Learn how to stay warm and save on energy costs. See if you qualify for home-energy improvement grants
The York Region network of businesses and organizations leading the way in taking action on climate change
A friendly York Region competition and opportunity to show-off your building's improved energy efficiency
Windfall's Benchmarking Help Centre provides expert help to building owners with their EWRB reporting
Modern solutions to a rising problem. Learn what you can do to protect your property from flooding
Our latest dashboards provide new insights into 16 years of EnerGuide's home energy evaluation data
On September 29, 2022, the ClimateWise Business Network will be holding the 2022 York Region Sustainability Awards event. This year, the award ceremony, lined up with exciting activities, will be an in-person event in the heart of Aurora at the newly renovated, historic building - THE ARMOURY.
A new report by the World Economic Forum and the University of Cambridge’s Aviation Impact Accelerator explores how aviation can achieve a true zero climate impact. Reducing carbon emissions during flight is only one aspect of the problem. The full lifecycle impacts of any fuel or energy source used to power an aircraft also needs to be considered. So too is the impact of manufacturing and replacing batteries for electric aircraft.
The secret to efficiently heating some buildings might lurk beneath our feet in the heat that humans have inadvertently stored underground. Susanne Benz, an environmental scientist at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, said, Harnessing underground heat in this way could provide some communities with a reliable and low-energy means to warm their homes. And if we don't use it, it will just continue to accumulate.
Sand Batterycould solve green energy's problem
Finnish researchers have installed the world's first fully working "sand battery" which can store green power for months at a time. The developers say this could solve the problem of year-round supply, a major issue for green energy. The sand stores the heat at around 500C, which can then warm homes in winter when energy is more expensive.
A new study of the ancient world of Anatolia, now Turkey, shows how they adapted to climate change but offers a warning for today's climate emergency. The efforts of ancient populations to minimize the impacts of climate change were undermined during longer climate shifts when it is combined with other events such as pandemics, earthquakes and wars.
In truth, if everyone in Canada gave up their car, lowered their thermostat, stopped taking flights and ate more organic lentils, it wouldn’t be anywhere near enough to make a difference. No wonder it’s hard to maintain any hope that climate change is solvable. But as Greta Thunberg said back in 2018: “The one thing we need more than hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. Full Article
Texans crank on the air conditioning this week amid an unusually early heat wave, setting new records for electricity demand in the state, which surpassed 75 gigawatts on Sunday and smashed the 2019 record. CNN reports that Texas grid operator ERCOT projects it could approach that peak again on Tuesday. More
Just Green Cities is a research project addresses a core challenge Canadians face in implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and addressing the climate crisis, focusing on municipal infrastructure renewal. The research focused on three key areas: net-zero housing, fleet electrification and stormwater management.
On April 28, 2022, Durham Region officially launched the Durham Greener Homes, an initiative inspired by Durham Region's Community Energy Plan to help make energy-efficient, low-carbon homes more accessible to Durham residents. Durham Region partnered with Windfall Centre to deliver the new home energy retrofit program. Read More.
On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua at Council meeting, announced Vaughan's Award won at the ClimateWise 2021 Achievement Award. He said: I am pleased to announce the City of Vaughan has received the Mayor's Energy Challenge Advocate Award from the ClimateWise Business Network for our dedicated support of the Provincial Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking initiative. More
Renewable Energy to the Rescue as Texas Records Incredibly High Heat and Energy Demand
Renewables are slowly but surely gaining ground more recently in Texas as the city depends heavily on wind and solar power to meet the current high energy demand. Texans crank on the air conditioning this week amid an unusually early heat wave, setting new records for electricity demand in the state, which surpassed 75 gigawatts on Sunday and smashed the 2019 record. CNN reports that Texas grid operator ERCOT projects it could approach that peak again on Tuesday.
However, unlike previous extreme weather events in Texas, which led to deadly blackouts, the grid is holding up remarkably well this week. Several experts told CNN that it's owed in large part to solid performances from wind and solar, which generated 27 gigawatts of electricity during Sunday's peak demand -- close to 40% of the total needed.
Texas is, by rhetoric, anti-renewables. But frankly, renewables are bailing us out,
said Michael Webber, an energy expert and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. They're rocking. That really spares us a lot of heartache and a lot of money.
Durham Region Officially Launches Durham Greener Homes, Partners with Windfall Centre
On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Durham Region unveiled the Durham Greener Homes at a launch event at Durham College, Whitby Campus. Durham Greener Homes is a home retrofit service that will empower Durham Region residents to undertake home energy renovations. Durham Region has partnered with Windfall Ecology Centre to deliver the new home energy program to help Durham residents achieve energy-efficient homes as part of the Region's Community Energy Plan- a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Durham Greener Homes Program offers homeowners a home energy retrofit service that offers financing and cash-back rebates for home energy upgrade projects and a home energy coach to give expert advice to residents in the home retrofit journey. The Durham Greener Homes Program will target single-family homes built between 1970 and 2000 (representing 46 percent of single-family homes in the Durham region) because these are understood to have high energy-saving potential.
Windfall Ecology Centre's Founder and Executive Director, Brent Kopperson, who spoke about Durham Greener Homes, said, Windfall Ecology Centre has been helping Durham residents retrofit their homes for over 20 years. We are proud to combine all we have learned in that time to Durham Greener Homes, a best-in-class home retrofit facilitation service designed to ease renovation anxiety and help homeowners get the most from their energy efficiency investments.
At the launch event, a $3.4 million boost was announced to help finance the Durham Greener Homes Project to help more residents achieve energy-efficient homes and create a cleaner, low-carbon environment in Durham Region. The financing is offered through the Green Municipal Fund and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and funded by the Government of Canada.
Durham Greener Homes will support energy-efficiency upgrades such as high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, thermal envelope upgrades, lighting upgrades and high-efficiency appliances. Additional eligible measures will include heat pump installation, renewable energy and energy storage systems, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, water conservation measures and indoor air quality measures.
Are you a resident of Durham starting your home retrofit journey? Visit durhamgreenerhomes.ca to learn more about the Durham Greener Homes program
More on the launch of Durham Greener Homes on Natural Resources Canada, Yahoo News, insauga.com
On September 24 at Sheppard's Bush in Aurora, in celebration of Canada's and Ontario's 150th birthday, Windfall Ecology Centre hosted the Windfall Harvest Festival... A Celebration of Diversity: Food, Land and People. The festival featured First Nations dance and drumming, pioneer life reenactments, celebrity chefs, food sampling, nature walks, kids Nature Play and many more family activities.
As a non-profit organization we are supported by people just like you. If you would like to get involved in working towards sustainable communities and creating new opportunities for our youth... Consider joining us as a volunteer or making a donation to ensure we can continue and expand our programs focused on sustainability and climate change mitigation.