The cheapest watt is one you don’t have to produce.
People in the energy efficiency industry call these NegaWatts – a watt you don’t need to make or buy because you no longer need it, thanks to energy reduction and efficiency. Read on to learn how you can generate your own NegaWatts.
The objectives of energy management at the Community League are:
- Improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use, thereby reducing costs
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality
- Cultivate commitment to energy reduction among board members and volunteers
- Engage with the wider community on the benefits of energy efficiency and how to achieve them
To learn about the benefits of a concerted energy management approach, check out this case study from Cloverdale Community League, presented by Reg Kontz at the EFCL Winter General Meeting in 2022.
Funding Your Energy Project
See our Green Leagues Grant List for funding opportunities for your green energy project.
Where to Start?
The first step is to hire an energy specialist to help your Community League prioritize areas to reduce consumption. They will support you with an assessment of your utility use and cost, perform a site visit, and compile a report for your facility(ies) that will identify ways to lower your consumption and cost, an estimate of how much the work will cost, currently available economic incentives, and payback period and return on investment for each recommendation. We have seen Community Leagues reduce their overall energy use by up to 70% after hiring a professional! You can find several energy specialists that have experience working with Community Leagues on our Green Leagues Recommended Contractors list.
Like the DIY approach, this also begins with energy benchmarking, but your energy specialist will do the work for you. Once you hire your contractor, they will request that you provide energy bills going back at least three years, if possible. They will include a benchmarking section in the energy audit report provided at the end of the project. You can also ask your contractor to sign you up for the City of Edmonton Building Energy Benchmarking (BEB) program, giving you access to the City of Edmonton’s Building Energy Retrofit Accelerator (BERA) program. You will also get access to the Energy Audit Rebate program, which will cover 50% of the cost of your energy assessment.
Whichever energy specialist you choose, they will require access to your building to perform a site assessment. Once they complete the assessment and interview your facility manager, they will complete and provide an energy audit report. The report will provide a prioritized list of Energy Conservation Measures for you to implement, along with how much energy each recommendation will reduce, how much it will reduce your energy cost, and how long it will take to pay back the upgrade from the savings.
Your audit report will include some zero and low-cost energy conservation measures. Many of these can be performed by a volunteer. Go through the report and complete any recommendations you can do safely and easily before hiring contractors to complete the other recommendations.
The City of Edmonton’s Building Energy Retrofit Accelerator program (BERA) is accessible by Community Leagues. The program offers rebates for most energy conservation measures recommended in a professional energy assessment. Be advised that the best approach is to apply for these rebates through the Pre-approval funding stream. Check the Program Checklist for eligible expenses.
*Note: you can only access BERA if you have signed up for the Building Energy Benchmarking (BEB) program and submitted your annual utility consumption.
See our Community League Recommended Contractors List to hire contractors to complete the recommendations laid out in your energy audit report.
See our Community League Recommended Contractors List to hire contractors to complete the recommendations laid out in your energy audit report.
DIY Approach
Like any measurable goal, you can’t assess where you want to go or how well you’re doing unless you know where you are at. We do this by measuring our energy use from year to year. This is an important but often overlooked aspect of energy management. In order to begin to benchmark your energy use, you will need to collect all of your energy bills (electricity, natural gas, and (optionally) water). Input the information from your bills into the free Energy Star Portfolio Manager. This will allow you to monitor your energy consumption over time, so you can see the positive impacts of your reduction strategies and pinpoint sudden increases in energy usage that might need to be addressed.
Now that you have begun monitoring your energy use, it’s time to lower your consumption. One of the most low-cost upgrades with the fastest payback is LED lighting. Go through your hall and check what type of lighting is used in each fixture. For incandescent or CFL bulbs, simply purchase the equivalent LED bulbs and replace them. This can be done by a volunteer.
Fluorescent tube lighting may be trickier, as it can involve replacing the fixture itself. It is recommended that you hire a registered electrician to perform this task. See our Community League Recommended Contractors List for electricians recommended by other Community Leagues.
Adding motion sensors in hallways and bathrooms is a foolproof way to lower your electricity usage. These can be installed at the lightswitch or wired into the roof. Again, hire a registered electrician to perform this step.
It might be a good idea to address your outdoor lighting as well, as rink and parking lot lights consume a lot of electricity. Again, hire a registered electrician to replace outdoor lights with modern LEDs.
The easiest DIY option for reducing water consumption at your hall that costs very little is to install low-flow faucet aerators. This is relatively easy and can be done by a volunteer. If your faucet aerator is more than 1.5 GPM, it should be replaced. You can find the flow rate on the side of the aerator. Take a look at this video to learn how to replace your faucet aerators.
Another low-cost and fairly simple way to reduce energy use in your building is to prevent air exchange between the indoor conditioned space and the outdoors. To do this, you will want to make sure the air sweeps at the bottom of your doors are in good condition, and replace them if not. Similarly, check the weather stripping on the sides of outer doors to ensure that it isn’t degrading, and replace it if it is.
Take a close look at your windows. If you notice cracks around the window frame, these can be filled with caulking to prevent air flow.
Lastly, walk around the exterior of the building. Any place where mechanical or electrical equipment leaves or enters the building you may find gaps where air can escape and enter. Fill these with insulation or caulking.
For more Energy Conservation Measures that might be relevant for your hall, take a look at our Energy Management in a Box guidebook.
EFCL Energy Conservation Measure of the Month
