Calgary, AB,
23
March
2018
|
10:08
America/Denver

City encourages citizens to power down and celebrate Earth Hour

The City of Calgary is participating in Earth Hour this weekend by shutting off lights at City facilities on Saturday, March 24 from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m.

During Earth Hour, The City will turn off all non-essential and feature lighting at:

  • Ad Valorem Place
  • The Calgary Municipal Complex: Historic City Hall, Administration Building, Municipal Building;
  • Calgary Public Building;
  • Manchester Centre Building E;
  • Water Centre;
  • all fire stations;

The City will also be participating in Calgary Unplugged, a family-friendly Earth Hour event this Saturday on St. Patrick’s Island from 7 – 9:30 p.m. City of Calgary educators will be onsite to share information about water usage and other energy-saving tips.

Earth Hour is a global initiative to raise awareness about how limiting our energy use can reduce our impact on the environment. The City works hard to be a leader in environmental stewardship and is committed to reducing energy use in its operations, far beyond Earth Hour. Some recent examples include:

Solar Power: A recent addition to The City’s solar PV project inventory produces enough electricity to power over 100 average Calgary homes and displace an estimated 500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Savings of an average of $90,000/year in electricity costs is anticipated.

Transit station and LED lighting retrofits: In addition to replacing all Calgary’s high-pressure sodium streetlamps with LED fixtures, The City is installing high efficiency LED lighting at Transit stations and facilities. For example, this was completed at the Transit Technology building, yielding approximately 60 percent power saving. Additionally, sensors are installed in the building to turn lights off when occupants leave for a given period. The lights turn back on when movement is detected. This reduces the overall use of lighting for the building with an estimated 30 percent power saving.

The City encourages Calgarians to take simple steps every day to reduce energy use. A list of energy saving tips for homeowners is available at Calgary.ca.

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