The City of Victoria and the District of Saanich have announced they are teaming up with a BC-based environmental group to encourage local strata buildings to make the switch to electric heating and cooling systems.
This initiative is called the New Strata Energy Advisor program.
The collaboration is with Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC), who will be aiding strata councils through navigating financing, incentives and implementation with technologies such as heat pumps and solar panels.
This team up will offer a free service that is open to residential multi-unit strata condo buildings throughout BC.
“Across BC, condo residents are asking for better cooling and ventilation and more energy efficient homes,” says Melina Scholefield, Executive Director of the ZEIC.
“Solutions like heat pumps, electric water heating, and distributed renewable energy systems can meet these needs while reducing GHGs. However, many strata councils don’t know where to start—that’s where the Strata Energy Advisor comes in.”
ZEIC says their Strata Energy Advisor program is aimed at providing decarbonization plans for 260 condo buildings across BC over the next three years.
Within Victoria and Saanich there are more than 60 condo buildings that could access this program.
Both Victoria and Saanich have also joined 27 other municipalities in enforcing the Energy and Zero Carbon Step Code, which requires new-build condos and commercial buildings to be electric, rather than using natural gas.
