Building Retrofit Strategy

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Climate Smart, Future Ready

PROJECT UPDATE:

The City is preparing a draft Building Retrofit Strategy, and your input is important. Help us ensure the plan aligns with our community's retrofit goals and the actions will meet the needs of residents.

Join us at our Open House November 28 and take the survey now

  • Attend the Open House November 28, drop-in anytime from 5 to 7pm
    Juan De Fuca 55+ Centre, Room 201 1767 Island Hwy
  • Complete the survey below to provide input about Retrofit Goals, Priorities and Strategies

To help our homes and buildings be climate-ready, the City of Colwood is developing a Building Retrofit Strategy.

We spend most of our time inside buildings – at home, work, school, running errands and spending time with friends and family. Many of these buildings produce more energy and create more greenhouse gas emissions than they need to, which contributes to climate change and increases energy bills. Many of these same buildings are also at risk of the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, wildfires and wildfire smoke, and flooding.

To achieve Colwood’s climate goals of reducing community-wide emissions, building our climate resilience, and ensuring safe and comfortable homes for everyone, we need to increase the rate of building retrofits across the city. This means improving and updating our homes and buildings to become more energy-efficient and climate-friendly.

What are building retrofits?

Building retrofits are activities that help reduce how much energy a building uses and carbon it produces, while increasing its resilience to the impacts of climate change. This includes updating mechanical systems like space and water heating systems, as well as building envelope improvements (such as adding insulation, upgrading windows and doors, and air sealing).

How are building retrofits beneficial?

Aside from reducing emissions, building retrofits can help reduce energy bills, improve our comfort, safeguard our health, and generally improve access to high quality homes and buildings.

What is the Building Retrofit Strategy?

To support the adoption of building retrofits, the City of Colwood is developing a Building Retrofit Strategy. Its purpose is to increase building retrofits in Colwood to help meet targets in reducing emissions while increasing energy efficiency and improving climate resilience (being able to handle and recover from the effects of climate change). The City hopes to speed up this change in a way that benefits as many Colwood residents as possible.

What types of buildings will the strategy look at? The strategy will explore retrofit opportunities for:

  • Residential (for example, houses, apartments)
  • Commercial (for example, office buildings, retail stores)
  • Industrial (for example, buildings for warehousing, manufacturing)

Climate Smart, Future Ready

PROJECT UPDATE:

The City is preparing a draft Building Retrofit Strategy, and your input is important. Help us ensure the plan aligns with our community's retrofit goals and the actions will meet the needs of residents.

Join us at our Open House November 28 and take the survey now

  • Attend the Open House November 28, drop-in anytime from 5 to 7pm
    Juan De Fuca 55+ Centre, Room 201 1767 Island Hwy
  • Complete the survey below to provide input about Retrofit Goals, Priorities and Strategies

To help our homes and buildings be climate-ready, the City of Colwood is developing a Building Retrofit Strategy.

We spend most of our time inside buildings – at home, work, school, running errands and spending time with friends and family. Many of these buildings produce more energy and create more greenhouse gas emissions than they need to, which contributes to climate change and increases energy bills. Many of these same buildings are also at risk of the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, wildfires and wildfire smoke, and flooding.

To achieve Colwood’s climate goals of reducing community-wide emissions, building our climate resilience, and ensuring safe and comfortable homes for everyone, we need to increase the rate of building retrofits across the city. This means improving and updating our homes and buildings to become more energy-efficient and climate-friendly.

What are building retrofits?

Building retrofits are activities that help reduce how much energy a building uses and carbon it produces, while increasing its resilience to the impacts of climate change. This includes updating mechanical systems like space and water heating systems, as well as building envelope improvements (such as adding insulation, upgrading windows and doors, and air sealing).

How are building retrofits beneficial?

Aside from reducing emissions, building retrofits can help reduce energy bills, improve our comfort, safeguard our health, and generally improve access to high quality homes and buildings.

What is the Building Retrofit Strategy?

To support the adoption of building retrofits, the City of Colwood is developing a Building Retrofit Strategy. Its purpose is to increase building retrofits in Colwood to help meet targets in reducing emissions while increasing energy efficiency and improving climate resilience (being able to handle and recover from the effects of climate change). The City hopes to speed up this change in a way that benefits as many Colwood residents as possible.

What types of buildings will the strategy look at? The strategy will explore retrofit opportunities for:

  • Residential (for example, houses, apartments)
  • Commercial (for example, office buildings, retail stores)
  • Industrial (for example, buildings for warehousing, manufacturing)

Your Retrofit Stories

We want to hear your home and/or building retrofit stories. Share them here! 

Got a story of success to inspire others?

  • What was the main goal of your home retrofit project?
  • What benefits have you observed since completing the retrofit?
  • What advice would you give to others considering a home retrofit?

What challenges do you face with retrofits?

  • What has prevented you from doing a retrofit?
  • What questions do you have to get started?
  • Do you have any specific challenges you need help with for your retrofit?
  • Have you received help or support for your retrofit that has made a difference for you?
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  • Share Small Strata success story on Facebook Share Small Strata success story on Twitter Share Small Strata success story on Linkedin Email Small Strata success story link

    Small Strata success story

    by StephanD, 3 months ago

    We are a 5 unit strata in the Latoria area of Colwood. Our retrofit involved a lot of open communication and sharing information among neighbors, compromise and eventually deciding on what worked for each member.


    In order to kick off the process all of our unit holders independently applied for the Canada Greener Homes grant so that we had the option to do any retrofits. We all applied and got in just as the program closed. Next we agreed that the strata would pay for the Energuide audit for each unit with the understanding that the information would be useful... Continue reading

  • Share Getting a Heat Pump on Facebook Share Getting a Heat Pump on Twitter Share Getting a Heat Pump on Linkedin Email Getting a Heat Pump link

    Getting a Heat Pump

    by Anasai42, 4 months ago

    Our townhome is relatively new, is very well insulated, has many energy efficient appliances/windows etc., but it did not have air conditioning. When we moved in during the spring a couple of years ago, we had no idea how hot it would get that summer. It was terrible. On top of minor things like not being able to sleep at night because it was too hot, our elderly dog who had been struggling with heart issues passed away despite our best efforts to keep him cool. We had inquired about getting a heatpump in the spring but our strata had... Continue reading

Page last updated: 20 Nov 2024, 10:13 AM