With the heating season almost at a close, it’s a good time to take stock of your home’s energy use. How much electricity did you use over the winter? What about natural gas, propane, or fuel oil? Do you know how much greenhouse gas your home emitted this winter?

A new community greenhouse gas emissions inventory was recently completed by staff at the City of Peterborough. This inventory gives a more elaborate picture of what actions we must do as a community to meet our climate targets.

As of 2021, our homes have contributed to 23 per cent of Peterborough-Nogojiwanong’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Our homes account for 114,779 metric tons of CO2 annually. Locally, only on-road transportation emits more.

Emissions from the residential sector have decreased by about 12,500 metric tons from 2011 levels, but residential emissions still need to go down by about 45,000 additional metric tons of CO2 to meet the 2030 climate target. This means a reduction of over two metric tons of CO2 for every single detached or semi-detached home in Peterborough.

The good news is that there is a tremendous opportunity for homeowners to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In our area, 82 per cent of homes were built over 30 years ago, when there were less stringent building codes. Simple retrofits like topping up attic insulation can reduce a home’s emissions by 10 per cent or more.

However, to meet these ambitious targets, we’ll need to do more than what simple retrofits can offer. Most homes in Peterborough emit between five and eight metric tons of CO2 annually, depending on age, insulation levels, and heating type.

To meet our targets, many homes will need to conduct deep retrofits. A deep retrofit will reduce energy use by 50 per cent or more.

“The latest community greenhouse gas inventory revealed the extent of emissions produced by housing in Peterborough,” says Peterborough city councillor Joy Lachica, chair of the city’s environment and climate change portfolio. “Deep energy retrofits are needed to lower the energy demand of homes.”

Deep retrofits consist of three elements: improving the building envelope, updating mechanical systems, and adding renewable energy.

“As a homeowner, a deep energy retrofit can improve the comfort, durability, and indoor health of your home, while lowering maintenance and monthly utility costs,” says Eric Ta, energy coordinator at Green Communities Canada, a national non-profit working to expand deep retrofits in Canada. “Deep energy retrofits will increase the overall future value of your home.”

A deep retrofit first focuses on improving the building envelope. This means adding insulation to attics as well as to walls, sloped ceilings, and basements. Improving the envelope also means making the home more airtight, so that less warm air is leaking to the outside in winter. To do this, you repair or replace windows, weatherstrip doors, and seal up cracks and holes in the building.

Alex Joseph, senior manager of deep energy retrofits with Green Communities Canada, explains the next two steps of a deep retrofit.

“Once your building envelope is airtight and insulated, then the mechanical system can be upgraded. The added benefit is that these systems can be smaller due to the reduced heating and cooling load. Consider adding solar to your roof or yard where space exists. Solar systems are modular and can be added in stages and installed and connected as funding permits.”

Electric air-source heat pumps are a popular choice for many homeowners that wish to upgrade their mechanical systems. A heat pump can drastically reduce a home’s emissions from heating and cooling and is the most efficient choice for heating your water.

If you’re thinking about undertaking a deep retrofit on your home, there are supports available.

The Home Efficiency Rebate Plus program offers grants up to $10,000 for Enbridge customers (up to $5,000 for non-Enbridge customers) to install measures such as insulation, air sealing, heat pumps, and solar panels. The federal government’s Canada Greener Homes Loan offers a $40,000 interest-free loan to further assist with upgrades.

In addition, the City of Peterborough is in the process of developing the Home Energy Efficiency Program, which will provide additional low-interest loans to support deep retrofits.

GreenUP believes that these programs, and the homeowners who choose to undertake deep retrofits, are exactly the type of leadership we need to reduce our residential emissions.

“The Home Energy Efficiency Program will help guide homeowners through the renovation journey and direct them to select third-party financing or property tax repayment methods to fund the retrofit,” Lachicha says.

“Once launched, the program can support many Peterborough homeowners to access capital to undertake extensive energy renovations that will lower utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions.”

To be eligible for any of these programs, the first step is to book an EnerGuide home energy assessment with GreenUP. A registered energy advisor will assess your home’s energy use, perform a blower door test, and provide recommendations for how best to upgrade your home to reduce energy and emissions.

Over the next several months, GreenUP will be covering the elements of deep retrofits in greater detail online, over the news, and with engaging webinars.

Learn more about the need for deep retrofits in the Peterborough-Nogojiwanong area at GreenUP’s upcoming “Your Home, Made Energy Efficient – Deep Retrofits” webinar from 12:15 to 1 p.m. on Friday, May 12th.

With Mental Health Week (May 1 to 7) underway, Kawartha Conservation has announced a new feature at Ken Reid Conservation Area in Lindsay intended to help people deal with the grief of losing a loved one.

As part of the non-profit organization’s ongoing efforts to promote mental health awareness and to provide a space for visitors to connect with nature, Kawartha Conservation is installing two ‘wind phones’ on the Dragon Fly Trail and along the Point Loop.

The concept behind the wind phone, a disconnected telephone allowing people to have one-way conversations with loved ones who have passed away, began in Otsuchi, Japan in 2010 after garden designer Itaru Sasaki learned his cousin had terminal cancer with three months to live.

When his cousin died, Sasaki set up an old telephone booth with a disconnected rotary dial phone in his garden so he could continue to feel connected to his cousin by “talking” to him on the phone. He called the telephone kaze no denwa (Japanese for “phone of the wind”).

“Because my thoughts couldn’t be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind,” Sasaki explained in an interview on Japanese television.

After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake caused a tsunami that killed more than 15,500 people, including over 1,200 people in Otsuchi, Sasaki opened his wind phone to the public so visitors could speak with their loved ones who had died in the disaster. Since then, more than 30,000 people have visited the wind phone and other wind phones have been installed around the world, including in Europe, the U.S., and Canada. The wind phone has also inspired books and films.

VIDEO: The phone booth that allows you to call lost relatives

The two wind phones at Ken Reid Conservation Area will be available for use year-round during regular park hours.

“We recognize the importance of mental health and the healing power of nature,” says Kristie Virgoe, Kawartha Conservation’s director of stewardship and conservation land, in a media release. “The wind phones provide a unique opportunity for visitors to connect with the natural world, reflect on their thoughts and feelings, and find solace in the wind.”

Jack Veitch, manager of community engagement and education for the Canadian Mental Health Association, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge, says the association is “delighted” to see wind phones introduced at Ken Reid Conservation Area.

“Connecting with nature has been shown to have a positive impact on mental health, and the wind phones offer a unique way to do so,” Vietch says. “We commend Kawartha Conservation for their commitment to promoting mental health and wellness.”

In addition to the wind phones, Kawartha Conservation offers monthly forest therapy sessions at Ken Reid Conservation Area led by Virgoe, who is also a certified forest therapy guide. Studies have found that being in nature reduces stress and improves mood as well as cognitive function.

For more information about Kawartha Conservation, including upcoming forest therapy events at Ken Reid Conservation Area, visit www.kawarthaconservation.com.

VIDEO: Wind phone helps those who are grieving

Almost a year after the derecho wind storm resulted in wide-spread devastation, the Ganaraska Forest is open effective Monday (May 1) for all non-motorized and motorized uses with a valid membership or day pass.

Managed by the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA), the Ganaraska Forest is southern Ontario’s largest forest at 11,000 acres (4,452 hectares), straddling Northumberland and Peterborough counties, Kawartha Lakes, and Durham Region.

The forest offers hundreds of kilometres of trails for year-round activities including hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and nature appreciation. Treetop Trekking Ganaraska independently operates an aerial games course in the central forest.

“The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority is happy to welcome users back into the Ganaraska Forest,” says GRCA chair Mark Lovshin in a media release. “Damage to trails from the derecho wind storm have been addressed by staff, contractors, and volunteers.”

The May 21, 2022 derecho storm, described as the largest natural disaster to ever impact the forest, resulted in over 250 hectares (600 acres) of tree blowdown throughout the forest and significant trail impact from downed trees and hazard trees. The forest reopened last September for restricted use only, with limited trail access for users with memberships.

To help trail users navigate the forest, GRCA has developed an interactive online mapping system where users can find their location in the forest by using a locator tool. The online map also displays any trail restrictions or closures in real time.

Day passes are available at the gatehouse kiosk at the Ganaraska Forest Centre (10585 Cold Springs Camp Road, Campbellcroft). Day passes and memberships can also be purchased online at store.ganaraskaconservation.ca. Memberships purchased made between June 1, 2021 and May 21, 2022 have received a one-year extension.

GRCA reminds all users to stay on mapped trails, respect trail restrictions, carry your day pass or membership with you, and ensure you have the proper documentation with you and affixed to your motorized recreational vehicles. To report trail blockages, email volunteer@grca.on.ca with the location and a picture of the blockage.

For more information about the Ganaraska Forest and to review the forest rules and guidelines, visit www.grca.on.ca.