GC 2020
15 results found
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Enable home and building owners to retrofit existing buildings for energy efficiency
Instead of building it all from scratch, let's fix what we already have... Low hanging fruit here. Maybe we need to tie retrofits to property tax bills to create the right incentives.
18 votesFinancing tools (currently under development) may encourage building owners to improve the performance of their buildings rather than rebuild
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Provide a 5 year property break for buildings that go off grid.
The concept is that if a building goes off grid, they will be given a property tax holiday for 5 years to fund it. They must use BC based technology whenever possible. This will green our existing buildings, create jobs and reduce out carbon footprint. An investment in our future that reflect all three legs of sustainability.
8 votesThe plan addresses incentives for low- or no- emission buildings. Off-grid is not emphasized as one way of achieving our energy reduction and carbon neutral goals is through sharing excess renewable energy between buildings – which requires grid connection.
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Cash and tax incentives for the sale of excess power generated from the installation of solar power.
If you want people to follow more than dancing with the stars....wave the green in their face and the city will change. Tie into the grid and allow people the choice of where their excess power goes. If you are paid for the power but it's capped at a monthly amount the rest can be credited to shelters for the homeless and lower income housing. All as a taxable write off of course. The ideas are endless and so is the power!
15 votesPlan addresses incentives to increase accessibility and affordability of renewable energy
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Home Energy Labeling in BC
Home Energy Labelling at the Time of Sale can have significant economic, social and environmental benefits for the Province of BC.
To date:
The Climate Action Team recommended that BC implement mandatory labelling at time of sale by 2012.
Utilities and the BC government are supporting labelling pilots in several BC communities.When the homeowner decides to sell their home, they request a home energy assessment to be conducted by a Natural Resources Canada Certified Energy Advisor. The energy assessment takes into account the heating and hot-water systems, insulation levels, windows, doors and includes a test to determine overall air…
3 votesBuilding labeling is one of the actions that is listed in the draft Greenest City Action Plan as a means of achieving our 2020 targets.
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Implement Vancouver Zoom Your Roof Project
Since building heating is one of the biggest uses of natural gas in BC it should be a priority to reduce this footprint. In Belgium communities are implementing a project where residents can easily see how effective their insulation is. This lets people actually see for themselves whether investing in insulation would be worth it for them.
More info on Belgian project:
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/011446.html
http://infosthetics.com/archives/2010/07/zoom_into_your_roof.html1 voteBuilding labeling and energy audits will help building owners and occupants understand how their buildings are performing and where they are losing heat. While we may not implement the “zoom in” program per se, these other tools included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan address same issue.
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change building code to allow ventilated service areas
Apartments and condos would have ventilated service areas, where people would be able to hang clothes on clotheslines, instead of using electrical driers all year long for drying any amount of clothing. Also, a tank with tap for manual washing of small loads of clothing will save water and will add up to hygiene.
1 voteWhile not specifically addressed in the draft Greenest City Action Plan, this strategy will be consider as a means of promoting conservation
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Bring Life to our Rooftops
The roofs of Vancouver are an un-tapped resource from both a social and biodiversity perspective. The City could initiate a program to encourage the conversion of existing flat, inaccessible roofs to useable, productive greenspace. This could include omitting rooftop access points (stairs & elevators) from height restrictions, providing tax breaks to buildings that eliminate rainwater runoff to the sewer system, or establishing financing mechanisms and consultation to support stratas and individuals undertaking renovations.
The scale of conversion could range from installing standard green-roof systems to rooftop decks with planter boxes to full scale rooftop agriculture. This would help bring back…
148 votesCurrently exploring an approach to addressing cool roofs, green roofs & walls.
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Empower apartment residents to hang their laundry to dry
Many strata and co-op buildings prohibit drying laundry on balconies or outside. Hanging to dry uses far less energy than using a dryer. Pass a by-law: prohibit the prohibition!
43 votesFalls under occupant engagement in energy conservation
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Cool roofs to combat the "heat island" impact, and save energy and reduce emissions
From July 22 "Science News" (everything old SHOULD be new again...)
Global model confirms: Cool roofs can offset carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate global warming
Light-colored roofs and pavements would help in 2 ways. First, the "urban heat island" effect would be mitigated. Second, by reflecting incoming solar radiation back into space, the whole globe would, on average, become a bit cooler. In terms of CO2 emissions, an offset of two years worth of emissions could be attained. Provided of course, such a huge amount of light-colored stuff can be produced and installed in a carbon-neutral manner.
Can light-colored rooftops…
16 votesCurrently exploring an approach to addressing cool roofs, green roofs & walls.
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5 votes
This is addressed by the planned green renovation strategy which will require upgrades to all buildings during the time of renovation, and also by the building labeling program which will require mandatory disclosure of energy performance and eventually mandatory performance standards.
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Increase indoor temperature range, to connect people to outside and reduce energy. Sweaters! Shorts!
Change commercial (including offices) buildings operating temperature range, to decrease air conditioning in the summer, and decrease heating energy in the winter. My estimates show that a changing the range from 2°C to 8°C could decrease overall building energy by 10%.
4 votesWhile the City cannot mandate the temperature that people set their thermostats to, this issue is addressed through occupant engagement as well as education and capacity building for building operators.
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Energy efficiency training
Grassroots training in home energy efficiency assessments so community members can learn and support each other in improving home energy efficiency. A few workshops around the city, and you could train a number of neighbourhood efficiency "experts" to do assessments and workshops in their area.
3 votesEducation and training around energy efficiency are an integral part of the draft Greenest City Action Plan. Occupants determine to a large degree the level of energy performance in a building.
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8 votes
The draft Greenest City Action Plan addresses occupant engagement in conservation efforts. This idea will be considered as a way to make it easy for occupants to conserve energy related to plug loads
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Include energy costs in city & province-funded construction projects.
Construction projects get graded based on how cheap they are. But that costing model doesn't include the total environmental impact of a project, such as the carbon released by removing old buildings, the ongoing energy cost of the structures, etc.
The best way to get an environmentally conscious city is to put in economic incentives. Construction is a very high-impact area where the city can exert influence simply by changing the guidelines. A cheap, high-impact proposal.
Other cities are already doing it, and from what I hear UBC is already doing it for their own projects.
7 votesThe draft Greenest City Action Plan addresses ways and means of rewarding projects that are more energy efficient.
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Retrofit apartments to have individual control over radiator heating
Many low-rise apartment buildings are heated by radiators connected to a central boiler. In lots of these buildings, individual apartments do not have a thermostat or radiator control. Often the building is overheated in winter, with windows open and the boiler working even harder. Lobbies and hallways are also sweltering.
A City program could install valves on each radiator to give occupants individual control and reduce energy wastage. There would be a hugely beneficial return on investment in terms of reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the city.
10 votesHas been implemented in pilot program.
