Electrifying Heating in Commercial and Institutional Buildings

The report identifies that reaching Canada's 2050 net-zero target requires the electricity share of C&I building heating to rise from less than 15% to at least 75%. It highlights barriers such as cheap natural gas, knowledge gaps in the HVAC workforce, and financing constraints. To address these, the authors propose five catalysts: developing near-term electrification plans, integrating electricity and natural gas regulation, aligning utility planning with net-zero pathways, implementing building performance standards, and leveraging public-private financing to crowd in private investment.

• To achieve economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050, Canada must significantly increase the share of electricity in C&I building heating from current levels of less than 15% to at least 75% by 2050, with approximately three quarters of these emissions needing to be eliminated by 2040.
• Three primary barriers hinder heating electrification in C&I buildings: the low cost of natural gas which undermines the business case, a 'business-as-usual' bias among building owners and conservative HVAC technical experts, and financing constraints for organizations unable to raise additional debt.
• The report proposes integrating the regulation and planning of electricity and natural gas markets to optimize decarbonization, noting that this could allow gas utilities to support hybrid heating approaches that reduce peak electricity demand.
• The authors advocate for the implementation of building performance standards that set declining limits on GHG intensity (tonnes emitted by floor area) for existing buildings and incorporate similar standards into building codes for new construction.
• To address high upfront capital costs, the report suggests using project aggregation and public financing—such as through the Canada Infrastructure Bank—to mitigate risk and attract private capital via performance-based turnkey delivery services.
• Regional variations exist in current electrification levels, with Quebec and Manitoba showing higher shares of electric heating (30% and 40% respectively) due to more affordable and carbon-free electricity.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2022). Electrifying Heating in Commercial and Institutional Buildings. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-05/electrifying-heating-commercial-institutional-buildings-en.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Electrifying Heating in Commercial and Institutional Buildings. 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-05/electrifying-heating-commercial-institutional-buildings-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Electrifying Heating in Commercial and Institutional Buildings |date=May 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-05/electrifying-heating-commercial-institutional-buildings-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2022electrifying, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Electrifying Heating in Commercial and Institutional Buildings}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-05/electrifying-heating-commercial-institutional-buildings-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }