Efficiency Capital Partners with WoodGreen to Deliver Sustainable Building Improvements
Efficiency Capital has partnered with WoodGreen Community Housing to create greener buildings in Toronto. According to the agencies, the collaboration is projecting almost $6 million in expected utility savings through sustainable building upgrades.
By partnering with Efficiency Capital, WoodGreen says it leveraged its $1.3 million reserve fund investment into a $3.4 million retrofit project, which provided the funding required for their asset renewals.
“We provide a risk-free model of financial and energy savings for building owners, and WoodGreen was no exception,” says Chandra Ramadurai, CEO of Efficiency Capital. “Providing energy-efficient upgrades to aging infrastructure is extremely important to mitigate climate change and keep building tenants safe and comfortable. These upgrades are especially important for social housing units, where most have challenges maintaining and allocating capital reserves and an estimated 80% of buildings are over 25 years old.”
Slated for completion by the end of 2020, the project was developed with long-term efficiency in mind, with upgrades providing savings of nearly $5.7 million over the next 20-30 years.
“Our energy savings investment with Efficiency Capital was the smartest way we could renew our aging building stock as a non-profit organization,” says Anne Babcock, CEO & President of WoodGreen Housing & WoodGreen Community Services. “Most of our maintenance and asset renewals are deferred as every dollar we spend is allocated towards critical services to our communities—we put people first.”
Efficiency Capital developed the plan and will fund and manage the comprehensive “green” upgrades across eight of 15 buildings with over 800 affordable housing and personal support units.
The comprehensive multi-measure upgrades include high-efficiency boilers, air-cooled chillers, pumps and make-up air units with variable drives, infiltration improvements, high-efficiency toilets and LED lights.
The buildings will also undergo digital modernization with added controls, sensors and building automation to optimize cost-savings and long-term building performance, reducing building greenhouse gas emissions by 250 tonnes per year.