The City of Saint John launched the public display of the
energy performance dashboard system, which gives citizens a chance to see how
well the efforts to reduce energy use are working.
The initial launch features the energy management program at
the Saint John Transit building, which, in 2011, used 58 percent less energy
than a conventional building of the same size. The goal was for the building to
use 45 percent less energy. The annual energy savings for 2012 is expected to
be over $328,000 or 65 percent less energy.
“Our award-winning Municipal Energy Efficiency Program has
saved the City $1.8 Million annually as of 2011,” says His Worship, Mayor Ivan
Court. “This dashboard will give the public a chance to see how well our
program performs.”
The dashboard, a 42-inch LCD screen, is located in the
Shoppes of City Hall in front of the Visitor Information Centre. The screens
show real time monthly and yearly energy use from conventional (electricity,
natural gas) and renewable (solar and heat exchange) sources. The project is a
partnership with Shift Energy, Inc., a Saint John-based energy management
consultant.
“We have worked with Shift Energy to develop this unique
dashboard to provide the public with real time energy performance of the
building,” explains Samir Yammine, Energy Manager. “Our goal is to make energy
visible to the public and the City staff and to raise energy efficiency
awareness.”
The City will continue to add other energy efficiency
projects to the public view of the dashboard. A web-based version, for viewing
from www.saintjohn.ca, is also under development.
Other ongoing energy management projects around the City include
the Lancaster Lagoon energy management project, which reduced energy costs at
the wastewater treatment plant by $55,000 per year with a $197,000 total
investment in energy efficiency upgrades; the arena retrofit project which
reduced energy costs at the Stu Hurley Arena by 30 percent; and the Market
Square Parking Garage retrofit, which improved visibility in the garage while
saving 129.44 tonnes of CO2 annually.