sustainable building solutions

Was introduced to the Ontario Legislature on February 23, 2009. It includes a proposal for a new renewable energy program known as a Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Program designed to further encourage the development of renewable energy supply. FIT price schedule starts as a high as 80.2 cents/kWh for rooftop solar photovoltaic systems making return on investments in the range of 12%. For more information on FIT visit www.powerauthority.on.ca/FIT

The government wants to create jobs in Ontario, reduce the electricity demand of the province, become a world leader in renewable energy, and take advantage of already developed land.

Roofs serve a vital purpose. You can’t have a building of any sort with out a roof. Roofs take a beating from the sun and need to be repaired and replaced. A roof that has constant sun exposure due to little or no shading from trees or surrounding objects [buildings, signs etc] will develop sun damage at a faster pace. Along with asphalt surfaces, sun exposed roof tops are the main contributing factor to heat island effect. The heat island effect is responsible for raising the temperature of dense urban areas by a few degrees. This may sound great for our cold Canadian climate, however it contributes to negative environmental and financial issues for all of us. Mitigation of the heat island effect will reduce the costs associated with cooling buildings in the summer and prolong the life of a roof. Several mitigation strategies exist, however solar installations not only prolong the life of your roof, they also directly provide extra revenue for your bottom line like having a tenant on your roof!

This is especially attractive for flat roof commercial buildings with black tar roofs.

useless flat roof.... perfect for solar

ecoENERGY for Renewable Heat will offer an incentive to industrial, commercial and institutional purchasers of solar heating systems. The anticipated Incentive amount is calculated as follows: Performance Factor x Incentive Rate x Area of Collector. This incentive may be upwards of 60% of the installed cost!

ecoENERGY Retrofit for Homes Program – provides home and property owners with grants up to $5,000 per unit to offset the cost of making energy efficiency improvements. Small mixed-use buildings are also eligible as long as they meet the size requirements and 50% or more of the floor space is used as permanent residences. Currently, the total rebate for installing a Solar Domestic Hot Water System is now $2500!

A trend towards accepting “The Greywater Recycling Concept” is forming with North American Officials. Earlier this year, The Government for the Province of British Columbia had stated that by 2010, greywater piping systems would be mandated in all new residential construction. The trend continued with the City of Tucson, Arizona mandating the same systems by mid 2009. This is proof that Greywater Recycling Systems are becoming an accepted and mainstream solution for reducing indoor water consumption, thereby helping to sustain our most precious natural resource.