What can you do to reduce energy consumption?
“Homeowners can receive more than $7,000 in Live Smart rebates for energy saving improvements and equipment. Moreover, rebates for improvements like insulation, draft proofing and high performance windows and doors have increased by up to 700 per cent thanks to the partnership between BC Hydro, FortisBC, and the Province of British Columbia.”
What can you do?
Existing homes in Whistler neighborhoods account for about 40% of stationary energy use in our community – many of which have a great potential to be cost-effectively improved with existing technologies so that they consume less energy while at the same time becoming more comfortable. As energy prices continue to rise, the return on investment for efficiency upgrades becomes even stronger.
Many simple home energy upgrades significantly outperform other financial investments you may already be making. (eg. GICs, term deposits, and many equities)
Here is a list of things homeowners can do to help Whistler move toward its energy efficiency and emission reduction goals:
Join BC Hydro’s Team Power Smart. Learn how to save energy and money with online tips & tools and gain access to members-only benefits. Team Power Smart is for everyone who wants to help our province become energy self-sufficient, reduce our impact on the environment, and save money. Thousands have already joined, pledging to reduce their use of electricity by 10%.
Get a LiveSmart BC Home Energy Assessment. The LiveSmart BC program aims to help more than 40,000 BC families protect the investment in their homes while fighting climate change. Improving energy efficiency is a smart way to make a home more comfortable, to increase its value, and to generate ongoing savings. Eligible homeowners can receive more than $7,000 in Live Smart rebates!
Get an estimate of your personal greenhouse gas footprint with this lifestyle GHG calculator. Learn from the assessment how best to makes changes to your habits that would result in on-the-ground GHG emissions reductions like these ideas: 52 Ways to Reduce your Emissions.
Did you know?
Approximately half of Whistler’s community-wide GHG emissions come from passenger vehicle travel. The use of passenger vehicles within municipal boundaries represents an estimated collective fuel bill of more than $23 million/year. Check out BC Transit Commuting Cost Calculator, or the LiveSmart on the Road, for tips on how to save money and reduce emissions related to our transportation choices.
Businesses – What can you do?
In 2010, the commercial sector in Whistler consumed approximately $13 million worth of electricity and another $9 million of natural gas - $22 million in total. This represents more than half of all the energy consumed by buildings in Whistler. Finding just 10% efficiency across this sector would total more than $2 million per year in reduced energy costs. With this in mind, here is list of things that businesses can do to improve their bottom line, increase their energy efficiency, and reduce their climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions.
A great place to start is to get involved with the new LiveSmart BC: Small Business Program. Making it easier for thousands of BC small businesses to save money and reduce their energy consumption. Eligible businesses gain access to Business Energy Advisors for on-site assessments, can receive up to 100% funding for select direct installation of energy saving equipment, and can gain access enhanced and expanded product incentives from existing BC Hydro Power Smart programs.
From an online Energy Manager, to Product Incentive Programs, to Workplace Conservation Awareness tools, BC Hydro Power Smart – Commercial sector programs provide a wide variety of tools, initiatives and incentives to help make saving energy, and saving money even easier for businesses that really understand the axiom that ‘time (and energy) is money’.
Still have questions about how to get started?
Send your questions to Whistler’s Community Energy Manager, for some quick advice on how to take the first steps toward energy efficiency and emissions reductions.
