The National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings 2017 (NECB), published by NRC and developed by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), sets out technical requirements for the energy efficient design and construction of new buildings. NRC and NRCan are publishing this interim edition of the NECB in response to proposals received that improve the overall energy performance of buildings over the 2015 edition. Modelling for these changes indicates a potential energy efficiency improvement of between 10.3 and 14.4 % over the NECB 2011.

The 2017 edition is an important step toward Canada?s goal for new buildings, as presented in the Pan-Canadian Framework, of achieving `Net Zero Energy Ready (NZER)? buildings by 2030. The NECB 2017 supports this goal by reducing the overall thermal transmittance of roofs, fenestration and doors; reducing losses through thermal bridging in building assemblies; and, reducing the allowable percentage of skylight area. This new edition also introduces more stringent requirements for energy recovery systems and interior and exterior lighting requirements. It requires temperature controls in individual guest rooms in hotels and motels and demand control ventilation systems in commercial kitchens. In Part 4, it clarifies the lighting trade-off path requirements and in Part 8, it makes performance compliance requirements consistent with prescriptive requirements.

The NECB is a must-have for building designers, energy consultants and subcontractors, construction professionals and regulatory officials.