This 2024 - Fall semester Women in Engineering, Science, and Technology (WEST) ran a civil based project with Introba. This project involves 24 University of Victoria students who are designing, building, and testing prototypes for passive buildings.  

As we near the completion of the students' work, we’re excited to host a Final Project Showcase. We would love to invite you to the event. Students will be presenting their projects, and there will be an opportunity to see them up close during the networking portion of the event. 

 The event is scheduled for December 5th 5:30-8:30, at Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour. If you would like to attend, please RSVP below:

Join CEA for Part 2 of a two-part webinar series using mock-ups to demonstrate best practices for building enclosure upgrades.

This session will feature three-dimensional mock-ups to guide discussions on renewable detailing, environmental separation layers, interior and exterior insulation strategies, fire resiliency, climate adaptation, and more.

oin the Community Energy Association for Part 2 of a two-part webinar series focused on hybrid (or dual fuel) heating systems.

This series targets HVAC contractors interested in learning more about hybrid heating systems including right-sizing, equipment selection, balance points, control strategies, and quality installations.

Although content will be geared towards HVAC contractors, builders, renovators, designers, energy advisors, building officials and all building professionals are welcome to join.

Join CEA for Part 1 of a two-part webinar series using mock-ups to demonstrate best practices for building enclosure upgrades.

This session will feature three-dimensional mock-ups to guide discussions on renewable detailing, environmental separation layers, interior and exterior insulation strategies, fire resiliency, climate adaptation, and more.

Join the Community Energy Association for Part 1 of a two-part webinar series focused on hybrid (or dual fuel) heating systems.

This series targets HVAC contractors interested in learning more about hybrid heating systems including right-sizing, equipment selection, balance points, control strategies, and quality installations.

Although content will be geared towards HVAC contractors, builders, renovators, designers, energy advisors, building officials and all building professionals are welcome to join.

Join CEA and a panel of experts for an in-depth discussion on installation, maintenance, and optimization of heat pumps in cold climates. This session will bring together perspectives from across the industry looking at best practices and considerations for home energy retrofit scenarios. Join a diverse panel of experts for an in-depth discussion tailored to building professionals.

Canada’s Energy Efficiency Act was passed in 1992, enabling the making and enforcement of energy efficiency standards for energy-using appliances and equipment. 

The Energy Efficiency Regulations enabled by the Act have had an enormous positive impact, saving over 340 PJ of energy, saving Canadians billions of dollars, and reducing emissions by more than 44 Mt CO2e from 1995-2022. Despite this, Canada has the most energy-intensive economy of IEA members and direct emissions from buildings have increased 4.5% since 2005. Ramping up energy efficiency will be essential for Canada to achieve its net-zero by 2050 emissions target. However, compared to analogous laws in other countries, Canada’s Energy Efficiency Act is limited in its scope and power in many ways. 

Join us as we explore some of the ways Canada’s Energy Efficiency Act could be modernized for the 21st century to address climate change, improve affordability, and deliver health benefits. 

Come out to ZEB’x second Decarb Lunch webinar of the month where we’ll be talking to the founder of Vernon-based non-profit HomeZero Collective and their Clean Energy Neighbourhoods pilot project. This initiative aims to make home retrofits faster, easier, and more affordable for neighbourhoods across the City of Vernon, BC and share lessons from their experience far beyond its borders.

If you’re interested in home retrofits, air source heat pumps, and ground source heat pumps (i.e., geo-exchange), check this one out. We’ll hear from the program administrator and one of the homeowners participating in the retrofit, while also having one of the program’s mechanical consultants on hand for the question period.

Thanks to the financial support of Vancity, BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event is free of charge!

Speaker:

• Amandeep Singh, Founder of HomeZero Collective

Amandeep Singh was a born behind-the-scenes change maker. Over the years, he’s led several projects that tested, incubated and proved innovation across a range of industries. Since founding HomeZero Collective in 2020, he’s developed the clean energy neighbourhoods model that will begin to pave the way for an exciting, carbon neutral future in Vernon and beyond.

Accessing the Webinar With Your Eventbrite Ticket

Our Decarb Lunch is online.

Once you register on Eventbrite, you will receive an email with a link to the online Zoom webinar.

• Click the “View Now” button in the Eventbrite email.

• Clicking the View Now button will take you to the Eventbrite Webinar landing page. Click the play button and register yourself for the Zoom webinar by submitting your name and email address.

• Once you register, you will be granted access to the Zoom webinar link.

• If you have any questions, please contact events@zebx.org.

• Some users of MS Explorer may receive error messages – we recommend using a different web browser if this occurs.

Join our Community of Leaders!

Do you have an exciting zero emissions or high performance project, product or concept you’d like to share? Interested in participating in our Program Series as subject matter experts? E-mail events@zebx.org for more information on how to get involved. Together, we can make the 2020s the decade of zero emission buildings!

Ersilia Serafini from Summerhill will share the benefits of considering one central point of contact for all customer touch points related to energy efficiency program delivery.  This could include customer service support and outreach via phone/web/sms, application support and review, rebate processing, trade ally network management and customer satisfaction surveys.

Builders, designers, HVAC technicians, energy advisors, building officials:

Join Community Energy Association for their two-part webinar series to learn all about retrofitting manufactured homes to make them more comfortable and energy efficient.

The second webinar of the series, will take us through:

• Typical heating systems used in manufactured homes and opportunity for upgrades with ductless heat pumps

• Common issues/challenges and solutions with installing ductless heat pumps in manufactured homes – housing configurations/additions, indoor/outdoor equipment location, equipment sizing, electrical service/capacity, and working with manufactured home parks

• Quality installation process for achieving optimized performance – sizing, equipment selection, installation, and performance verification.

• Dealing with supplemental and back-up heating needs with manufactured homes.

This event has been pre-approve for 1 Continuing Professional Development Point through BC Housing.

Event is free of charge, but you must pre-register.

• May 29: Retrofitting Manufactured Homes

• June 26: Ductless Heat Pumps and Manufactured Homes

Cost

Engineers and Geoscientists BC Registrant Regular Price: $42.00 + GST

Non-Registrant Price: $42.00 + GST

Student Price: $32.00 + GST

Hot breakfast is included.

Event Presenter(s)

Kezia Devathasan is a PhD student in Software Engineering, specifically focusing on the human aspects of both practice and education. Her research aims to bridge the gap between technical capability and human-centred design in software development. She also oversees INSPIRE as the program manager, exploring intersections of computer science, software engineering, and education. She helps orchestrate opportunities for students to engage in hands-on projects, collaborate with diverse teams, and develop skills that are essential for success in STEM careers. 

About the Event

Please join the director of the INSPIRE program at University of Victoria to learn about how this program is supporting underrepresented women in STEM with real life engineering problems.

Date(s):

Friday, June 21, 2024
7:00 AM–9:30 AM Pacific time

Location:

Royal Canadian Legion 292, 411 Gorge Road East 
David Slater Room

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

The Embodied Carbon Exchange is our newest initiative, join us for this bi-monthly group discussion event that connects a diverse range of building industry stakeholders, including architects, structural engineers, developers, manufacturers, policy makers, and sustainability consultants. Our focus is on open-ended, informal discussions about real-world, on-the-ground problems related to reducing embodied carbon in building construction projects.

At the Embodied Carbon Exchange, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, share their experiences, and learn from one another in a collaborative, supportive environment. All questions welcome, even those that may not have an answer. We believe that by bringing together a variety of perspectives and expertise, we can identify innovative, effective solutions to the complex challenges of reducing embodied carbon in the built environment.

Event Location

Online
Vancouver BC
Canada

Come join us for a beautiful Wellness Wander Goldstream Provincial Park! We will meet at Goldstream Day Use Parking Lot (Langford, BC V0R 2L0) to start.

Don't forget to bring your sturdy hiking shoes and water, and dress for the weather! *weather dependent - if conditions are unfavourable, registrants will be informed*

Join leaders from the City of Vancouver’s green and resilient buildings team as they introduce Energize Vancouver—the city's new online hub for information and resources on current and upcoming energy and carbon requirements for existing large commercial and multi-family buildings.

The City now requires the owners and managers of Vancouver's largest commercial buildings to report their properties’ energy and greenhouse gas intensity data. The deadline for the first round of reporting is June 1, 2024. The city's benchmarking requirements expand in 2024, then, starting in 2026, the City will require certain buildings to meet defined greenhouse gas intensity limits.

This webinar will introduce the Energize Vancouver initiative and resource hub, and outline the current reporting requirement. Bonus: We'll also welcome special guests from the City of Toronto and City of Montreal, both of which are similarly rolling out mandatory building performance benchmarking programs.

Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event is free of charge!

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

Experts from UVic and local industry discuss the latest trends and challenges in sustainable building and design.

Hey Victoria! Anna Kobb is hosting another event!
She is bringing together experts from our UVic Engineering and Computer Science faculty alongside leading industry players to present a panel discussion of green building. Please join us (for free!) on April 4th to learn about the current state and future of green building and design. Registration is free but seats are limited, so sign up soon!

The panel will feature our local partners RJC Engineers and Introba alongside Phalguni Mukhopadhyaya, PhD, PEng., FCSCE, Yang Shi, Fred Boafa - and our moderator Dr. Rishi Gupta.

Come hear from local experts about the latest trends and research in sustainable building and design. Learn about the challenges and opportunities in the field. Bring your questions!

A panel discussion followed by open networking with light fare.

Event location: Engineering & Computer Science Building (ECS), room 660. There is an elevator available to access the room on the 6th floor. Note that the Engineering Expansion project has started; P1 is the closest parking.

Efficiency Canada is hosting a sustaibility event!

EfficiencyOne and Climative partnered on a remote home energy assessments pilot aimed to validate the technical credibility of this approach and its potential to accelerate building upgrades. The pilot proved highly successful, with compelling results for customer engagement, satisfaction, and use of resources. Join Hugh and Winston as they discuss these results and how remote and digital assessments could change how we plan and deliver sustainable and inclusive retrofit programs.

ZEBx is hosting a sustainability event!

It’s widely recognized that addressing new buildings alone will not be enough to get us to our emissions reduction targets. Deep building retrofits are a crucial component of the decarbonization transition.

Join ZEBx’s March Decarb Lunch to learn about two ongoing deep retrofit projects through the designer and owner lenses. Hear from speakers from Pembina, LHRA, Pacifica Housing, and Metro Vancouver Housing about takeaways relating to process, procurement, technical bundling, and more. The core intentions and high-level learnings from the Reframed Initiative will also be discussed with an emphasis on the lessons that are relevant to the industry at large.

This webinar will also be offered as part of the Passive House Accelerator’s Reimagine Buildings ‘24 online conference for whom ZEBx is a community partner.

Efficiency Canada is hosting a Sustainability Event. Join March 8 on International Women’s Day for “A Day in the Life” with Energy Trailblazer, Afaf Azzouz. Explore the exciting world of sustainability and climate management. During this Q&A, Afaf will share insights into her career path, credentials, and experience, and provide an up-close look at leading net zero implementation.

You will also learn how the Career Hub has been effective in connecting the growing energy efficiency sector—436,000 Canadians. The hub helps bring awareness to those interested in a new or first career, all while placing emphasis on the importance of equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Speaker: Afaf Azzouz, Senior Manager (Sustainability, Decarbonization, Energy Transition), Deloitte

“A Day in the Life” is a digital campaign showcasing professionals in their real work environments. The series features engineers, architects, contractors, tradespeople, building science academics, and more. Each feature offers a documentary-style glimpse into a typical day in the life of Canadians working in the energy efficiency sector.

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

TThe Embodied Carbon Exchange is our latest initiative, join us for this bi-monthly group discussion event that connects a diverse range of building industry stakeholders, including architects, structural engineers, developers, manufacturers, policy makers, and sustainability consultants. Our focus is on open-ended, informal discussions about real-world, on-the-ground problems related to reducing embodied carbon in building construction projects.

At the Embodied Carbon Exchange, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, share their experiences, and learn from one another in a collaborative, supportive environment. All questions welcome, even those that may not have an answer. We believe that by bringing together a variety of perspectives and expertise, we can identify innovative, effective solutions to the complex challenges of reducing embodied carbon in the built environment.

Event Location

Online
Vancouver BC
Canada

Efficiency Canada is hosting a Sustainability Event. Energy poverty is commonly understood to describe the situation where a household is unable to access adequate energy to maintain wellbeing at home. Because it is largely experienced behind closed doors, the diversity of experiences with energy poverty may vary from households to household. This presentation uses latest custom data from Statistics Canada Census 2021 and evidence from research to construct archetypes or ‘user profiles’ of lived experiences with energy poverty. In doing so, we will explore how energy poverty amplifies existing vulnerabilities for Canadian households and make recommendations for targeted and decisive action to mitigate impacts for the most vulnerable households.

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

The Embodied Carbon Exchange is our latest initiative, join us for this bi-monthly group discussion event that connects a diverse range of building industry stakeholders, including architects, structural engineers, developers, manufacturers, policy makers, and sustainability consultants. Our focus is on open-ended, informal discussions about real-world, on-the-ground problems related to reducing embodied carbon in building construction projects.

At the Embodied Carbon Exchange, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, share their experiences, and learn from one another in a collaborative, supportive environment. All questions welcome, even those that may not have an answer. We believe that by bringing together a variety of perspectives and expertise, we can identify innovative, effective solutions to the complex challenges of reducing embodied carbon in the built environment.

Event Location

Online
Vancouver BC
Canada

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

As of Oct 1, 2023, the City of Vancouver’s Building Bylaws include an embodied carbon requirement for large (Part 3) buildings. To comply with the requirement, two pathways are possible: the absolute and baseline paths. If choosing the absolute path, the project cannot exceed 800 kg CO2e/m2 (double the benchmark intensity of 400 kgCO2e/m2). If pursuing a baseline path, projects can define a project-specific, functionally equivalent baseline to measure against, and cannot be more than double the baseline. In this webinar, the City of Vancouver and Priopta will present the new VBBL requirement, as well as the guidance provided in the new Vancouver Embodied Carbon Guidelines. The Guidelines cover compliance paths, mandatory and optional element scopes, quantifying embodied carbon, creating a baseline and documentation and reporting requirements.

* **

Speakers:

Anthony Pak, Principal at Priopta and CLF Global Hub Director

Anthony is the Principal at Priopta, a firm with deep expertise in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for buildings. Priopta supports design teams in reducing embodied carbon on construction projects and works with leading organizations and jurisdictions to develop effective embodied carbon policies. Anthony is also the founder of CLF Vancouver—the first local hub of the Carbon Leadership Forum—which organizes local events that empower industry professionals to radically reduce embodied carbon from buildings and infrastructure. Since 2019, CLF Vancouver has inspired over 30 other cities to start CLF local hubs. He now also serves as the CLF Global Hub Director, working to support the growth and impact of CLF hubs around the world.

Zahra Teshnizi, Senior Embodied Carbon Planner

Zahra is a Senior Green Building Planner at the City of Vancouver, where she leads the development and implementation of the City's embodied carbon policies and initiatives. With over a decade of experience in sustainable and zero-carbon development, Zahra is highly knowledgeable in embodied carbon design, policy, and life cycle assessment (LCA).

In 2017, Zahra led the creation of Vancouver's embodied carbon requirements under the Green Building Policy for Rezoning, which was the first of its kind in North America. Additionally, she developed a conceptual roadmap for future steps based on the early submissions' analysis.

Prior to rejoining the City of Vancouver in 2023, Zahra worked as a Senior Advisor at Mantle Developments. During this time, she collaborated with various stakeholders, including developers, governments, and financial institutions, to assess, disclose, and reduce carbon emissions at the building scale. She also played a key role in developing zero-carbon strategies and plans at a portfolio scale.

Event Location

Online
Vancouver BC
Canada

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

The Embodied Carbon Exchange is our newest initiative, join us for this bi-monthly group discussion event that connects a diverse range of building industry stakeholders, including architects, structural engineers, developers, manufacturers, policy makers, and sustainability consultants. Our focus is on open-ended, informal discussions about real-world, on-the-ground problems related to reducing embodied carbon in building construction projects.

At the Embodied Carbon Exchange, attendees have the opportunity to ask questions, share their experiences, and learn from one another in a collaborative, supportive environment. All questions welcome, even those that may not have an answer. We believe that by bringing together a variety of perspectives and expertise, we can identify innovative, effective solutions to the complex challenges of reducing embodied carbon in the built environment.

Event Location

Online
Vancouver BC
Canada

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

When it comes to retrofitting a home, replacing a gas furnace or water heater with a heat pump will result in additional electrical load requirements. If adding electrified equipment to an existing electrical panel results in exceeding the existing panel capacity, these retrofits could result in additional costs to a homeowner. But, what if these costs could be avoided/reduced? A B2E article from March 2022 summarized research findings on this very topic.

The November Decarb Lunch will feature presentations from two speakers on several pilot projects that are optimizing electrical capacity within homes. Learn more about load management strategies in this upcoming webinar.

Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event is free of charge!

***

Speakers:

Frank Crawford, P Eng, Energy Efficiency Consultant

Frank is a Professional Civil Engineer and a Certified Passive House Designer and Tradesperson. He designed, built and now lives in one of the first Alberta homes built to the Passive House Standard. Through his work as an Energy Efficiency Consultant and the Education Committee lead of Passive House Alberta, he helps others learn how to achieve the benefits of building or renovating to a high-performance building standard while minimizing the carbon and capital costs.

Tim Mosley, Sr Program Manager, Innovation and Delivery, BC Hydro

Tim works on the identification and testing of new technologies and services that help customers manage their energy use. He is currently focused on systems products and services that relate to; home automation, AI, live energy usage feedback, voice/smart speakers, EV EMS and service upgrade avoidance strategies, demand response technologies for space and water heating and non-hardware solutions for the development of energy insights and customer engagement.

The innovation team supports residential, commercial and industrial customers across all end-use technologies and utility DSM services. The sole intent is to provide better energy management tools for the 4 million customers of BC Hydro.

Hosts  

Melissa Williams, Climate Action Advisor, Technical Safety BC 

Gord Durocher, Electrical Senior Safety Officer, Technical Safety BC 

Mariko Michasiw, B2E Program Manager, ZEIC 

Accessing the Webinar With Your Eventbrite Ticket

Our Decarb Lunch is online.

Once you register on Eventbrite, you will receive an email with a link to the online Zoom webinar.

• Click the “View Now” button in the Eventbrite email.

• Clicking the View Now button will take you to the Eventbrite Webinar landing page. Click the play button and register yourself for the Zoom webinar by submitting your name and email address.

• Once you register, you will be granted access to the Zoom webinar link.

• If you have any questions, please contact events@zebx.org.

• Some users of MS Explorer may receive error messages – we recommend using a different web browser if this occurs.

Join our Community of Leaders!

Do you have an exciting zero emissions or high performance project, product or concept you’d like to share? Interested in participating in our Program Series as subject matter experts? E-mail events@zebx.org for more information on how to get involved. Together, we can make the 2020s the decade of zero emission buildings!

Event Location

Online
Vancouver BC
Canada

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

Website

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/decarb-lunch-the-opportunities-and-challenges-of-de…

BC's green building community has been targeting operational emissions reductions for many years now - in both new and existing buildings. And we're getting the swing of it, slowly but surely. But did you know that embodied emissions reductions are just as important? A key strategy to reduce embodied emissions is ensuring that we keep building materials out of landfills. To achieve this circular built environment, we can relocate buildings or we can disassemble them, reusing as many components as possible in a new building. Join ZEBx and CLF BC for our next Decarb Lunch, featuring Light House, author of A Blueprint for Change: Preventing Demolition Waste Through Home Relocation and Deconstruction, and the reigning champion of building deconstruction, Unbuilders.

Thanks to the financial support of CleanBC, BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event is free of charge!

Speakers:

Adam Corneil, CEO & Founder, Unbuilders

Adam is a serial entrepreneur, a certified Passive House builder and a deconstruction & reclaimed wood expert. He flipped his first house at 16 with his father and after years as a green builder he launched Unbuilders Deconstruction in January 2018 and Heritage Lumber in 2020. Adam, and his companies, have the vision of a construction industry where deconstruction and remanufacturing replaces demolition and disposal. Passionate about his family, skiing, hiking mountains and spending as much time outdoors, he is committed to providing a sustainable future for generations to enjoy.

 Gil Yaron, Managing Director, Circular Innovation, Light House

Gil Yaron is Managing Director, Circular Innovation at Light House where he leads the organization's work advancing circular policy and practice in the built environment. Gil brings more than two decades of experience in material recycling, including managing extended producer responsibility programs in 8 provinces and supporting the development and implementation of CRD diversion strategies for local governments. He most recently co-authored A Blueprint for Change: Preventing Demolition Waste Through Home Relocation and Deconstruction and is collaborating on a model framework to relocate and repurpose homes from the Lower Mainland to coastal First Nations. When he isn't thinking about buildings, you'll find him at his piano composing musicals.

Accessing the Webinar With Your Eventbrite Ticket

Our Decarb Lunch is online.

Once you register on Eventbrite, you will receive an email with a link to the online Zoom webinar.

• Click the “View Now” button in the Eventbrite email.

• Clicking the View Now button will take you to the Eventbrite Webinar landing page. Click the play button and register yourself for the Zoom webinar by submitting your name and email address.

• Once you register, you will be granted access to the Zoom webinar link.

• If you have any questions, please contact events@zebx.org.

• Some users of MS Explorer may receive error messages – we recommend using a different web browser if this occurs.

Join our Community of Leaders!

Presented by:

ZEBx

Do you have an exciting zero emissions or high performance project, product or concept you’d like to share? Interested in participating in our Program Series as subject matter experts? E-mail events@zebx.org for more information on how to get involved. Together, we can make the 2020s the decade of zero emission buildings!

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

Website

https://CoVEMGv3Workshop.eventbrite.ca

The City of Vancouver and Focal Engineering will present draft updates proposed for the City's Energy Modelling Guidelines (CoV EMG v3.) These updates build on the feedback from the first workshop (held April 6th) and subsequent engagement, research, modelling and other work completed.

A red-lined copy of the draft guidelines will be provided to attendees. The workshop will focus on the more notable updates, presenting the reason behind the changes and anticipated impact to projects. Initial results showing overall impact of the CoV EMG v3 will be included for major archetypes (e.g. MURBs). Significant time will be designated for questions and discussion. After the workshop, a survey will be made available for several weeks to get feedback on the proposed changes.

Presented by:

Focal Engineering

Register now to get a placeholder; meeting link details will follow closer to the event.

Please note that this session is intended for attendees who are already experienced with previous versions of the CoV EMG and associated energy modelling results.

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

Website

https://BCStepCodePart3localGovernments.eventbrite.ca

On May 1, 2023, Revision 5 of the BC Building Code 2018 came into effect. Checklists have since been released to reflect the changes, which include updates to the Energy Step Code and the introduction of the Zero Carbon Step Code.

Presented by:

Focal Engineering

This free webinar will provide an overview of how to use/ review the Checklists, including typical case studies and more complex examples. We will also introduce the User Guides and provide an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.

Cost: Free

About this presentation:

Website

https://BCStepCodePart9Users.eventbrite.ca

On May 1, 2023, Revision 5 of the BC Building Code 2018 came into effect. Checklists have since been released to reflect the changes, which include updates to the Energy Step Code and the introduction of the Zero Carbon Step Code.

Presented by:

Focal Engineering

This free webinar will provide an overview of how to use/ review the Checklists, including typical case studies and more complex examples. We will also introduce the User Guides and provide an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.