5/30/2011

John Tory interview with Linda Mantia and Blake Hutcheson

Download the transcription here.

Jameel B. Madhani

At the time of this broadcast, the conversation among landlords regarding environmental sustainability in buildings concerned the financial case alone. Few employed a multi-stakeholder approach as Mr. Hutcheson at Oxford. It is inspiring to see how the industry is evolving where today almost every new project considers environmental impact, enabled by better/cheaper technology and an elevated social conscious.

With Toronto’s Green Real Estate conference around the corner, I am looking forward to learning more about where sustainable building design and management is heading over the next few years – possibly towards a completely self-sustainable and carbon neutral design that is actually profitable to build. Hopefully the first such project will be in Toronto!

Did you know

- Tip: Close window blinds to shade your space from direct sunlight.
- Tip: Replace your exit lights with upgraded energy efficient models.
- Dripping taps can waste 9,000 litres of hot water each year.
- Installing occupancy sensors and dimmers in break rooms, restrooms and conference rooms can reduce lighting costs up to 40%.
- Computers are used only an average of 10% of the time they are turned on.
- For each degree that you raise the thermostat, energy savings can be as much as 5 per cent of your air conditioning costs.
- Installing an energy efficient attic fan or evaporative cooler helps reduce or replace air conditioner use.
- The fastest way to electricity savings for your HVAC is to install programmable thermostats.
- Ink-jet printers consume less energy than laser printers.
- Tenants account for 25 – 50% of the total energy use in an office building.
- Lighting may account for 25– 40% of the total electricity use in an office building.
- If your equipment is over 5 to 10 years old, there is more efficient equipment on the market that could save you enough energy for you to afford the replacement in a very short payback period.
- New high efficiency T8 and T5 fluorescent tubes last longer (up to 16 years), cast attractive lighting colour and need less maintenance than standard T12 lamps.
- Replacing old stand alone air conditioning units with energy efficient models can save up to 30% on your energy cost for air conditioning.
- Replacing your holiday decorative lights with LED lights can result in an 85% reduction in energy costs.
- Performing regular maintenance activities on your HVAC system can save up to 30% of fan energy and up to 10% of space conditioning energy use.
- Air movement from a ceiling fan can cool a room by up to 4 degrees.
- Replacing your T12 fluorescent and magnetic ballast exit lights with energy efficient T8 lamps and electronic ballasts can reduce energy use by up to 40%.
- Replacing large-volume toilets with 6-litre-per-flush models saves at least 70% of the water used.
- Save 30-70% in energyby replacing your older room air conditioner with a more efficient ENERGY STAR model.
- A standard fan costs less than $1/month to operate while a central air conditioning unit can cost up to $178/month.
- Just eight gas lamps, burning year-round, use as much natural gas as it takes to heat an average-size home during an entire winter.
- Commercial buildings account for 20% of the carbon emissions in the GTA, and consume 37 per cent of the electricity and 17 per cent of the natural gas.
- Installing shading devices on southern- and western-facing windows will help you bet the heat and the costs of air conditioning.