Wednesday, April 16, 2025
The Town of Caledon has been awarded $336,688 from the Government of Canada’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program for the low carbon electric heating retrofits and building automation system expansion project at the Caledon East Community Complex. This initiative will improve energy efficiency, enhance indoor air quality, and contribute to the Town’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
With this funding, the Town will retrofit 14 end-of-life natural gas heaters with electric radiant heaters. In addition to improving indoor air quality, the new electric heaters will provide direct and efficient heating resulting in energy savings and enhanced comfort for facility users.
The Town is also expanding the building automation system (BAS) to service the entire facility. The BAS provides enhanced controls of the building equipment and improved energy management based on real-time conditions. By optimizing operations and equipment runtimes, this system will further reduce energy consumption, operational costs, and emissions.
“This investment represents an important step forward in making our facilities more energy-efficient, reducing our environmental footprint, and enhancing the experience for residents who use our facilities,” said Mayor Annette Groves. “We are continuing to deliver on the ambitious goals set out in our Strategic Plan, one project at a time.”
Using the Government of Canada’s RETScreen Expert energy modeling program, these upgrades are projected to achieve a 30.4 per cent reduction in total building energy consumption – equivalent to saving 944,583 kilowatt hours of electricity – and cut 131 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This reduction is comparable to removing 24 cars and light trucks from the road each year.
“We are committed to investing in sustainable infrastructure that improves the overall functionality of our facilities,” said Domenica D’Amico, Commissioner of Engineering, Public Works and Transportation. “With this funding, we are modernizing the Caledon East Community Complex while contributing to our goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and creating a comfortable and environmentally responsible space for residents to enjoy.”
Featured image: Ruby Sahota, Member of Parliament, Brampton North, and Mayor Annette Groves, Town of Caledon, joined by Members of Council and Caledon staff. (Town of Caledon)
