Canada’s National Building Code (NBC) requires builders to use the reference-building approach for its performance compliance path. It is well understood that the reference-building approach does not recognize the benefit of architectural form in the design of energy efficient buildings. In 2022, the Canadian Board for Harmonized Construction Codes established a task group for developing an alternate absolute performance compliance path in the NBC. This group was faced with the challenge of setting absolute energy performance targets that are consistent with the code's current energy efficiency requirements. This paper developed a methodology for determining energy performance targets that align with the reference-building targets of the NBC’s performance path. It then evaluated potential design outcomes associated with the proposed absolute energy performance targets, expecting that houses with a wall-to-floor area ratio of less than 1.0 and window-to-floor area ratio of less than 0.2 will show a better energy performance under the proposed absolute performance compliance path than the NBC’s existing reference-building performance compliance path. The proposed absolute energy performance targets for tiers 3 and 4 are in good agreement with the British Columbia (BC) Energy Step Code, however the proposed targets for tier 5 are more stringent than the BC Energy Step Code.

This paper explores the integration of building information modeling into energy code compliance modeling, with a strong emphasis on uncovering both the opportunities and challenges for developing workflow automation solutions across three design phases: schematic design, design development, and construction document development. To achieve this, a workflow was established that leverages Revit, OpenStudio, and the OpenStudio Standards Performance Rating Method (OSSTD-PRM). Three BIM models of the Department of Energy medium office prototype building, representing distinct design phases, were created in Revit. The BIM models were converted into OpenStudio models using the Revit Systems Analysis tool. Baseline energy models were created from the OpenStudio models for each design phase via the use of OSSTD-PRM. Opportunities and challenges associated with this proposed workflow were analyzed by comparing the geometry, internal loads, and HVAC systems across the generated baseline models.

With the increasing integration of volatile renewable energy sources in the electricity grid, the focus is shifting from electricity production to demand side management (DSM), especially in the energy-intensive building sector. There are various methods to evaluate building mass as an energy flexible thermal storage, similar to an efficiency label. While previous studies have investigated factors that affect the derived storage capacity, none have statistically quantified the effective storage capacity over a whole year, particularly comparing the results for rule-based and schedule-based control. In this study, we found that the rule-based control assigns approximately 40% less effective storage capacity to the building mass than the schedule-based control, despite the same average duration. This should be considered when using standardized KPIs for evaluating the energy flexible building mass.

Energy consumption in buildings is significantly influenced by lifestyles of occupants. In order to achieve sustainable built environments, it is imperative to examine the energy saving potential of lifestyle changes. However, the behaviors of occupants and energy consumption patterns vary according to building type. Research buildings are mixed-use in nature and occupants often perform computationally demanding tasks that require energy intensive equipment. This study examines the impact of changes in occupants’ lifestyles on energy consumption in a university research building, in light of emerging workplace trends. Occupants were interviewed to determine plug-load ownership and usage schedules, and preferred air conditioning setpoint temperature. Inefficient workspace allocation and computer usage were identified as prime causes of energy wastage in the building. Potential energy-saving lifestyle change scenarios were developed to address these inefficiencies, including use of localized co-working spaces, night-time usage of computers, and increasing air conditioning setpoint temperature. Nighttime computer usage reduced overall energy consumption by 4% and increasing setpoint temperature by up to 6%. Reallocation of office space into localized co-working spaces had the most consequential impact, achieving energy savings of 25%. This highlights the significance of lifestyle changes related to emerging workplace trends towards attainment of energy efficiency targets in buildings.

Currently, different policy-making agencies in California - including California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) – use different sets of prototypes for analyzing the impact of efficiency, renewable, electrification, and decarbonization measures. This effort is aimed at creating a unified set of prototype models to represent California’s building stock and provide the agencies with a single set of prototypes for conducting their analysis.

This paper demonstrates the results for single-family buildings sector. Data from several data sources including the Residential Appliance Saturation Study (2019 Residential Appliance Saturation Study (RASS)), American Housing Survey (AHS, 2019) and ResStock (NREL, 2022) was used and analysed extensively. As the next step, authors developed models based on the findings of the building stock assessment, which suggests a mixture of prototype models (i.e., four single family models within five vintage bins). Furthermore, the expansion of the models within all 16 California climate zones is discussed.