Mayor Ken Sim Enacts Building Code Amendments Allowing High-Efficiency Dual-Fuel Heating Systems

VANCOUVER — Mayor Ken Sim and the Vancouver City Council formally enacted amendments to the Vancouver Building By-law on Monday, replacing blanket municipal natural gas prohibitions with a flexible, technology-neutral dual-fuel standard for new residential and commercial construction.

The decision allows builders to install hybrid heating architectures that combine high-efficiency electric heat pumps for primary baseline heating with certified renewable natural gas (RNG) and high-efficiency gas backup systems for extreme winter cold snaps.

Balancing Affordability, Grid Capacity, and Emissions Reductions Mayor Sim emphasized that the policy adjustment directly addresses developer and homeowner concerns regarding multi-family electrical service upgrade costs and winter electrical grid strain, while maintaining strict total greenhouse gas (GHG) emission caps for new buildings.

"Our goal has always been to achieve deep carbon reductions without adding tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary construction costs to new affordable housing developments," Mayor Sim said at City Hall. "By permitting dual-fuel systems, we are providing developers with practical flexibility, protecting homebuyers from higher capital costs, and ensuring our electrical grid remains reliable during severe sub-zero weather events."

Engineering and Utility Alignment The technical standards were developed in collaboration with BC Hydro and FortisBC. Engineering reviews demonstrated that hybrid systems reduce peak winter electric grid demand by up to 35 percent during freezing temperatures, freeing up valuable transformer capacity for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in multi-family underground garages.

Urban Development Institute (UDI) representatives and residential homebuilders commended the council's pragmatic approach, estimating that the updated by-law will prevent project delays for more than 4,500 planned rental and condominium units across the city.