Kudos to ESG Property Committee — Energy efficiency work pays forward at no cost!
by Donna Lang
Congratulations to the ESG property committee, who put their expertise to work for ESG to improve energy efficiency at our building. They applied for grant funding, obtained quotes, estimated incentives, and supervised the work to complete the project. The total cost of the project was paid for by the grant of $50,700 that ESG received! These retrofit actions will save energy and money.
Energy makes up about 42% of a faith building’s footprint; this is why funding is made available for energy efficiency. The funding allowed us to complete the replacement of inefficient lighting with 750 LED lights throughout the church, led by Rick Balmer and it also facilitated Phase 2 of a building automation heating and cooling system upgrade, led by Peter Long. John Blevins was the project leader.
$50,700 funding came from 2 streams; $30,000 was from the United Church of Canada “Faithful Footprints” Grant (administered by Faith & the Common Good www.faithfulfootprints.org); and $20,700 was from IESO, the Independent Electricity System Operator; it is responsible for Ontario’s electricity distribution.
In addition, we expect energy savings of $11,000 per year; post Covid, once our church building occupancy returns to normal. According to John Blevins, “The pandemic did pose logistical and scheduling issues but the contractors worked around them. Likewise there were issues in qualifying some fixtures for IESO incentive rebates that added to the delays and again the contractors met the challenge and processed the applications with little disruption”.
We are grateful for the support of our partners, Dave Levinetz of NRG Alternatives Ltd., and Chris Trewartha of Power Application Group Inc. Thank you to our dedicated property team: John Blevins, Rick Balmer, Doug Dicks, Peter Long, Chuck MacRae, Reid Robson and Doug McWhirter.
SUMMER/FALL 2020 ESG Energy Retrofit Summary
| Replace 750 lights with LED | $34,000 |
| Automation of last 3 furnaces | $10,200 |
| HST | $5,750 |
| Total Cost | $49,950 |
| United Church of Canada Grant | $30,000 |
| Rebates for IECO electrical provider | $20,700 |
| Total Grants received | $50,700 |
| Estimated annual energy savings value | $11,000 |