a how-to for retrofits
On November 14, dozens of B.C. builders, building owners and consultants connected online for the release of B2E's Commercial Building Electrification Guide.
The goal of the guide is to enable consultants to design and implement successful building electrification projects and build the sector's capacity to reach B.C.'s emissions reduction targets.
"While every building is unique, many of the solutions and strategies to approach retrofits are replicable," said B2E's Mariko Michasiw. "Given that the majority of commercial building stock already exists, and that the mechanical systems will last 15 years or more, and envelopes last even longer, it's imperative that we avoid locking ourselves into higher GHG emissions for another 15 plus years."
The guide is a whopper, running at more than 200 pages but it's easy to navigate its contents, like planning, implementation, and design. The guide's consultants SES and First Light Energy Solutions liken it to a "Choose your own adventure" experience.
The guide has a built-in commenting tool that will allow for collaborative updates and revisions. It's designed to be future-proofed while still providing data-driven specifics around current technologies.
Funding for the guide's development was provided by BC Hydro, City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, and the Building to Electrification Coalition (B2E).