*Please see below a media release issued by City of Burlington.
Burlington, Ont. — Oct. 7, 2020 — At the Sept. 28 Burlington City Council meeting, staff’s proposal to work with the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College to develop a deep energy retrofit program was approved. Implementation of a deep energy retrofit (DER) program can help homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their home, reduce their carbon footprint and increase home comfort. A DER program will help Burlington meet its Climate Action Plan objective to become a net-carbon neutral community by 2050.
Staff will be applying to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Community Efficiency Financing initiative for a grant to support this work and will work with Mohawk College to finalize the agreement to oversee this partnership. Further details on community engagement opportunities will be available as the project progresses.
“There is still a lot of work to be done with the program including applying for grant money and developing the framework but this partnership with Mohawk College will help expedite this and will do a lot to helping us achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.” — Allan Magi, Executive Director of Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services, City of Burlington
What is a Deep Energy Retrofit Program?
A deep energy retrofit program involves a systems approach to reducing carbon emissions from existing buildings, with a focus on actions that will reduce and/or eliminate the use of fossil fuels as a source of energy. Typically, there is a hierarchy of measures which can be implemented:
- Adding insulation
- Sealing air leaks
- Upgrading mechanical systems
- Replacing windows and/or doors
- Water efficiency upgrades
- Thermal controls
- Renewable energy
Depending on the work required, a deep energy retrofit can cost up to $30,000. Retrofits can be more cost-effective if timed with home renovations.
For more information and to subscribe to updates, go to burlington.ca/environment.
MAYOR MEED WARD’S TAKE:
I supported what was in the staff report and am largely in favour of moving forward with this. The Region should be providing some funding and that may be a future request from us. We will continue to lead on this as a City. I do appreciate the Centre for Climate Change Management and the value of work they do. I truly believe this is the best partner for our City on this project and we can leverage the expertise that is there. We don’t have all the answers, but that’s why we need to take the first step here, to get those answers. The dollars may be large, but it’s not money out the door that does not come back to us. This will be scalable to the amount of loans we can reasonably provide in a given year.
Links and Resources:
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*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor’s Media and Digital Communications Specialist
