Find guides and handbooks to help design and build energy-efficient homes. On this page:

• BC Housing Step Code builder guides
• BC Housing general builder guides
• Natural Resources Canada guides
• ZEBx playbooks

BC Housing Step Code builder guides

Listed A to Z by title.

• BC Energy Step Code Builder Guide
  • Outlines key strategies and approaches used to meet Step Code requirements for houses and low-rise wood-frame residential buildings up to six storeys
• BC Energy Step Code Design Guide
  • Learn about benefits and impacts of key design strategies necessary to achieve each step of the Step Code, including both mechanical and envelope strategies
  • Provides detailed implementation tactics related to heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) solutions and strategies
• BC Energy Step Code Design Guide Supplement
  • Provides information on the key strategies and approaches necessary to reduce the impacts of a warmer climate on mid- and high-rise (Part 3) wood-frame and noncombustible residential buildings within British Columbia
• Building Enclosure Design Guide: Wood-Frame Multi-Unit Residential Buildings
  • Explores the latest research, design and construction best practices for wood-frame construction in five- and six-storey mid-rise buildings
• Building Envelope Thermal Bridging Guide
  • Provides practical information with thermal bridging solutions and details for many assemblies including wood–framed, steel-framed, precast-concrete, and roofing systems
  • Additional insulation scenarios have been added to walls and roofs for all of Canada’s climate zones and net-zero buildings
• Building Envelope Guide for Houses: Part 9 Residential Construction, Second Edition
  • Provides practical information on the design and construction in accordance with Part 9 of the 2018 BC Building Code, including step-by-step construction detail descriptions
• Consumer Guide to High Performance Homes
  • Guide to help consumers make informed decisions when looking to buy, design, or build a high-performance home in B.C.
• Energy Efficient Building Enclosures Design Guide
  • Guide to assist energy efficient multi-unit residential building design practices, construction practices, and material use based on best knowledge
• Heat Recovery Ventilation Guide for Houses
  • Best practices in design, installation, and maintenance of heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) for single family, semi-detached, and row housing
• Heat Recovery Ventilation: Builder Insight 14
  • Design, installation, commissioning, and occupant handover best practices and checklists for heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) for Part 9 houses
• Heat Recovery Ventilation Guide for Multi-Unit Residential Buildings
  • Best practices in design, installation, and maintenance of heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) for multi-unit residential buildings.
• Illustrated Guide: Achieving Airtight Buildings
  • An industry resource to design, build and test airtight buildings
  • The guide focuses on larger or more complex building types while ensuring building enclosure performance, including moisture management, thermal performance and durability
• Pathways to High-Performance Housing in British Columbia
  • Comprehensive design and construction strategies for high- performance single-family and small multi-family buildings

BC Housing general builder guides

Listed A to Z by title.

• Best Practices for Window and Door Replacement in Wood-Frame Buildings
  • In-depth look at current building science and best practices to the replacement of windows and doors in wood-frame residential buildings.  Discussion of building science, durability, and extensive installation details have relevance to new construction.
• Illustrated Guide: R22+ Effective Walls in Residential Construction in B.C.
  • Wall guide focused on comparing the performance of many assembly types constructability, durability, fire risk, and cost
  • Includes airtightness design and construction solutions
  • For low-rise detached homes up to multi-unit residential buildings up to six storeys
• Illustrated Guide: R30+ Effective Vaulted and Flat Roofs
  • Roof guide focused on comparing the performance of many assembly types constructability, durability, fire risk, and cost
  • Includes airtightness design and construction solutions
• Testing the Performance of R22+ Wood-frame Walls
  • Summary of testing results and recommendations on durable and energy efficient wood-frame wall assemblies that can be readily used by builders
• Wall Air Barrier Reference Sheet
  • Job-site ready air barrier details to support airtight construction in wood-frame buildings

Natural Resources Canada

• Planning and Decision Guide for Solar PV Systems
  • This guide provides procedures for solar designers, builders and their design teams to quickly define solar PV requirements so they can be included in residential design
  • The guide is part of the NRCan’s LEEP series of materials

ZEBx playbook series

Listed A to Z by title.

• Dealing with Thermal Bridging In Net-Zero Energy-Ready Building Design
  • This playbook outlines good design practices for anticipating and dealing with thermal bridging to meet the expectations of the BC Energy Step Code, Passive House or other net-zero energy-ready standards
  • It provides guidance for design teams to effectively tackle thermal bridging while meeting all project goals, not just thermal performance
  • Watch the 12-minute video
• Planning Airtight Buildings
  • This guide explains the importance of airtightness and the  causes of leaks, and outlines how to design and build to achieve optimal air tightness
• Ventilation Strategies for High-Performance Multi-Unit Residential Buildings
  • This guide provides an overview of the ventilation strategies used in net-zero energy-ready buildings (designed to meet Step 4 of the Step Code or the Passive House standard)
  • It offers guidance on making the right choice of ventilation system for the building

Page last updated: August 16, 2021.