The Times, They Are a Changin’ Come gather ‘round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you Is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin’. – Bob Dylan (1964) 16 l ROOFINGBC l FALL 2018 FEATURE T he Energy Step Code is a perfor- mance-based design and construc- tion standard introduced in 2017 by the Codes and Standards Branch of the B.C. government. Devised through a multi-stakeholder consultation process, it aligns the province with federal requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), and to make buildings more livable and affordable to operate. While designers and contractors may, generally speaking, voluntarily comply with the “Step Code” now, some munic- ipalities have already adopted it in one form or another1 . Every building trade will be affected by the Step Code, some more than others. In many instances, roofing will carry a significant portion of the responsibility to satisfy new Code requirements. The reasons behind this Code change are obvious. Temperatures across British Columbia are warming. As the province continues to suffer the effects of the worst wildfire season on record, and much of the province is only now emerging from a significant drought, it is clear that climate change will continue to impact the quality of life for many if not most British Columbians. And much of that change is the result of greenhouse gases, of which buildings are a significant contributor. A report by Metro Vancouver released in 2017 tells us that in and around the province’s largest city, change will come in the form of a warming trend projected to extend well beyond 2050. Consequential drying will combine, ironically, with strong, even severe rain events, normally during the winter. The report paints a tough picture that likely describes the future for more than just metro Vancouver. While heating demands in metro Vancouver buildings may decline a little, cooling demands in a warmer climate will push present capacities for electricity generation. Leaky, inefficient construction methods only make things worse, and in that not-so-distant future, buildings built by today’s standards and methods may be less comfortable than they are now. More efficient construction standards and methodologies could help mitigate these anticipated challenges and reduce GHG emissions. Step Code basics Right now, many B.C. municipal juris- dictions still allow designers and builders to choose either a “prescriptive” or a “performance” approach to comply with BC Building Code energy efficiency requirements. Before the Step Code was introduced, most designers and builders chose the prescriptive approach, which focuses on specific requirements for building materials and components, such as insulation, windows or water heaters. Unfortunately, the prescriptive approach hasn’t taken into account how individual building components interact as systems in a building. As a result, buildings have STEPPING UP OUR GAME Meeting the challenges of the new Energy Step Code 1  The Step Code is already an alternative compli- ance path for some building types, in some climate zones. Additionally, many municipalities have adopted various levels of the Step Code as the only compliance path for specific building types. See www.energystepcode.ca for details.