Engineer Curt Hepting has been involved with BC Hydro’s New Construction Program (NCP) for many years, starting as a consultant when the program – which offers financial incentives and technical assistance to building owners, developers and the design industry to create high-performance, energy-efficient buildings – was first proposed.
Today, as principal of EnerSys Analytics Inc. in Coquitlam, he still likes it.
“I think it has a really good intent and approach as far as trying to influence the design community to analyze new opportunities for energy efficiency,” he says. “I’ve had my criticisms of it, too, over the years, but BC Hydro is open to listening and changing to fit the marketplace.”
Hepting points to the new Kiwanis Garden Village in West Vancouver – a multi-unit residential building project on which he acted as modelling consultant – as a prime example of how the program continues to contribute to better building practices.
“We held an energy performance workshop with the design team where we did a live energy-modelling study, funded by the NCP, to show the cost-effectiveness of such options as triple-paned windows. On the spot, everyone could see what each option would cost, how much it would save in energy and what the rate of return would be with the help of NCP incentives.”
The final result: two new wood-frame residences for seniors with estimated yearly energy savings of 46 per cent over similar buildings constructed without energy-saving measures.
Looking for new ways to build better?
BC Hydro Power Smart’s New Construction Program can provide energy modeling funds to help you identify energy-saving measures that will lower operating expenses and increase the value and marketability of your building. Learn more…
