TowerWise Conservation Incentives Advisor helps advance energy efficiency in Toronto’s towers

Information on all the financial incentives available for high-rise energy efficiency retrofits is now just one phone call away.  

The new TowerWise Incentives Advisor service will provide a free, one-window information source for owners and managers of apartment buildings and condominiums in the City of Toronto on funding available from governments and utilities to boost water and energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve their building’s bottom line. 

“Most building owners, from sophisticated property management companies to condominium unit owners, don’t realize the full extent of the financial incentives available to support energy and water efficiency work or the huge savings that can result.” says Tim Stoate, associate director, Mandate-related Finance with the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF). “For example, on a $1 million retrofit project, current incentives could be as high as $500,000.”

Through its TowerWise program, TAF has partnered with the Greater Toronto Apartment Association (GTAA), the Canadian Condominium Institute, the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP), Enbridge Gas Distribution and Toronto Water to create the Incentives Advisor service.  

Toronto has the highest concentration of high-rise residential towers in North America outside of New York City. Most of these towers were built decades ago and are big energy wasters. Even new towers are often built to minimum standards, well below levels of energy and water efficiency currently achievable.  Retrofits can reduce energy use — and greenhouse gas emissions — by 20 per cent to 30 per cent in both older and newer buildings.

“My job is to help high-rise apartment building and condominium owners understand their energy and emissions reduction potential and access the various incentives so they get the best value,” explains Rob Detta Colli, the new TowerWise Incentives Advisor. The Incentives Advisor can provide general information on how an energy retrofit can reduce operating costs and add value to a building; independent advice on how to plan and sequence an energy efficiency retrofit; comprehensive information on all of the incentive and rebate programs available to the multi-unit residential sector; and assistance in applying for and securing any incentives for which the retrofit project is eligible.

“The TowerWise Incentives Advisor will make it much easier for high-rise building owners to see the huge upside in improving energy performance,” points out Rachit Bhambri, program manager, Market Development for Enbridge. “High-rise owners we’ve worked with on energy retrofits have seen savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars” he adds.

“Instead of having to call different government agencies and different utilities our members will now be able to get one answer from one trusted source. That’s the kind of efficiency we need to get efficiency rolling in the high-rise sector” says Brad Butt, president of the GTAA.

“Optimizing and combining incentives will make undertaking a comprehensive retrofit and achieving a broader range of energy savings more feasible,” says Tom Chessman, Project Manager, Private Multi-Family Buildings Sector of the BBP. “There are great incentives available that can help the sector go further, both in terms of long-term cost savings and in reducing environmental impact.”

The service is free for any building owners, property managers or condominium owners in the City of Toronto.  Rob Detta Colli, the TowerWise Incentives Advisor, can be reached at 416-450-7989 or [email protected]. For more information see www.TowerWise.ca.