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Energy Conservation was the Topic of Conversation at the 2016 Niagara Energy Summit

Feb, 2016 - Bob Willard, Founder and CEO of Sustainability Advantage, was one of many speakers at the Niagara Energy Summit held this month in Niagara Falls, presented by Niagara Sustainability Initiative.

Willard spoke on the state of the energy industry and emerging trends. The trends include phasing out fossil fuels and living within a carbon budget. One trend is that we are moving towards finding alternative, and cleaner, energy sources such as wind, geothermal, and solar because we need to lower our carbon footprint.  

“We have before us only 15 years to address decades of environmentally harmful activities, and to prevent a global temperature increase of 2deg C.  If we are to successfully mitigate climate change, then we must commit to a decade of action” - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Abu Dhabi Ascent climate meeting, May 2014

Energy Conservation is Key

“The cleanest energy is the energy that we don’t use”, said Willard. This means that energy conservation plays a key role in lowering our carbon footprint and preserving our planet.   

Brian Smith, Chief Conservation Officer at Horizon Utilities, shared with us various ways they have helped local cities, institutions, and business owners; such as City of Hamilton and Brock University. Their conservation programs not only offer environmental benefits, but they help reduce electricity costs  .  

Technology and Services to support Energy Savings

Business owners and other representatives of green technology were present to showcase and discuss their offerings.  Timbro Design Build, a Niagara based contractor specializing in sustainable designs, featured a product called Sunlite Strips that can be added to a roof build or retrofit to bring in more natural daylight.  Ben Dunbar represented AET, an environmental consulting group. He spoke about the green initiatives at their office, which included putting up glass interior walls in their small office space to encourage more natural light.  

We at Evolution Window Films also attended the event as a vendor and a continued sponsor of Niagara Sustainability Initiative. Solar control window film is a low cost, energy saving solution for residential or commercial buildings. Solar film helps reduce the amount of heat coming in through the windows in the summer, and helps maintain an even interior temperature all year long; significantly reducing the amount of environmental impact caused by air conditioning and heat sources. Having the confidence to open drapes and blinds brings in more natural light. More natural light means fewer interior lights are needed during the daytime, lowering the carbon footprint even further. Window Film is a recognized solution for the LDCs SaveOnEnergy incentive program.