Energy Efficiency at Eglinton St. George's United Church

Energy efficiency work pays forward for Eglinton St. Georges’ United Church at no cost!

Eglinton St. George's United (ESG Toronto) received $50,700 funding this summer, in order to improve energy efficiency at their building. The total cost of the project was paid for by the funds received. The project is part of an 18-year ongoing greening journey at ESG.

$50,700 funding came from 2 streams; $30,000 came from the United Church of Canada “Faithful Footprints” Grant (administered by Faith & the Common Good); and $20,700 came from IESO, the Independent Electricity System Operator; it is responsible for Ontario’s electricity distribution.

Energy makes up about 42% of a faith building’s footprint; this is why funding is made available for energy efficiency. The funding allowed us to complete the replacement of inefficient lighting with 750 LED lights throughout the church, led by Rick Balmer and it also facilitated Phase 2 of a building automation heating and cooling system upgrade, led by Peter Long. John Blevins was the project leader.

We expect energy savings of $11,000 per year; post-COVID, once our church building occupancy returns to normal. According to John Blevins, “The pandemic did pose logistical and scheduling issues but the contractors worked around them. Likewise, there were issues in qualifying some fixtures for IESO incentive rebates that added to the delays and again the contractors met the challenge and processed the applications with little disruption”.

We are grateful for the support of our partners, Dave Levinetz of NRG Alternatives Ltd., and Chris Trewartha of Power Application Group Inc. Thank you to our dedicated property team: John Blevins, Rick Balmer, Doug Dicks, Peter Long, Chuck MacRae, Reid Robson, and Doug McWhirter.

SUMMER/FALL 2020 ESG Energy Retrofit Summary

Replace 750 lights with LEDs $34,000
Automation of last 3 furnaces $10,200

HST $ 5,750
Total Cost $49,950
United Church of Canada grant $30,000
Rebates from IESO Electrical provider $20,700

Total grants $50,700

Estimated annual energy savings $11,000

Thanks to the United Church of Canada and to Stephen Collette, at Faith & the Common Good. Together, we made it happen!