Energy conservation under the Green Energy Act is getting another boost.
As well as the demand management and conservation targets that we mentioned last week, Ontario proposes to amend Regulation 82/95 to bring in stricter energy efficiency standards for an eclectic range of residential and commercial products,
including torchieres, gas-fired unit heaters, wine chillers, windows, residential air conditioning equipment (through the wall split system and single package type, small duct high velocity systems, and space confined systems), commercial clothes washers, oil fired swimming pool heaters, and set top boxes.
The new standards would apply to appliances and energy using products sold or leased in Ontario after January 1, 2011 with exception dates for some products. Standards for some existing products (listed in the Schedule in the current version of O. Reg. 82/95) will be updated. Canadian Standards Association (CSA) provides a useful archive of standards on gas and other fuel-burning equipment, nuclear energy, energy efficiency and renewable standards.
More efficient equipment is expected to improve urban air quality, by displacing electricity generation from fossil fuels. According to Health Canada and the World Health Organization, fossil fuel consumption is associated with a number of health issues, including= links between long-term exposure to sulphur and nitrogen dioxide and reduced functioning of the lungs and symptoms of bronchitis in asthmatic children, respectively.
Jessica Yuan and Dianne Saxe