Sustainability
Feds to invest $2 billion in energy retrofits
A promised $2 billion investment in large-scale building retrofits will be central to the Canadian government’s job creation ambitions. Energy efficiency champions have plenty of ideas of how and where the funds could be best leveraged.
COVID-19 confounds electricity system models
After scrambling to recalibrate their models in the early days of COVID-19-related shutdowns, analysts with Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator faced more uncharted territory when the hot weather arrived.
Ontario consults on next conservation framework
Residential consumption is identified as a primary concern and opportunity for the 2021-24 period, along with a continued emphasis on reducing system-wide peak demand
Ontario Electricity Rebate applied unevenly
Many hydro accounts specifically tied to the common areas of multi-residential buildings will no longer qualify for the 31.8 per cent rebate beginning in November 2020.
Ontario stalls energy management paybacks
A temporary adjustment to Ontario’s electricity pricing scheme eliminates cost-saving opportunities that many operators of large commercial buildings were anticipating this summer.
Are condos prepared for climate change?
While many condos haven’t yet experienced the major effects of climate change, statistics and case studies foreshadow the impacts that could come.
Smart buildings harnessed for pandemic response
While climate change may have slipped somewhat from people’s consciousness and priorities right now, it’s noteworthy that the pandemic and climate crises are both problems of exponential growth against a limited capacity to cope.
Energy demand load shifts to residential base
The energy demand load has shifted in sync with much of Ontario’s workforce from commercial to home offices, prompting calls for suspension of time-of-use pricing during the current COVID-19 related upheaval
Invitation to join Zero Waste High Rise project
Toronto Environmental Alliance is currently accepting applications for condos to join its Zero Waste High Rise Project in the spring and summer of 2020.
Energy efficiency powers condo to LEED Platinum
Perched on the edge of the waterfront, south of the Distillery District near Sugar Beach, Toronto’s first LEED Platinum high-rise condo stands in the Bayside
Windows and doors in the net-zero frame
A wider selection of high-performance windows and doors is expected to hit the market as Canada's National Energy Code continues to push the envelope toward net-zero-energy-ready development.
Smaller buildings spared Ontario benchmarking
Owners of smaller commercial and multi-residential buildings in Ontario will still be welcome to voluntarily share energy and water consumption data, but a looming deadline for mandatory disclosure has been withdrawn.
Friendlier CHP environmental approvals welcome
It's still unclear how the process of securing environmental approvals for combined heat and power systems will be streamlined, but the Ontario government's recent pledge has been greeted enthusiastically in the buildings sector.
The tech-savvy resident
It's a content-streaming, always connected, on-the-go world of online entertainment, and condo residents expect nothing less.
IAQ standards dissect freshness of outdoor air
Guidance related to natural ventilation, particulate filtration and compartmentalization of multi-residential HVAC systems are prominent in the list of identified "significant changes" compared to the incumbent 2016 version of the standards.
Alberta won’t rescue energy efficiency programs
The move concludes the process begun five months ago when the newly elected United Conservative Party government repealed the carbon tax and eliminated the funding source for the incentives.
Energy efficiency primed for climate action
Few signatories to the Paris Agreement have specifically listed energy efficiency targets in required national plans for meeting their commitments so Three Percent Club founders see plenty of room to capture untapped emissions reductions.