Green Thinking

Humorous Outlook of Killam's Green Initiatives


CarShareHFX

What allows you to save money on car maintenance costs, Metro Transit fares, auto insurance, gas, and Halifax/Dartmouth bridge tolls, all while reducing emissions? CarShareHFX does!

Killam Properties and CarShareHFX have come together to give Killam residents a fun, convenient way to get around town without owning a car. It will make Halifax a more sustainable, culture-rich city and it will save you money.

With a CarShareHFX Killam membership, Killam residents receive an exclusive 50% off a yearly membership, making trips to the beach, family gatherings and other occasional meetings more convenient. Your membership will not only give you access to the CarShareHFX car located on-site at Quinpool Towers, you can use all of the CarShareHFX fleet located around downtown Halifax and Dartmouth.

To view CarShareHFX locations click here!!

For more information, call CarShareHFX at 902-406-7439 or email info@carsharefhx.ca, or visit them online at http://www.carsharehfx.ca/


Renewable Energy Wind Turbines

 

Killam has recently installed a 50 kilowatt wind turbine at Mountainview Estates MHC in Lake Echo, Nova Scotia. This is Killam's second wind turbine installation and it is expected to produce up to 125,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The electricity produced will help power the community's water treatment plant. Generating electricity with the wind turbine will reduce usage from the electrical grid, helping to protect Killam from rising electricity costs while reducing the company's consumption of fossil fuels and its carbon footprint. 


Increasing the Use of Solar Power

Killam has benefited from the use of solar power at Quinpool Towers and Sheradon Place in Halifax, and DesBarres House in Charlottetown for a number of years. Killam recently installed its fifth solar hot water heating system at 59 Glenforest Drive, a 112 unit building located in Halifax. By putting solar panels on the roof of a building the sun's energy is used to preheat hot water for domestic use, such as showers and laundry. In some cases, this can provide all of the hot water that is needed during the summer months, resulting in savings of 10% to 20% on annual heating costs.

View the performance of our current solar panel buildings, Quinpool Road, 21 Plateau and 59 Glenforest.


Reducing Heating Costs with Outdoor Controllers

As part of our continuing goal to reduce heating consumption we have installed outside boiler controllers to the majority of our buildings in Halifax and Saint John. By installing these controllers we expect to see a 10% reduction in our fuel usage per property. The outdoor temperature reset controller works by continuously adjusting the boiler temperature to match current outdoor conditions; lowering the boiler temperature as temperatures rise outside, leading to reduced fuel consumption. These controls save the most energy during the spring and fall when the temperature can fluctuate significantly one day to the next. With positive inductions on the effectiveness of these controls we have plans to install outside boiler controls to the rest of the portfolio in 2009.

 

Reducing Water Consumption

Killam is investing in initiatives to decrease water consumption at its properties, which represented a $4.0 million expense in 2008. The primary initiative is the roll out of water saving kits to our apartment and MHC tenants. Each kit contains a 1.75 gallon per minute showerhead, a kitchen and bathroom faucet aerator, a toilet float bag, and toilet leak detection tablets. Currently in the initial trial phase, we plan to roll this program out across the portfolio. By installing these kits we expect to save up to 30% on water consumption and 10% on our heat consumption when compared to regular fixtures. Quinpool Towers and Quinpool Court are the first Killam residential properties to implement these water-saving measures.