Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has announced a $4.3-million investment in five deep energy retrofit projects across the country.
The projects are funded under the Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program and the Energy Innovation Program. Projects include:
- More than $2 million to EnviroCentre’s Retrofit Accelerator project for retrofits to social housing in Eastern Ontario. That includes Gloucester Housing’s Carver Place neighbourhood in Ottawa, a suburban townhome community offering rent geared to income. The townhomes will undergo retrofits including replacing furnaces with electric heat pumps, installing new heat recovery ventilation systems to improve indoor air quality, and upgrading attic insulation and air sealing.
- $1 million to the ReCover Initiative to develop practical approaches to deep energy retrofits for residential buildings in Atlantic Canada.
- $1 million for the First Nations Power Authority of Saskatchewan to support adoption of community-scale deep energy retrofits in Indigenous communities.
- $602,836 for Sustainable Buildings Canada to accelerate deep energy retrofits in Ontario social housing.
- $775,897 for Retrofit Canada Society to develop a National Retrofit Repository with case studies on deep energy retrofits across Canada.
1Click Heating & Cooling is working on the Carver Place project, installing hybrid heat pump systems, heat pump water heaters, and HRV systems. The company expects work to be completed by mid-November.
According to NRCan, deep energy retrofits typically result in a 50-per cent reduction in energy consumption, and an up to 80-per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Test cases from the Carver Place project show the planned retrofits will result in an average annual energy reduction of 42 per cent, and a reduction of 2.4 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, an 82 per cent improvement.
Energy Innovation Program
Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program
