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Ontario is ensuring new homes in the province are more energy efficient with a new requirement under the Building Code.

Starting in January 2009, Ontario’s Building Code will require near full-height insulation on foundation walls in all new home construction. The basement insulation requirement is the second step in a three-phase approach to energy efficiency brought in with the introduction of the 2006 Building Code.

After 2011, further requirements will see houses with at least an EnerGuide 80 level of efficiency. EnerGuide 80 is a model energy rating system for houses developed and administered by Natural Resources Canada.