Step Achievement Ladder
Metric Breakdown
Full Calculation Summary
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How to Use the BC Energy Step Code Calculator
Single family detached, row house/townhouse, and mid-rise multi-unit buildings have somewhat different Step Code threshold tables reflecting their different envelope-to-floor-area ratios.
TEDI and TEUI calculations require annual energy figures from an energy model — this calculator computes the intensity metrics from your inputs. Enter conditioned floor area, annual space heating/cooling energy, and annual total building energy use.
Higher Step Code levels require progressively tighter airtightness. Use the airtightness calculator if you need help interpreting a blower door test result.
The ladder shows every step your building's calculated TEDI, TEUI, and airtightness clear simultaneously — the highest fully-achieved step (where all three metrics pass) is your compliance level.
Understanding the BC Energy Step Code
The BC Energy Step Code represents one of the most significant shifts in Canadian building energy regulation, moving away from prescriptive material and equipment specifications toward whole-building performance targets. For HVAC designers and mechanical engineers, understanding how the Step Code's metrics interact with mechanical system design is essential, since higher steps demand a genuinely integrated approach between envelope and mechanical performance rather than treating them as separate design problems.
The performance-based philosophy
Traditional prescriptive building codes specify minimum requirements for individual components: a minimum wall R-value, a minimum window U-factor, a minimum equipment efficiency. The Step Code instead sets whole-building performance targets, primarily TEDI and TEUI, and allows the design team complete flexibility in how those targets are met. A design team might choose to invest heavily in triple-pane windows and a super-insulated envelope while using standard mechanical equipment, or conversely accept a more moderate envelope while investing in a highly efficient heat pump system — both approaches can achieve the same step level if the numbers work out, giving designers genuine design freedom while still guaranteeing measured performance outcomes.
TEDI: isolating envelope quality
Thermal Energy Demand Intensity captures only the heating and cooling energy driven by envelope heat loss and gain, expressed in kWh per square metre of floor area per year. By isolating this single metric, TEDI gives a clean signal of envelope quality independent of how efficiently that thermal energy is subsequently delivered by mechanical equipment, or how much energy other building systems consume. A house with excellent windows, continuous insulation, and minimal thermal bridging will show a low TEDI regardless of whether it's heated by a high-efficiency heat pump or a standard furnace — TEDI measures the demand, not how that demand is met. This makes TEDI a powerful envelope-design feedback metric, and it's why Step Code compliance modelling typically iterates envelope details specifically to hit TEDI targets before finalizing mechanical system selection.
TEUI: the complete energy picture
Total Energy Use Intensity captures everything: space heating and cooling, domestic hot water, lighting, plug loads, ventilation fan energy, and any other building energy end use, all normalized to kWh per square metre per year. TEUI matters because a building could theoretically achieve an excellent TEDI through envelope investment alone while still consuming substantial energy through inefficient equipment, poor DHW system design, or high baseline electrical loads. The Step Code's dual TEDI-plus-TEUI approach ensures that mechanical system efficiency, not just envelope quality, is genuinely accounted for in the compliance calculation, closing a gap that envelope-only metrics would leave open.
Airtightness as the third pillar
Alongside TEDI and TEUI, the Step Code sets airtightness requirements that tighten progressively at higher steps, generally aligning with or exceeding the thresholds used by national Energy Star and Net Zero programs. Airtightness matters independently of insulation quality because uncontrolled air leakage bypasses insulation entirely — air moving through a gap doesn't care how thick the surrounding wall assembly's insulation is. As Step Code levels rise toward Step 5, the required airtightness approaches passive-house-influenced targets, which typically requires dedicated air barrier detailing, careful construction sequencing, and often onsite construction supervision beyond what's needed at lower steps. Use the airtightness calculator to check your specific ACH50 target against national comparison benchmarks.
The mechanical system implication of higher steps
As Step Code level rises, envelope-driven heating loads shrink substantially, which fundamentally changes appropriate mechanical system sizing and selection. A Step 5 building with a very low TEDI has a dramatically reduced peak heating load compared to code-minimum construction of the same floor area, meaning conventional forced-air furnace sizing rules of thumb become inappropriate — oversized equipment in a low-load building leads to short-cycling, poor comfort, and unnecessarily high equipment cost. Heat pump systems, which perform efficiently across a range of part-load conditions and pair naturally with the reduced and more consistent loads of high-step buildings, have become the default mechanical strategy for Step 4 and Step 5 projects in BC. Confirm equipment sizing carefully using an accurate heat loss calculation rather than legacy square-footage rules when working on higher Step Code projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
The BC Energy Step Code is a performance-based compliance path within the BC Building Code that establishes progressively more stringent energy efficiency requirements across five steps, culminating in a Step 5 target aligned with near net-zero energy ready performance. Unlike prescriptive codes that specify particular materials or equipment, the Step Code sets whole-building performance targets — primarily TEDI and TEUI — and lets designers choose how to achieve them through any combination of envelope, mechanical systems, and airtightness improvements. Use this calculator to check which step your building design achieves.
TEDI (Thermal Energy Demand Intensity) measures the annual space heating and cooling energy a building needs per square metre of floor area, expressed in kWh/m²/year, isolating the building envelope's thermal performance from other energy uses. TEDI is the primary metric the BC Energy Step Code uses to evaluate envelope quality, because it directly reflects how well the building retains heat, independent of occupant behaviour, plug loads, or equipment efficiency choices that affect total energy use but not fundamental heat loss. This calculator computes your TEDI from your annual heating/cooling energy and floor area inputs.
TEDI measures only the thermal energy needed for space heating and cooling due to envelope heat loss, isolating envelope performance. TEUI (Total Energy Use Intensity) measures all building energy use per square metre per year — space heating, cooling, domestic hot water, lighting, plug loads, and any other end use — giving a complete picture of building energy performance. A building can have excellent TEDI (a very well-insulated envelope) but poor TEUI if it has inefficient equipment or high plug loads, which is why the Step Code evaluates both metrics together rather than relying on envelope performance alone.
Municipal adoption of BC Energy Step Code levels varies significantly and changes over time as local governments update their bylaws ahead of the provincial minimum schedule. Some municipalities have moved to require Step 3 or Step 4 for new residential construction well before the provincial timeline mandates it, while others follow the provincial minimum schedule. Because requirements are set at the municipal level and change periodically, always verify the current requirement directly with the specific municipality's building department for your project's location and permit application date, rather than relying on a general provincial assumption.
Related Compliance Tools
Check ACH50 against Step Code thresholds
National baseline for comparison
Performance path modelling tool
Envelope insulation targets
Rebates for Step Code heat pump systems
Broader certification credit calculator