Nearly two years after piloting an electric vehicle project at a local apartment complex, Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) and Hydro Ottawa have unveiled a plan to even further reduce carbon emissions.
On Wednesday, the two agencies announced what they described as several “innovative” energy-saving projects they’ve been working on.
They said they’ve installed 37 solar arrays — groups of solar panels — at all of their new developments and at some older buildings. The arrays have the capacity to generate half a million kilowatt hours, they said.
Their next plan is to install 260 heat pumps and about two dozen more “building automation systems” throughout their buildings.
Those systems will do things like dim lights when a hallway is empty, for example.
“It’s all about decarbonization,” said Bryce Conrad, Hydro Ottawa’s CEO. “It’s about making the experience of living in these OCH communities better.”
As the city’s largest social housing provider, OCH offers approximately 15,000 homes to over 32,000 tenants city-wide, to people from every demographic.
The new additions will lower hydro bills for the owners, Conrad said, and those savings will eventually be passed on to tenants.
“It’s a real win-win-win,” he said.
These projects will be added to buildings on a case-by-case basis, and Conrad says the plan is to start rolling out the heat pumps in the coming months.
He says that as OCH continues to grow and develop more sites, Hydro Ottawa will continue to help them be energy- efficient.
These projects are helping OCH toward their long-term goal of reducing emissions by 96 per cent by 2040, a target that was set by the City of Ottawa.
“They’re putting their money where their mouth is,” Conrad says.
Electric car-share program a success, says OCH
Another one of their joint projects was the development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
In September 2022, the two agencies, along with other stakeholders, announced the first fully electric car-sharing program at an affordable housing facility in Ontario.
People living at 811 Gladstone Ave. in the Mosaïq complex were given access to a Communauto car located in their parking lot that they could use at a discounted rate.
It was geared toward OCH residents to give them an affordable transportation option, although other Communauto members can still use it.
Since its launch, 255 users have collectively traveled nearly 35,000 kilometres, a sign the project has been “extremely successful,” said OCH senior manager Dan Dicaire.
“We are now looking to expand that at our new developments as well as within our existing communities,” he added.
Another car will be added to one of their buildings near Rothwell Heights by the end of this summer, according to OCH.
“At the end of the day we’re trying to deliver great service to our clients … that means delivering affordable, reliable housing and making those buildings energy efficient [and] low-cost to operate,” Dicaire said.
“[That’s] how we guarantee having affordable housing long-term.”