Driving down Quinpool Road in Halifax, it’s hard to miss Quinpool Towers. Located adjacent to the Atlantic Superstore and Canadian Tire, this 233-unit apartment building stands tall above the other surrounding properties. And if you look up—waaaay up—you’ll see a row of solar panels lining one roof.
Quinpool Towers is one of four Killam Properties locations that’s benefiting from solar heating, along with Sheradon Place and 21 Plateau Crescent, also in Halifax, and DesBarres House in Charlottetown.
These solar panels are drastically reducing energy expended at these four properties, using the sun’s power to preheat hot water for domestic use. In some cases, during the summer months, the heat generated by the solar panels is enough to provide all the hot water required for the buildings. In total it’s a savings of 10-20 per cent of heating costs annually.
At Quinpool Towers, there are underground geothermal wells adjacent to the property which will eventually be able to store even more hot water than is currently housed in tanks inside the building. Water will be heated to the maximum temperature and stored underground in the geothermal wells, where the ground largely maintains the temperature, and it can be retrieved as required. Throughout the process, water only loses 15 to 20 degrees so preheating is reduced dramatically and energy is preserved.
Killam is constantly looking for new ways to operate in a more eco-friendly manner and the solar water heating system is something that will be monitored going forward in hopes that it will be implemented into other buildings as well.
What allows you to save money on car maintenance costs, Metro Transit fares, auto insurance, gas, and Halifax/Dartmouth bridge tolls, all while reducing emissions?
CarShareHFX!
Killam Properties and CarShareHFX have come together to give Killam residents a fun, convenient way to get around town without owning a car. It will make Halifax a more sustainable, culture-rich city and it will save you money.
With a CarShareHFX Killam membership, Killam residents receive an exclusive 50% off a yearly membership, making trips to the beach, family gatherings and other occasional meetings more convenient. Your membership will not only give you access to the CarShareHFX car located on-site at Quinpool Towers, you can use all of the CarShareHFX fleet located around downtown Halifax and Dartmouth.
CarSharHFX is an affordable, environmental and trendy option that reduces parking needs in Halifax, and gives members more transportation options.
To view all of the CarShareHFX locations click here!!
For more information, call CarShareHFX at 902 406 7439 or email info@carsharehfx.ca, or visit them online at www.carsharehfx.ca
On Saturday, July 25, volunteers from Killam Properties descended upon the historic Halifax Farmer’s Market to spread some awareness about the Green@Heart initiative. We handed out washable, reusable canvas bags to market shoppers and encouraged them to visit the Green@Heart blog.
Also on hand was “Scuba Bill”, who generated some awareness about our 2049 awareness campaign. Very visible in his scuba gear, Bill did a great job of promoting 2049 and the effects of global warming on Atlantic Canada. The market was a perfect place for him to approach people since Lower Water Street in Halifax will no doubt be affected by rising water levels, as it’s very close to sea level now.
Thanks to everyone who expressed interest and support during our endeavours! Your help is much appreciated. Keep checking back often for news, links, updates and information on how to live more sustainably and do your part for the environment, while we at Killam try to do the same.
2049.ca is a new push toward a movement to reduce the impact we Atlantic Canadians are making on the environment. It is the beginning of the Green @ Heart movement.
Much of what we call coastline around Atlantic Canada will likely be underwater in the next few decades.
“Nova Scotia is anticipating the high-tide mark on the Atlantic coast will be at least 70 centimetres higher by the next century.”
“More than 80% of the coastlines of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are identified as being moderately to highly sensitive to sea level rise.”
As you can imagine, this is a bit of an issue. We need to dramatically reduce our contribution to the rising sea levels.
Climate change will have real consequences for the provinces we call home. We need to take this to heart, to make concerted efforts to limit the harm we’re doing to the planet.
By hurting the planet we’re hurting ourselves and our homes, and the life with which we share this planet.
Green@Heart is our contribution to all the great work that’s already being done in Atlantic Canada to help people reduce their impact on the climate.
Of course, we don’t know exactly how much higher the water levels will be in 2049. But we do know that things will be a lot worse if we don’t act right now.
This is precisely the sort of thing we need to be planning for now. Well, that we should have been planning for a long time ago.
2049.ca and what you’ve seen around Downtown Halifax is the beginning of this movement, the first push to help people notice how real the effects of a changing climate will be for them and future generations.
We hope you’ll join in and help us all become a little more Green@Heart.
We know what we need to do. There are so many resources available to tell us what we could be doing, what we should be doing. So let’s get more focused on actually doing our part, on acting more green, not just talking about it.
2049.ca is our first awareness campaign about the real effects climate change will have, and we’re hoping it will help us all get a little greener.
Posted by Christina
In March, Killam Properties began installing new Water Saver Kits in the bathrooms of all Quinpool Towers and Quinpool Court units. The new systems include efficient showerheads, water faucet aerators, and toilet tanks. At the same time, an inspection was conducted to detect any leaks and ensure everything was in good working order.
Every time a toilet is flushed, one litre of water is saved, which adds up to huge savings. For example, at Quinpool Towers, there are 233 units-so if everyone in the building flushed at the same time, 233 litres of water would be saved through simply adding an inflatable bladder to each toilet tank. Over time, those savings are huge!
There are ways you can replicate the effort at home without changing the way your toilet operates. Try placing a 1L bottle in your toilet tank, or purchase a water saver kit from a hardware store. By adding a brick to your tank you'll save about one litre of water per flush. Think about how many times you flush each day-that's a lot of water.
Quinpool Towers and Quinpool Court are the first Killam residential properties to implement these water-saving measures.
Posted by Nick
Everywhere you look, you see or hear evidence of people living green. More and more, it's becoming apparent that the human race has to change the way we live: at home, at work, while commuting, while making purchases.
At Killam Properties, we're trying to live more "greenly", too. We're making changes, both small and large, to try and be a little cleaner, a little greener...to do our part to help sustain and preserve the environment and our natural resources. We're striving to cut waste, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and lower our consumption at all our properties.
It's been a learning experience. Some changes are easy to make, like flicking off the light switch when a room isn't being used, or shutting off the water while brushing your teeth. Others-like implementing solar panels on our apartment buildings or getting tenants on board with a composting program-are more of a challenge. We are far from perfect and there's lots of room to improve, learn, and grow.
This blog will chronicle our efforts, what works, what doesn't work so well, and the people who are making it happen.
However, what we are doing is trying-and we're making an impact, little by little. It's something we're going to keep working at going forward.
So what is the Green @ Heart Movement? It's our way of sharing what we're doing with the world. It's a way of spreading awareness about things you can do to live more sustainably at home, at work, and elsewhere. It's saying you care about the environment and about making changes to ensure you're doing what you can to sustain and protect the earth.
We all know that we need to make changes to protect our planet and everybody's got to start somewhere!
Follow us at greenatheart.ca to see how we're doing. We welcome any feedback and questions.
Posted by Nick
Nick Harris is originally from the Fredericton area and has worked at Killam Properties since June 2006.
As a founding member of Killam's "green team", his goal is to help discover and implement simple solutions that lessen the company's ecological footprint.
Christina Payson has worked at Killam Properties since November 2005; she was born and raised in HRM and is committed to keeping it a beautiful place to live for generations to come.
As a member of Killam’s ‘green team’ she has been given the opportunity to make a difference on more than just a personal level and is excited to see what can be accomplished if we come together as a company and a community.
