In Canada there currently exist a number of programs that label a home’s energy performance. These include EnerGuide, ENERGY STAR Canada, R2000 and LEED. A common feature of these programs are stringent mandatory prescriptive requirements. This lack of flexibility has frustrated Ontario builders. In addition, in 2017 the Ontario building energy code will increase its stringency by 15% over its current requirements. This has given birth to a new program, “Better Than Code”. The program was launched to provide Canadian builders an alternative flexible whole house performance path of meeting the province’s energy code. The goal of the program is to provide builders the freedom and flexibility to build the home the way they wish while improving the energy performance of homes. Better Than Code is based upon the RESNET HERS® Index. The HERS® Index is not new to Canada. It is the rating system used by the RESNET affiliate in Canada, the Canadian Residential Energy Services Network. The HERS® Index is already recognized as a compliance method in the Ontario building energy code, A video program has been produced to explain the Better Than Code program and the RESNET HERS® Index to Canadian builders. The three minute video is narrated by John Bell the Director of the Canadian Sustainable Housing Foundation. The video reports that the HERS® Index is the, “the most established flexible and comprehensive rating system in North America” with over a million homes rated in the U.S. and Canada. The HERS® Index is presented as an alternative way to measure energy performance while providing a builder flexibility in meeting and even exceeding the code. It reinforces that the HERS® Index is already recognize as a compliance option in the Ontario energy code. To view the video go to Better Than Code
