On Oct. 29th, 2006, I attended an Environmental Session at Eglinton-< xml="true" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" prefix="st1" namespace="">St George’s United Church. As part of that talk, we, the members of Fairlawn Avenue United Church, were held up as a collective example of leadership in the climate change challenge we are all facing. I was proud and a little squeamish by this in that we haven’t actually implemented anything yet. We are, however, planning big things and that’s what I want to tell you about.

To recap our situation, the heat in our building is not well controlled and this leads to discomfort and waste.  Our boilers are past middle age, and in the warmer weather most program areas are uncomfortable. To address this, in the spring, we did an energy audit and researched various options including a ground source heat pump solution. This latter approach was recommended by the Property Committee to Council and approved in principle in May for further planning. < xml="true" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" namespace=""> 

If you attended the June 4th semi-annual congregational meeting, you heard that this system works on the same principle as a refrigerator and moves heat from the ground into the building. It also provides cooling in the warmer months. Although it is more expensive than conventional heating system to install, we expect a net positive financial benefit over its lifetime. It also reduces our emissions of CO2, a major cause of  Climate Change, by 80 tonnes annually. It is over 300% efficient as it yields three to four times more heat or cooling than the energy used to run the system. 

Since June, we have done a geological reference report to help ensure that the property is suited to this system. We have done a Load study and drawings which specify exactly how much heat and where and how it needs to be delivered. We have additional construction and project management expertise onboard thanks to Shawn Davey.  We have also continued our discussions with vendors and reference sites to learn from others’ experiences. 

We are continuing our work exploring all the questions to fully understand the process, and find the best vendor and contract. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me or another Property Committee member.  

Council has asked the Property Committee to recommend a specific option with firm costs for the project, and is also creating a funding task-force to manage that aspect of the project. 

Although there are many things we each can do, we don’t get that many chances to be part of the solution at this scale, not just part of the cause of Global Warming.  This system reduces our emissions by the equivalent of taking 16 cars off the road every year.  It’s the right thing to do, allows us to lead by example and is the socially responsible solution for a socially responsible congregation. 

Tom Cullen