The Energy Benchmarking Program
“The energy benchmarking report can have a tremendous positive effect on our environment and budget by providing organizations with a trustworthy report in an area that is many times overlooked in our operations. ”
Energy Benchmarking Program Sign-ups are now closed for this year! Keep your eyes open for the next round.
About the Energy Benchmarking Program (EBP)
The EBP helps faith communities take practical and cost-effective climate action decisions by raising their awareness of, and helping them become more knowledgeable about, their building energy use and emissions. The EBP is a free program funded through a grant from the Ontario Trillium foundation, City of Ottawa, Community Foundation, and Sustainable Capacity Foundation.
We use the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, an energy management tool, to display your energy costs & usage. We show you your baseline energy use, and identify areas for improvement over a 3 year period. We do this work for you, and every year we provide an annual report detailing your energy consumption and changes over time
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Your building typically accounts for about 42% of your faith community’s carbon footprint*. With over 27,000 faith communities in Canada, the faith sector can do a lot to lower emissions and make a real impact, starting from their places of worship. Managing your building performance also encourages your members to follow suit with energy conservation and efficiency at home.
Your building also accounts for a significant portion of the operating costs of your faith community. Therefore, reducing, and making more efficient, your building’s energy use also means reducing costs and saving money. Savings that can be directed towards other activities.
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Energy Benchmarking is a process by which your faith community becomes more aware of :
How much energy your building uses.
How much money you spend on energy.
Your faith building’s carbon footprint.
How your building’s energy use has changed over time.
How your building’s performance stacks up to other buildings in your sector or your geographic community.
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Our Energy Benchmarking program has some exciting new additions this year! We’ve teamed up with Better Buildings Ottawa Energy Benchmarking & Auditing program. This program offers a number a number of new benefits such as an an Energy Performance Scorecard and Insights Report, discounted building envelope thermal inspections, training programs & more! Visit their website for more info!
We also have started a new MICRO-GRANTS program!!! GSS is offering grants of up to 2000$ to five EBP participating faith communities, as well as assistance in finding other funding streams for your retrofit projects. Click here for more info on our new micro-grants program.
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Supports stewardship within your faith community
Reduces your contribution to climate change – targets carbon consumption
Saves you time, energy & money: Assisting you in future decision-making about your building
Registering For The Energy Benchmarking Program Is A Simple 3 Step Process!
Step 1
Register your faith community for The Better Buildings Ottawa- Auditing and Benchmarking program
Step 2
If you are a new participant
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First, please determine your electricity & gas provider(s).
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If you use Enbridge to heat your building, you will need to access your online account here and download 2022 gas usage. You can find this on your Gas Usage tab. Use the drop down tab that says filter by months. Once you have downloaded the data from 2022, please send it to greeningsacredspacesottawa@gmail.com. You can find a full step by step walk through here.
If you use oil to heat your building, please reach out to us directly.
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If your electricity provider is Hydro One, complete a consent form, which you can download on our website.
f your electricity provider is Hydro Ottawa, you can access your online Hydro Ottawa MyAccount & download your energy data from January 1st 2022 until December 31st 2022. There is a step by step walk-through on how to do this here. Once you have completed your forms and/or downloaded your energy data, please e-mail your forms & data to greeningsacredspacesottawa@gmail.com.
Now that we have your consent/permission forms we will:
1) Register your faith-building with Energy Star Portfolio Manager
2) Input your utility data into Portfolio Manager and;
3) Share this information with Better Buildings Ottawa who will provide you with valuable insights into your building’s performance and information on how it compares to other existing buildings.
Step 3
If you are a returning participant
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First, please determine your electricity & gas provider(s).
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If you use Enbridge to heat your building, you will need to access your online account here and download 2022 gas usage. You can find this on your Gas Usage tab. Use the drop down tab that says filter by months. Once you have downloaded the data from 2022, please send it to greeningsacredspacesottawa@gmail.com. You can find a full step by step walk through here.
If you use oil to heat your building, please reach out to us directly.
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If your electricity provider is Hydro One, you have already completed your local utility company consent forms. Nothing more to do on your part — we already have access to your energy data!
If your electricity provider is Hydro Ottawa, you can access your online Hydro Ottawa MyAccount & download your energy data from January 1st 2022 until December 31st 2022. There is a step by step walk-through on how to do this here. Once you have completed your forms and/or downloaded your energy data, please e-mail your forms & data to greeningsacredspacesottawa@gmail.com.
Now that we have your consent/permission forms we will:
1) Register your faith-building with Energy Star Portfolio Manager
2) Input your utility data into Portfolio Manager and;
3) Share this information with Better Buildings Ottawa who will provide you with valuable insights into your building’s performance and information on how it compares to other existing buildings.
Review your Reports and Consider Changes You Can Make
In addition to providing energy performance reports we are also happy to:
Share energy efficiency tools, funding info, and training;
Help facilitate a virtual or in person building audits (if desired) and;
Meet with your building committee and or/Board to answer questions and ensure things run smoothly.
Our Microgrants Program
After establishing the Energy Benchmarking program, we noticed that the biggest barrier to faith communities wanting to implement energy retrofits was lack of access to capital. To help combat this barrier, GSS is offering grants of up to 2000$ to five participating faith communities!
GSS will create a framework for your faith community seeking these grants, while also helping you find other funding streams for your retrofit projects! GSS will be with you every step of the way to help guarantee that your sustainability/energy retrofit project will be a success.
With the help of these retrofits, your faith building will become energy-efficient, sustainable, and a comfortable place for your whole neighbourhood!
EBP Success Stories
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The Carleton Memorial United Church has started on a number of energy retrofits, and has since hired a property manager to help with repairs to make the building greener & more energy efficient. They have switched to LED lighting and replaced windows & doors to improve the air sealing of the building. Their goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030!
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With the guidance of GSS and the Energy Benchmarking Program, they were able to perform a Do-It-Yourself energy audit & to do some fixes themselves with the help of volunteers. This included fixing a leaky toilet, getting sealants on their doors and film on their windows, and replacing their water tank.
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After enrolling in the EBP, The Ottawa Bahá’í Centre implemented a number of energy saving retrofits. They changed all their compact fluorescent lighting to LED lighting, including their exterior sign. They also replaced their gas water-heater tank with a tankless electric water-heating system. They hope to replace their HVAC system, and possibly to install solar panels in the future. We will continue implementing energy retrofits & investing in Ottawa’s faith communities’ capacity for environmental stewardship and leadership.