David Melhem, Rina D’Alimonte, Mohammad Usman, Danny Castellan, Colin McLellan, Abe AbbaniThe University received an incentive cheque of $63,700 from Enbridge Gas. On hand outside the campus Energy Conversion Centre were co-op student David Melhem, Enbridge senior advisor on energy conservation Rina D’Alimonte, UWindsor energy manager Mohammad Usman, facility planning manager Danny Castellan, associate director for capital projects Colin McLellan, and co-op student Abe Abbani.

Improvements to energy efficiency earn rewards

The University received $63,700 from Enbridge Gas as an investment in its efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the transition to a greener future.

The incentives under the Commercial Energy Efficiency program supported seven projects completed in 2021, saving an estimated 540,000 cubic metres of natural gas per year — enough to power about 132 homes.

These include a condensate return system that collects heated water and re-uses it within the steam system, a project reducing the volume of air flow requiring heat, an upgrade to the roof of the law building, pipe insulation throughout the campus, the addition of steam meters, a steam trap study, and the repair of steam traps.

“The University’s Energy Management Program has been very successful over the last 35 years,” says Danny Castellan, manager of facility planning, renovations, and construction in Facility Services. “The University has been very proactive in allocating funds to reduce energy consumption and has saved several million of dollars.”

Sarah Van Der Paelt, director of marketing and energy conservation for Enbridge Gas, notes the company works with customers to ensure they are as efficient as possible with their energy usage.

“The combination of innovation, collaboration, and conservation efforts has proven a successful strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today as we move to a clean energy future,” she says.