January 26, 2012

Column | Korky Koroluk

The fossil fuel fight and better building

We’ve been reading so much about LEED buildings in recent years, that it’s been easy to miss other interesting things that are going on in the world of building standards.

Of course, we get news of big net-zero projects, like the one completed recently in Colorado for the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It’s both a demonstration project and a working building that is getting a lot of attention, and deservedly so. After all, it incorporates the latest in renewable energy technologies, as well the energy conservation measures that must be part of any project if we hope to rein in our society’s addiction to fossil fuels.

But interesting things are being done elsewhere in the world.

I’ve written before about Passivhaus, the standard that was developed in Austria, and which has been working its way slowly around the world. Building to that standard results in buildings that can be heated for next to nothing. Get the building orientation right, and the insulation, and the thermal mass, and you can even build passive buildings for the Canadian climate.

Notice I said buildings, not houses. That’s because, although it started out as a standard for houses, the Passivhaus principles can be applied to any building. That’s why, when a Canadian association was formed, the founders chose to call it Passive Buildings Canada.

The group produces an informative newsletter, that includes not only Canadian news about passive buildings, but news from other places. That’s how I found out about a bold move made by the Brussels capital region in Belgium.

Starting last year, all new public buildings in the Brussels region must meet passive standards. And, effective January, 2015, the passive standard will be required for all new construction and retrofits — both public sector and private sector.

It’s a bold move, and remarkable because it took place in a country that has a political structure so complex it makes Canadian and American political systems look simple.

Yet, despite the country’s reputation for internal political bickering, the main parties came together on the passive standard. The European community had set a target of the end of 2020 to have all new buildings built to what it chose to call “nearly-zero energy buildings.” And Brussels has elected to beat that mark by six years.

What makes that remarkable is that Brussels has long sat on the sidelines of environmentally conscious development, leaving it to private entrepreneurs to erect buildings, and run expressways through (and under) the city. The result is that the city is one of the largest consumers of energy in Europe. Its buildings are inefficient and its carbon dioxide emissions high.

Politically it is the national capital, and also the administrative centre for the country’s French-speaking Flemish provinces, a melting pot of dozens of cultures. It is divided into 19 municipalities, each with its own mayor and council. A lot of its properties are owned by non-residents.

So negotiating something as stringent as the passive standard was an exercise that required a lot of political dexterity. But they did it, and the results are already starting to be seen.

Building proposals received now typically far exceed the levels of energy efficiency required for certification under the LEED or the British-based BREEAM rating systems, the two with the greatest international use.

Adopting the passive standard is a brave step, given the economic uncertainty that exists in the euro zone just now. But the Belgians seem to realize that focusing entirely on the economy is to overlook other important things—like the environment.

It’s a lesson that North Americans need to learn.

If you’d like to follow the activities of Passive Buildings Canada, you’ll find the group at www.passivebuildings.ca

Korky Koroluk is an Ottawa-based freelance writer. Send comments to editor@dailycommercialnews.com

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