By Joel Ceausu
www.thesuburban.com
The English Montreal School Board has begun its second major initiative aimed at bolstering energy efficiency in its school buildings. The $24.6 million project with energy efficiency firm Énergère will initially focus on 17 specific schools and centers.
The project includes among other measures, equipment modernization using aerothermal technology, replacing 25,300 lights and introducing automated controls. Once completed, the 17 buildings will achieve a 53 per cent reduction in energy consumption and 74 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to removing 1,270 cars from the road. All lighting fixtures will be converted from fluorescent to the latest LED technology which saves energy, lasts longer, and simplifies maintenance.
Annual savings are projected to amount to more than $1.17 million per year once all measures are in place. The initial investment will be spread over 14 years, taking into account $9.9 million in grants from Hydro-Québec, Gaz Métro, the Bureau de l’efficacité et de l’innovation énergétique and the education ministry.
Énergère was selected last year from among three firms vying for the job, and is guaranteeing the project on costs, incentives and energy savings. Work began last month and will be completed by December 2015.
The board spent $8.4 million on a major energy upgrade in 2009, outfitting six schools with technology that cut energy bills by 47 per cent, by optimizing the heating network and ventilation, installing efficient hot water boilers, lighting and heat recovery equipment which included geothermal heating and heat pump systems.
For a list of the 17 schools and centres getting upgrades, visit www.emsb.qc.ca
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