Hotter Summers Are Changing How Backup Generators Get Installed in BC

Climate is No Longer a Background Assumption

In British Columbia, building design has historically relied on past climate data. That is changing. The 2021 heat dome marked a clear turning point, with over 600 heat-related deaths across the province and widespread strain on buildings that were not designed for sustained extreme temperatures. In response, both provincial and federal bodies began shifting toward designing for future climate conditions, not just historical averages.

The National Research Council Canada has since been advancing updates to national model codes to incorporate forward-looking climatic data. This includes re-evaluating temperature extremes, environmental loads, and resilience expectations for buildings across Canada. The implication is straightforward: buildings are now being designed with the assumption that conditions will be more demanding over time, not static.

This shift has downstream effects on all building systems, including backup power. Generators are no longer sized purely based on what a building needed in the past, but increasingly on what it may need under more extreme and variable conditions.

BC’s Building Code is Responding to Overheating Risk

The Government of British Columbia formally addressed overheating risk in the 2024 update to the BC Building Code. One of the most notable changes is the requirement that new residential units must be designed to maintain at least one living space below 26°C under prescribed conditions. This can be achieved through passive design, mechanical cooling, or a combination of both.

This change is directly tied to findings from the province’s extreme heat review panel, which identified indoor overheating as a major risk factor during the 2021 event. The code now explicitly recognizes that cooling is not optional in many building types, but a necessary component of occupant safety and livability.

While the code itself does not mandate that cooling systems be backed by generators, it changes the baseline expectation of what systems are considered critical. As more buildings incorporate active cooling, the question shifts from whether cooling exists to whether it should remain operational during an outage.

Cooling Loads Are Changing Electrical Demand Profiles

As buildings in BC increasingly adopt mechanical cooling, electrical demand profiles are evolving. Cooling systems introduce both continuous loads and high startup demands, particularly in larger commercial and multi-unit residential buildings. These loads are fundamentally different from traditional emergency loads such as lighting or fire alarm systems.

In practice, this means that the gap between “essential” and “non-essential” systems is becoming less clear. In certain occupancies, particularly healthcare, senior living, and facilities with temperature-sensitive operations, maintaining indoor conditions during outages is no longer just about comfort. It can directly affect safety, compliance, and operational continuity.

From an installation perspective, this creates pressure to re-evaluate what a generator is expected to support. Systems that were originally designed around life safety loads may no longer align with how buildings are actually used under modern conditions.

Standards and Compliance Still Anchor Installations

Despite these evolving demands, generator installations in Canada remain anchored in established standards. CSA Group standard CSA C282 governs the design, installation, operation, maintenance, and testing of emergency electrical power supply systems for buildings where such systems are required by code.

CSA C282 focuses on reliability and readiness of emergency power systems, particularly for life safety applications. It defines requirements for testing, documentation, and system performance, ensuring that generators perform as expected during an outage.

However, the standard does not prescribe which loads must be supported in all cases. That decision remains tied to building codes, engineering design, and owner requirements. As climate considerations evolve, the tension between minimum code compliance and broader resilience planning is becoming more visible in installation decisions.

Generator Installation is Becoming a Forward-Looking Decision

The net effect of these changes is that generator installation is becoming less about meeting a fixed requirement and more about planning for variability. Designers, contractors, and building owners are increasingly faced with decisions about what systems truly need to remain operational under more extreme conditions.

In the Lower Mainland, this is already showing up in conversations around new builds and retrofits. Questions are shifting toward future capacity, not just current need. How will this system perform during extended heat events? What happens if multiple systems are running simultaneously under peak conditions? Is the current design leaving enough margin? As climate patterns continue to change and regulatory frameworks evolve, backup power systems are being pulled into a broader conversation about building resilience. Generator installations are no longer just a checkbox for compliance. They are becoming part of how buildings are expected to function under conditions that are no longer considered rare.