Jane Gadd – Globe and Mail

Ontario builders say that tougher insulation standards unveiled in the province’s new building code will add between $10,000 and $15,000 to the average cost of a new home in the next six years.

“The energy-efficiency targets set out by the government for 2012 represent a monumental shift for our industry,” Victor Fiume, president of the Ontario Home Builders Association, said in a statement. “This will seriously affect affordability of housing in the future.”

The province’s new building code calls for the staggered implementation of a 29-per-cent increase in ceiling insulation levels, a 50% improvement in basement wall insulation, windows that are 67% more airtight, and a minimum energy-efficiency rating of 90% for new furnaces.

The government says the new standards will save enough energy to power 380,000 homes in the next eight years, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equal to removing 250,000 cars from Ontario’s roads. Homeowners will be able to recoup the added costs through savings on gas and hydro bills, it adds.

“Conservation is a fundamental and key component of our energy plan for Ontario,” Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said. “The 2006 Building Code will enable future homeowners to enjoy long-term energy savings and at the same time reduce Ontario’s overall energy use.”

But Mr. Fiume described the changes as one more factor pushing up real estate prices.

“As an association, we are always concerned with the affordability of new homes for consumers,” he said. “With escalating new and resale house prices, rising interest rates, escalating development charges and increased cost of materials — and now the addition of costs related to the implementation of the new [code] — housing affordability will continue to be a challenge for Ontarians.”

The new code also requires more accessibility for people with disabilities in buildings constructed from now on. Public corridors will have to be wide enough to accommodate modern wheelchairs, tactile signs will have to be provided for the visually impaired, and 10% of units in any new apartment buildings and hotels must include accessibility features.

“This change will increase flexibility and choice for hundreds of people with a developmental disability who are in need of supportive housing,” said Geoffrey McMullen, chairman of the Provincial Network on Developmental Services.

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind also expressed approval.

“People with disabilities make an enormous contribution to our communities,” CNIB director Dennis Tottenham said. “We are pleased with the government’s progress in making Ontario accessible to all.”

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