Green Building | City of Delta

Approximately 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in Delta are a result of energy used in buildings. To take action on climate change and help Delta reach its greenhouse gas reduction target of 45% by 2030 from 2007 levels and net zero emissions by 2050, buildings will need to be more energy efficient and built differently. By reducing the energy needs of your home or business, you can reduce your energy costs, make indoor spaces that are more comfortable and reduce your carbon footprint.

Not sure where to start?

The Energy Coach is a free coaching service for homeowners and commercial building owners and managers. Energy Coaches are trained energy efficiency specialist who provide building-science based information about the options and opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of your home or building and are available to answer your questions at all stages of your energy improvement project.
Energy saving tips and how-to videos are available on the FortisBC and BC Hydro websites.

Incentives & Rebates

Incentives, rebates, loans and grants are available to help pay for retrofits to increase the energy efficiency of your home or business. These programs support a move toward more energy efficient and net zero emissions buildings.

The Province of British Columbia has developed a central hub at Better Homes BC which details rebates and financial incentives available for building or renovating so as to increase the energy efficiency of your home.
For renovations and retrofits, many financial incentives are available including up to:
- $5,500 for improving insulation
- $2,000 for energy efficient doors and windows
- $1,000 to upgrade natural gas heating
- $3,000 to switch to a heat pump
In addition, up to $2,000 may be available if you complete multiple upgrades.
The Energy Conservation Assistance Program is designed to help income-qualified households (single-dwelling, townhomes, manufactured homes, renters of basements suites or single-dwelling households or townhomes) save energy, reduce their energy bills, and learn about behavioral changes they can easily implement in their day-to-day lives.
The program includes an in-home visit by an energy coach to assess your household’s energy use and free installation of energy-saving products by a qualified contractor including:
- energy-saving LED light bulbs
- faucet aerators for the kitchen and bathroom
- water-efficient showerheads
- water heater pipe wrap
- exterior door weather-stripping
- free energy-efficiency advice
Some homes may also qualify for:
- an ENERGY STAR® certified refrigerator
- attic, wall and/or crawlspace insulation
- a high-efficiency natural gas furnace
More than 80 percent of the rental apartment buildings in BC are older than 35 years and may not be as energy efficient as they could be. This program can help building owners make simple changes to rental apartments buildings to save money, energy and water and improve tenant comfort.
The FortisBC Rental Apartment Efficiency Program provides free water saving showerhead and faucet aerators installation, a building energy assessment and ongoing professional assistance to guide apartment building managers and property owners through the process of completing energy efficiency upgrades. During the building assessment, engineering consultants will identify low-cost energy-saving improvements, as well as opportunities to save through other FortisBC incentive programs.
CleanBC Better Buildings provides a central location for incentives and rebates available to encourage energy efficiency upgrades in commercial buildings as well as to build commercial buildings to a step in the Energy Step Code.
The CleanBC Commercial New Construction Program provides funding for the design and construction of new high-performance buildings that use high-efficiency electricity in place of fossil fuels, in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Program supports electrification measures focused on the building heating system (space heating, ventilation, service hot water heating, and heat recovery systems). Energy study incentives of up to $15,000 and capital incentive of up to $500,000 are available through this program.
The FortisBC Commercial New Construction Performance program is focused on commercial, institutional, multi-unit residential or light industrial new construction projects. The program offers capital incentives based on the performance levels of the BC Energy Step Code, allowing innovative solutions to help achieve whole-building energy performance. Additional rebates are available for an energy model study and for mid- and post-construction airtightness testing.

BC Energy Step Code

The provincial government has set a goal to make all new buildings net-zero-energy ready by 2030. The BC Energy Step Code was introduced to help British Columbia achieve this goal by increasing energy-efficiency requirements in the BC Building Code.

The Energy Step Code sets performance targets for new construction and groups them into steps that apply across various building types and regions of the province. The lower steps are relatively straightforward to meet; the upper steps are more ambitious.

Currently at Delta, the Energy Step Code is a voluntary, performance-based standard that builders can choose to use. By 2030, the BC Building Code will move toward the higher steps of the BC Energy Step Code as a minimum requirement, with increasing requirements for higher steps in December 2022 and 2027. See the Community Energy Association's BC Energy Step Code Video.

Sustainability Assessments

Delta has recently adopted a Sustainability Assessment Framework for new multi-unit residential and townhouse developments. These assessments help the City to review, measure, and evaluate the social and community benefits of new development. It is an approach that both reflects Delta's context and advances the City's current sustainable development policies and its social and community priorities.

All applications for multi-unit residential, mixed-use and townhouse projects involving rezoning, development permit or Official Community Plan amendment require a Sustainability Assessment. Staff are continuing to work on a version for commercial, industrial and institutional development.