Ontario Energy efficiency campaign launched
Project Porchlight is working with the Ontario Power Authority, the Government of Ontario, EnWin Utilities Ltd. in Windsor, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation to spread the message that everyone can conserve energy, save money, and help the environment with simple, effective actions.
Project Porchlight is a not-for-profit organization with the goal of getting every household in Canada to change one old-fashioned, inefficient incandescent to an energy-efficient CFL bulb.
“This is about more than changing light bulbs,” said Stuart Hickox, Executive Director of One Change, the organization that runs Project Porchlight. “Everybody can change a bulb, and once people realize that simple actions like this really do matter, they want to do more. A light goes on. So we are asking the people of Windsor to be a light in their own communities by delivering bulbs door-to-door.”
 | THE U.S. CONSUMES A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF ENERGY EVERY MINUTE. HERE’S A BRIGHT IDEA - REPLACING JUST ONE INCANDESCENT LIGHTBULB WITH A COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMP WOULD SAVE THIS 500-POUND PILE OF COAL & OVER 1/2 TONNE OF CO2 EMISSIONS. (Source National Geographic) |
Switching just one old-fashioned incandescent bulb to an energy-efficient 13-watt compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb will save $50 in electricity costs over five years. With 70,000 bulbs in use, the collective savings for Windsor residents will be $3.5 million over that time.
Because CFL bulbs use 75% less electricity than incandescent bulbs, their use reduces greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired plants. If every household in Windsor switches just one bulb, 3,968,933 kg of coal won’t have to be burned to produce electricity and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 35,000 tonnes.
Funding of $1.5 million from the Government of Ontario will enable local volunteers to deliver 500,000 CFL bulbs to Ontario homes. In recent months, Ontario has launched a range of new programs encouraging homeowners to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes.
“Windsor is the perfect place to launch this campaign because of our proven commitment to energy conservation,” said Dwight Duncan MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh and Minister of Energy Duncan. “By making just one change - like switching to CFL bulbs - we can all save energy, money, and help improve our environment.”
The Ontario Power Authority is also a key contributor to this volunteer-led initiative. “This program will help Windsor residents save on their electricity bills and will encourage a culture of conservation,” said Peter Love, Chief Energy Conservation Officer, Ontario Power Authority.
“Ontarians are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of electricity conservation and programs such as Project Porchlight help them make smart electricity choices”, he added.
Windsor bulb distribution will begin in mid-September; Project Porchlight will continue to deliver its half million bulbs to communities across Ontario over the fall. Volunteers and community groups can visit the Project Porchlight web site for more details. www.projectporchlight.com
Energy Conservation for Remote Communities
Another energy conservation initiative alsdo was launched in Ontario last week. On September 7, 2007 the delivery phase of “Mana-cha-toon Wash-ti-ni-gun,” or the “Conserve the Light” project, began at Thunder Bay Airport when a Wasaya Airways plane loaded with Energy Conservation Kits (ECK) prepared for delivery to remote First Nation communities without road access.
The first load of 1,400 kits are going to the residents of the remote communities of Kasabonika,Kingfisher Lake, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (Big Trout Lake), Weagamow (North Caribou) and Wunnumin Lake (each is 300 to 400 miles north of Thunder Bay) in Northwestern Ontario.
Each kit includes easy-to-install compact florescent light (CFL) bulbs, faucet aerators, pipe wraps, fridge and freezer thermometers, a low flow shower head, an outdoor timer for Christmas lights and other devices that will result in immediate reductions in energy use. Electricity conservation is critical for many remote communities with power often provided by diesel generators that require fuel delivered by aircraft or winter roads, both expensive procedures.
The Ontario Power Authjority (OPA) is working directly with First Nation communities on a range of initiatives, including longterm systems planning, and is committed to ensuring that First Nation communities have access to the tools to participate in Ontario’s growing culture of conservation, in a manner that complements First Nations values and heritages.
ECK delivery will rollout to the 23,000 on-reserve homes in over 100 communities across Ontario.
For More Information: Ontario Power Authority
You can return to the main Market News page, or press the Back button on your browser.
