With the recent closure of applications for the future Neighbourhood Climate Action Champions, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable progress each champion made during their journey to bring their climate action ideas to life.

The 2023 Champions led 14 incredible projects designed to inspire their neighbours and reduce community greenhouse gas emissions. Projects included planting pollinator gardens and edible community gardens, creating kid-friendly climate action events, and working with local schools to enhance understanding of environmental issues and create future sustainability champions.

While there is much to say about these remarkable projects, I’d like to highlight the work of two champions in this blog and share some information about the work of our own Facilities Management and Construction Services team here at the City.

Last year, Gavin and Mark both applied to become neighbourhood champions, bringing their passion for home energy efficiency to the fore. Each champion had their own unique approach to educating neighbours about energy efficiency but with a common goal: reducing greenhouse gas emissions through home energy retrofits.

One topic that often emerges when discussing energy efficiency is the power of heat pumps. You may have seen this topic up for discussion on social media or perhaps as a recommendation through home energy audit programs. Due to our cold climate, heating accounts for over 60% of the energy used in the average Canadian home. That means heating is one of the largest energy users and likely one of your highest monthly costs.

While Mark and Gavin both helped their neighbours identify other opportunities to improve energy efficiency such as through electricity and water conservation, making the switch to more energy-efficient heating equipment offers a huge potential to reduce your carbon footprint and your heating costs.

Heating and cooling with a Heat Pump

Air-source heat pumps run off electricity and work just like an air conditioner, but in reverse. They pump the warm air out of the house in the summer and pump warm air into the house in the winter.

Making a switch to a new heating and cooling system is not an easy decision to make. If you are considering this change, some benefits you may want to consider are:

• Efficiency: Air-source heat pumps can produce up to four times more heat for one unit of energy used (400%), compared to a furnace which can only be up to 98% efficient, making them the most efficient heating technology available.  
• Cost: Only a small amount of electricity is needed to power heat pump units, which can result in low energy bills and cost savings over time.
• Lower carbon footprint: By using electricity, which can be generated using renewable energy sources, air-source heat pumps don't emit any direct pollutants and have a notably lower carbon footprint compared to conventional heating systems.

When it comes to climate action, we need active participation from everyone in our community. I have shared some information today about how our neighbourhood climate action champions are working towards a greener community, and how you can get involved by making the switch to a new heating system. These are valuable efforts that will bring us closer to our goal of carbon neutrality by 2040, but I would also like to highlight how our expert Facilities Management and Construction Services (FMCS) team is also contributing to climate action in our community.

The City’s FMCS team manages more than 160 facilities, and part of this work involves seeking opportunities to reduce operational costs and extend the life of assets, all while also reducing energy consumption and emissions. This isn’t an easy job and involves a wide range of tactics with a holistic approach to efficiency. I plan to bring you more information about this work in later blogs, but today, I’d like to highlight the changes we’re making to our own facility heating and cooling systems.

Creating a cozy community centre

Our newest community centre, the Kingston East Community Centre, is a near net-zero facility that runs entirely from a ground source heat pump system to keep the building at a comfortable temperature year-round, without any need for natural gas combustion on-site. In addition, almost all of its energy use is offset by the solar panels mounted on the roof and over the parking lot.

A ground source heat pump system for a commercial facility like the community centre is very similar to an air source heat pump you would install for your home. In this case, instead of taking heat from the air, we transfer it from the ground.

FMCS is aiming to install heat pumps wherever it makes sense in our municipal buildings. With the variety of facilities we have, there are many opportunities to harness low-carbon heating technologies. We are excited to continue working on this challenging transition to a low-carbon future and look forward to sharing more information about our journey.

Have a question for our FMCS team? Send us a note at ChangeForClimate@CityofKingston.ca