EcoCaledon putting focus on saving energy at home for third phase of enviro-challenge

Event being held on September 30 at Albion Bolton Community Centre

BY ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An upcoming event will show Caledon residents how they can help the environment at home.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on September 30, EcoCaledon will host a “Reducing Your Home Energy Footprint” event at the Albion Bolton Community Centre (150 Queen Street South).

The event is the third out of four events to be held in EcoCaledon's year-long enviro-challenge. 

Launched on May 6, the enviro-challenge encourages Caledon residents to take action to reduce their impact on the environment. Participants in the event have the opportunity to earn recognition and win prizes, all while reducing their impact on the environment.

The September 30 event will showcase all kinds of ways people can save energy at home, from small and simple actions to large home retrofits.  

In attendance at the event will be numerous experts across multiple sectors, including: the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, to talk about its Green Homes program; the Town of Caledon, to talk about its Peel Residential Energy program; Polaron, to talk about residential solar panels; and Linked Home, to talk about heating and cooling.

There will also be Caledon residents who have made energy-efficient changes to their homes who will share what the process was like. 

Lucrezia Chiappetta, co-chair of EcoCaledon, said it will be great for people to have the chance to talk to people who have been through these experiences already.

Enbridge's municipal energy solutions team will be at the event to chat about the Enbridge Home Efficiency Rebate and the Federal Greener Homes Grant application process. 

Chiappetta explained with experts set up all around the room at the Albion Bolton Community Centre, the event is kind of like “speed networking” and residents can come and chat to whoever they would like to right away.

She said some simple ways people can save energy at home include ensuring lights are turned off; unplugging unused appliances and chargers; and replacing old light bulbs with more efficient LED bulbs.

Chiappetta said another great way to save energy at home is to use an energy-efficient thermostat. On an eco-setting, she said a system will either heat or cool to try to keep a home within the eco temperatures range (a few degrees off the average temperature).

“Even those couple of degrees can make a big difference in your energy use,” said Chiapetta. “It's one of the easiest and most passive ways that people can be contributing to energy conservation.”

Forced air heat pumps are another great way to help the environment, said Chiappetta. These pumps can pull heat out of the cold outdoor air and transfer it inside in the winter; and, in summer they can pull heat out of the home to cool it.

Those interested in learning more about EcoCaledon's enviro-challenge can visit ecocaledon.org.