Keep it Cool: Scaling a Made-in-BC Heat Pump Economy

UCL’s Keep It Cool BC initiative is gaining momentum as a collaborative effort to transition 5,000 low-rise multi-unit residential buildings to energy-efficient heat pumps while strengthening BC’s clean technology economy.

These buildings house many of the province’s most climate-vulnerable residents - seniors, renters, and families living in aging apartments that struggle with extreme heat, poor air quality, and rising energy costs. Scaling heat pump adoption in these buildings can lower utility bills, improve indoor air quality, and help ensure residents stay safe during both winter cold snaps and summer heat domes.

In January, UCL convened entrepreneurs, manufacturers, technology innovators, and allied organizations to identify the opportunities and barriers facing businesses working in building electrification. The dialogue helped shape a clearer pathway for scaling adoption while supporting local supply chains, workforce development, and market readiness.

The growing cluster, now more than 260 leaders across private, public, and nonprofit sectors, is helping transform what began as a conversation about barriers into a strategy for deployment at scale.

Next, UCL will bring this coalition together to engage the provincial government in Victoria and explore how BC can accelerate heat pump adoption while building a competitive domestic industry.

Electrifying overlooked buildings is about ensuring people have healthier homes, low and stable energy costs, and stronger local economies. Because no one should be left behind in a just energy transition.

The full dialogue report is available for download here.