Tag: energy efficiency
367. Energy managers help small towns and cities save energy and money
Small towns and cities with neither the money, expertise or capacity to undertake energy efficiency or solar projects. The Municipal Climate Change Action Centre knows this so they helped 26 municipalities hire energy managers who are doing just that.
366. Helping municipalities take action to save energy and money, and reduce emissions
Not many people have heard of the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre in Alberta, but since 2009 they have worked with more than 150 municipalities helping them save $166 million by doing energy efficiency projects, installing solar and EV chargers and implementing climate resilience action plans.
359. NorQuest College – Build Efficient, Retrofit Smart and Measure Energy Use
Data is king. NorQuest College has complicated systems, old and new buildings and a limited budget, but they are building efficiently, retrofitting smart and measuring energy use to save money, save energy and reduce their emissions. We take a tour of the LEED Gold Singhmar Centre for Learning to explore some of its unique features and the adjacent Civic Employee Legacy Tower which now shares a boiler system with the new building all with the idea of reducing energy use and saving money.
343. EnergieSprong Deep Energy Retrofit transforms 1951 home to net-zero
Jim Sandercock transformed his 1951 home to #netzero by undertaking an EnergieSprong Deep Energy Retrofit, one of the first in Canada. The home was literally reskinned with new walls over the old ones.
340. Net-Zero 101 – Ultimate guide to cold climate homes
So much has changed in the 15 years since net-zero homes came onto the landscape. We now have heat pumps good to -35, streamlined building strategies and it now makes more economic sense than ever to build a net-zero home, eliminate your gas utility bill and produce your own energy.
338. The missing link – Lightspark digital home energy audit recommends retrofits to save you money
Curious about energy retrofits for your home? Canadian software company Lightspark has created a new tool that has generated digital energy audits of nearly every home in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta. And that’s just the beginning. You can register, add some information and presto it recommends home energy improvements along with cost and benefits.
290. Schneider Electric – named the most sustainable company in the world
Schneider Electric was named the most sustainable company in the world by Corporate Knights a Canadian sustainability rating firm. The France-based global company already used 80 per cent renewable energy for its operations and wants to be carbon neutral by 2025.
280. Canada’s Net Zero Future – 60 ways to leave your emissions behind
A new report “Canada’s Net-Zero Future” evaluated 60 scenarios for Canada to get to net-zero emissions by 2050. The good news is it’s possible, but it’s going to be a long hard road to get there.
241. Vivian Manasc – A lifetime of Building it Green
Vivian Manasc is an architect with a passion for building it green. Her company Manasc Isaac is well known for its pioneering work on many green buildings – they also built the first net-zero commercial building in Alberta. We talk to Vivian Manasc about her journey and her work.
240. Carbon Busters – Building net-zero in Blatchford
Carbon Busters is building the first net-zero homes in Blatchford, the largest carbon-neutral community in Canada. Solar-powered and geothermal heated and cooled these homes require 94% less energy for heating.
234. Blatchford: Largest Carbon Neutral Community in Canada
Edmontonians have already been recognized as pioneers of net-zero homes, and now they are building the largest carbon-neutral community in the country: Blatchford.
218. Effect Homes office goes off-grid in the big city
Effect Homes, a local leader in building net-zero, solar-powered homes has built Alberta’s first off-grid solar-cogen-powered and heated office.
216. Waffle cone factory shares its warmth
A German waffle cone factory is using its waste heat to heat the homes in its hometown—an ingenious initiative that could serve as a template for other heat-wasting small-town factories.
215. Energy efficiency essential for the planet, great for the economy
In a scenario where Canada invests 2.5 times more in energy efficiency, Canada would create 118,000 jobs, save $75 billion on energy costs and reduce emissions up to 50 per cent. “And without energy efficiency, there’s no way that we can meet our Paris targets,” says Phillipe Dunksy an international energy efficiency consultant.
209. Passive house runs on sunshine, good to -30
The Symonds Passive House is 90% more energy efficient, solar powered and built out of solid wood (cross-laminated timber) and one of the most beautiful super energy efficient homes we’ve seen at Green Energy Futures.
206. Sleepy small city college with a big solar vision
Red Deer College has surged beyond its own goals for renewable energy by installing a 1.6-megawatt solar system, the largest on any post-secondary institution in Canada. Solar is everywhere and combined with their new 1-megawatt cogeneration system they generate 66% of their own electricity right on campus.
202. Brandon Sandmaier – Oilsands Mechanic to Solar Company Owner
Brandon Sandmaier is one of the faces of the new energy economy. He left a six-figure job as a heavy duty mechanic in the oil industry to study Alternative Energy at NAIT. Even before graduation, he started a company called Generate Energy.
200. Solar-battery revolution tied to time-of-use pricing in New Zealand
In New Zealand solar with batteries is economic today, and could transform the electricity grid thanks to a simple market-based policy called time-of-use pricing.
194. Home builders embrace net-zero with new labelling program
The Canadian Home Builders Association now has a net-zero labeling program. We talk to Sonja Winkelmann about the program designed to help consumers and builders understand and embrace super energy efficient, solar-powered net-zero homes.
193. Visit 21 Inspiring green buildings on Eco-Solar Home Tour
Ever wondered about going net-zero with your home? Curious about solar, heat pumps or geothermal systems? The 19th Annual Edmonton Eco-Solar Home Tour is your chance to see the latest solar and energy efficiency technologies and talk to the owners who installed them.
192. PACE makes it easy to invest in solar and energy efficiency
It’s called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. Alberta introduced a PACE bill and some believe if passed, it could drive a surge of investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy in Alberta homes and businesses.
189. Simons first net-zero store in Canada
La Maison Simons just opened the first net-zero major retail store in Canada. It’s solar powered, geothermal heated and cooled and energy efficient.
187. Truly Green Farms – Growing tomatoes with waste energy
A greenhouse in Ontario is using waste heat from the stack of an ethanol plant to grow tomatoes and that’s only the beginning of this amazing story of industrial symbiosis. Corn comes into the biorefinery and produces ethanol, industrial alcohol and corn oil and virtually all of the waste from the plant is also used as well in this virtuous cycle.
186. Canada’s first net-zero church and social housing project
With very little money in the bank and an old church they could no longer afford to heat, the Westmount Presbyterian Church was on the brink of failure. Then, they hatched a plan to build Canada’s first net-zero church and social housing project.
185. Slow cooking lentil soup with almost no energy
Ron Kube, the Energy Detective, discovers a better way to slow cook lentil soup that is almost five times more energy efficient than a conventional slow cooker!
2017 a banner year for green energy in Alberta
Alberta secured the lowest price for wind energy in Canadian history and built the first utility scale solar farm in Western Canada in 2017 a banner year for Green Energy in Alberta.
183. EnerGuide: How does your home rate?
Learn all about the new EnerGuide for homes label and how an assessment can help you reduce energy use in your home, save money and reduce your carbon footprint.
182. Top 10 Energy Efficiency Tips for the Home
Green Energy Futures presents the Top 10 Energy Efficiency Tips for your home. We tag along with an EnerGuide for homes auditor and together create the ultimate list of things you can do to dramatically reduce energy use in your home.
181. The Energy Detective
When Ron Kube discovered his home was using nearly twice as much energy as the average home the energy detective was born. We can all learn from Ron’s journey that led to him reducing electricity use in his home by more than half–through measures so simple they are clichés.
180. Solar 101 – everything you need to know
Producing your own solar electricity, it’s a cool idea right? But when is the right time to go solar? We talk to Ron Kube, who installed solar on his home and Clifton Lofthaug of Great Canadian Solar about everything you need to know before going solar.
179. Cities are source and may hold solutions to climate change
Edmonton is getting set to host the first international conference on Cities and Climate Change Science. We talk to Seth Schultz from C40 about Edmonton, climate change and the action thats required. Schultz is an organizer and director with a global organization of 90 megacities helping mayors and cities taken action on climate change.
178. Renovating your home to net-zero
SMART HOMES PART 2 – Have you ever dreamed of living in a net-zero home? According to Peter Darlington, that dream may be closer than you think. In fact, you might already be living in your future net-zero home. We present Peter’s four steps to making your home net-zero.
177. Water Heaters 101: Getting yourself in hot water
SMART HOMES PART 1 – Is your water heater kaput? Want to discover the best option for high efficiency water heaters? Look no further! We check out tankless, electric heat pump and power vented conventional high efficiency water heaters. Is one of them right for you? Read on and find out.
176. New Simons has largest solar system in Edmonton
The new Londonderry Simons in Edmonton, Alberta has a 636 kilowatt solar system, the largest in the city and three solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations including one level three charger capable of charging EVs in under 30 minutes.
174. Edmonton Folk Music Festival rocks energy efficiency
It takes more than 2,000 volunteers to run the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, but only one to draeam up an idea of building super energy efficient LED light fixtures that will save 170,000 watts everything they turn on the lights.
169. PACE financing created $3.4 billion in energy efficiency projects in U.S.
Brian Scott and Leigh Bond want to see Property Assessed Clean Energy financing come to Alberta. They say PACE has generated $3.4 billion investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy in the U.S. and that little else would do more to spur on a boom in Alberta.
165. EnerGuide – The missing ingredient label for an energy efficient home
EnerGuide for homes: You wouldn’t buy a car without knowing how many liters per 100 kilometers it gets. So why buy a home without knowing how much power it uses?
164. The EnergieSprong has sprung!
We take a look at an ambitious energy efficiency retro-fit program designed to bring all buildings in the Netherlands to a net-zero standard by 2050.
161. Social housing retrofits save real money
Ian Cullis of the B.C Non-profit Housing Association shows us how some shallow retrofits are saving big money in Vancouver.
156. Nova Scotia has created the first energy efficiency utility in Canada
We chat with EfficiencyOne’s CEO Stephen MacDonald about how investing in energy efficiency is cheaper than just producing more power.
154. Solar Thermal 101 – getting to net-positive
Tom Jackman of Simple Solar shows us the benefits of solar thermal technology.
138. Energy efficiency coming to Alberta, at last!
This week, we visit a conference on energy efficiency that’s looking to to change Alberta’s current lack of program support for energy efficiency initiatives.
137. Carbon neutral laneway home–first of its kind
This carbon neutral home has a solar wall, solar PV on the roof and a unique energy storage system that heats this innovative garage suite when the sun doesn’t shine!
132. Insulation 101: One builder’s secret blueprint for a net-zero home
The era of net-zero homes is upon us. These super-efficient homes use rooftop solar energy production and smaller, electric powered heating systems such as air source heat pumps to produce as much energy as they consume. But the real secret is insulation. Peter Amerongen shows us Habitat Studio’s unique formula for insulating the heck out of a home.
131. Small town energy efficiency program is simple by design
Carl Lauren, owner of Tyee Custom Homes, wanted to encourage energy efficient design in construction, but the building code hamstrung his efforts. So he helped create a rebate system that gets around the bureaucracy!
106. The $750 billion dollar opportunity in industrial and commercial energy efficiency
A new breed of startups is taking on a $750 billion dollar opportunity in industrial and commercial energy efficiency. We talk to two of them.
80: Chasing Net Zero: Net-zero evolution
In 10 years net-zero homes have gone from government pilot project to mass production. Shafraaz Kaba’s near net-zero home is an excellent example of how we got there.
78. Chasing Net Zero: Net-zero 101
The first episode of our four-part series Chasing Net-Zero. We dive into the history of net-zero homes and figure out you can build one of these comfortable, beautiful homes that also doubles as a mini-powerplant.
65. Community solar: Meet a small town solar energy Macgyver
Community scale renewable solar is cheap and requires very little maintenance. Learn how two communities in Alberta built successful community solar energy programs.
62. The massive potential of energy efficiency
Learn how the energy efficiency policy process works and how, if applied in Alberta, Canada’s biggest carbon emitter could save a ton of money and get halfway to its 2020 greenhouse gas emission targets.
58. The incandescent light bulb phase out is a good thing
The incandescent light bulb phase-out is akin to getting rid of leaded gas, CFCs or the Ford Pinto. It is unequivocally a good news story. Learn why this week at Green Energy Futures.
54. The amazing earth tube cools office tower
Earth tubes are a simple, passive geothermal system that takes advantage of the earth’s constant temperature below the frost line. By drawing fresh air for your building through an earth tube you pre-heat or pre-cool your air depending on your needs. This saves you a ton of money, according to architect Tang Lee an earth tube system can save you up to half of your ventilation heating costs. At the Epcor Tower it saves the building $50,000 a year.
40. The grass really is greener at Lawrence Grassi middle school
Sometimes the Grassi really is greener. Lawrence Grassi that it is. It’s a middle school in the Albertan mountain town of Canmore and while not a showy building it’s 70 per cent more efficient than a comparable building and it was built on budget. Learn how they did it this week at Green Energy Futures.
35. Reimagine your office building – Servus did it!
When Servus Credit Union acquired an old Dell call centre and decided to turn it into their corporate headquarters it was a bit of a fixer-upper. It was a concrete tip-up building originally designed for the climes of Oklahoma 3,000 km south of Edmonton. Well, they decided to keep the building but go full-out on a creative renovation to make a better building.
29. Canada’s greenest building
This four-story, 60,000 square feet structure is practically a living thing. It’s a $37-million laboratory that aims to achieve LEED Platinum status, but more than that, they’re also pursuing a Living Building Challenge certification. This certification is so hard to get, there are only three certified living buildings in the world.
21. The unlikely Walmart sustainability story
When you think of Walmart do a plethora of contradictory thoughts and images come into your brain? Well get ready for it to get even more confusing because the world’s largest retailer and the 19th largest economy in the world have stepped up the plate with one of the best corporate sustainability plans in the world. It’s not just planning either, they’re executing it as well. We went to their Fresh Food Distribution Centre in Balzac to get the story.
18. The power of a home energy audit
When Ted Wolff decided to buy a 55-year-old bungalow in the west end of Edmonton he knew he wanted to renovate. He also knew that his home wasn’t necessarily the most energy efficient, that’s when he brought in C Returns and Godo Stoyke and they called for an energy audit. By getting an audit Wolff will be able to make the best decisions when it comes to allocating money and resources to make his home more energy efficient.
16. Pumpjack powerplants
Canadian Control Works is a small Edmonton based company with a big idea. They’ve figured out how to create green electricity from the downswing of a pumpjack with a device called the Enersaver. We don’t give them much thought but each pump jack is moving 5-10 tons each time it goes up and down. By harvesting that energy oilfield operators save money and stabilize the grid around it.
08. Awesome Dawson Creek: A northern oil and gas town bets big on renewable energy
Cheryl Shuman, a city councillor with the city of Dawson Creek in northeastern British Columbia considers herself a turbine hugger, not a tree hugger. She was part of the Peace Energy Co-operative a local grassroots group that developed the Bear Mountain Wind Park.
04. Learn how net-zero home builders are building a better world
Les Wold is a part of this second wave of net-zero home builders. At 38-years-old he’s a managing partner with Effect Homes, an Edmonton based homebuilder that currently builds about 10 houses a year.
Learn about how these new kinds of homes are getting built and the simple design cues you can take even if you don’t put solar panels on your roof.
Medicine Hat’s smart energy revolution (pilot episode)
The award winning Hat Smart program in Medicine Hat, Alberta provides incentives and rebates for renewable energy and energy efficiency and has really captured the imagination of residents of this Southern Alberta City of 61,000 people. In this week’s episode Alderman Ted Clugston explains how success depends on a sexy program, a solar powered dentist shows his stuff and a home builder explains how building an EnerGuide 89 geothermal heated home is helping him build better, greener homes.
