At Hollyburn, sustainable green living has been a focus for more than 17 years. Our commitment to protecting the environment and minimizing our carbon footprint is paramount. We've taken bold steps to minimize the energy consumption of our properties and pass these cost savings to our residents.
In 1992, we formed a dedicated corporate energy management team to ensure we continue to look for and implement new methods of reducing energy consumption in all our buildings. Today, we are proud to be acknowledged as leaders in environmental stewardship as a company that makes innovation a top priority through a broad range of energy initiatives, creative partnerships and research sponsorships.
We support a broad range of initiatives and pilot projects that protect our fragile environment to ensure that our future generations will inherit a better world. Projects include participation in a BCIT/ BC Hydro joint study to harness wind power, the Greenhouse Gas Registry created to minimize our reliance on fossil fuels, solar and tidal power feasibility research, and BC Hydro's Product Incentive Program, which reduces electrical power consumption for seven buildings by $2,700 per year - money that's now being put toward other building improvements.
In 2003, Hollyburn partnered with Natural Resources Canada in a national pilot project called the Energy Innovators Initiative. Within the first three years, we succeeded in eliminating more than 4,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and 1,500 tonnes in 2006 alone.
Hollyburn was proud to participate in BC Hydro's Green Power Certificates. Each certificate purchased through this pilot program helped subsidize green power projects and research located within British Columbia. While it may cost us a little more, but the environmental benefit is worth the investment.
When you choose Hollyburn, you are choosing to live in an energy-smart suite. We are committed to addressing environmental improvements throughout your suite before you move in. Changes may include replacing older kitchen appliances with modern Energy Star models that reduce energy consumption by approximately 20 per cent, new plumbing fixtures that conserve water saving thousands of gallons each year, energy efficient lighting fixtures, plus, whenever possible, phasing in hardwood flooring for better air quality.
We'll even show you how simple, common-sense changes can help save you money. For example, did you know that using Power Smart bulbs throughout your suite can save you up to $50 a year? That's the equivalent of getting two months of hydro absolutely free.
The Hollyburn portfolio of rental apartments represents some of the greenest buildings in Canada. Each of our buildings meets the highest development standards according to our Hollyburn Green Building Template. This stringent set of voluntary standards means that every refurbished Hollyburn property will not only meet - but also exceed - region-specific building codes. This extends to roof specifications, insulation, exterior paint to improve R-value to the building and building mechanical systems.
We replace outdated, oversized boilers with state-of-the-art, high-efficiency boilers to provide efficient heat and hot water throughout our buildings. These compact units incorporate computerized monitoring and troubleshooting systems that eliminate interruption of service to our residents, and run almost 90 per cent more efficiently to significantly reduce green house gas emissions and power consumption.
Natural Resources Canada Nomination: In 2004, Mann Engineering Ltd. nominated Hollyburn for the Natural Resource Canada Award. The nomination was a result of the work that Hollyburn began in 2003, with an extensive retrofit in five of our 1960s-vintage concrete high-rises towers which included the rehabilitation of over-sized boilers and elevators. The work was performed in 12 months to minimize disruption to existing residents, many of whom had lived in their suites for decades.
We used innovative technologies including direct digital control (DDC) to monitor heating loads and reduce primary building temperatures to match the highest loads, which minimized boiler gas consumption and automated garage heating and exhaust control. Overall gas consumption was reduced by an average of 30 per cent.
Marlborough Tower: After installing new, energy efficient elevator components, we reduced electricity consumption by 65 per cent.
Santana: After installing a DDC panel for the building's heating and domestic hot water systems, several deficiencies were identified. When corrected, Hollyburn reduced natural gas consumption by 23 per cent.
Marlborough Tower: In an independent audit using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating SystemTM, this 137-suite concrete high rise scored a LEED® Silver rating.