Electrifying Heating in Commercial and Institutional Buildings

This report outlines the necessity and pathways for electrifying heating in Canada's commercial and institutional (C&I) buildings to meet 2050 net-zero targets. It argues that electricity's share of C&I heating must rise from under 15% to at least 75% by 2050. The document identifies key barriers—including cheap natural gas and financing gaps—and proposes five catalysts: near-term planning, integrated utility regulation, aligned power supply planning, building performance standards, and innovative public-private financing.

• To achieve economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050, Canada must significantly increase the share of electricity used for heating in commercial and institutional (C&I) buildings from less than 15% today to at least 75% by 2050. Approximately three quarters of C&I heating emissions need to be eliminated by 2040.
• Three main barriers hinder the electrification of heating in C&I buildings: the low cost of natural gas, which makes the business case for electrification difficult; knowledge gaps and a 'business-as-usual' bias where equipment is replaced like-for-like rather than through whole-building planning; and financing constraints, particularly for public institutions unable to raise additional debt or heavily leveraged owners.
• The report proposes five catalysts to accelerate heating electrification: 1) creating near-term business plans and pilots; 2) embedding net-zero objectives into utility mandates and integrating gas and electricity regulation; 3) aligning utility resource planning with net-zero pathways to ensure sufficient clean power; 4) establishing building performance standards to limit GHG intensity; and 5) developing public-private financing products to leverage private capital.

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} }