buildings

Hybrid heat pumps can be a stopgap to an electric future

2/2022 - New case studies show the promise of hybrid heat pumps in the GTHA, and Erik Jansen of TRCA explores the upsides and downsides of the technology.

Toronto sets ambitious net zero target by 2040

11/2021 - TAF outlines some key components of the TransformTO Net Zero Strategy and provides our take on how it needs to be strengthened to achieve net zero by 2040.

How To Heat Your Home Without Heating The Planet

11/2021 - CHATELAINE - CEO Julia Langer discusses practical and inspiring reasons to make the switch to heat pumps. "It's not that complicated - you don’t need fossil fuels to heat your home."

Putting out the fire: How to cleanly heat a cold country that’s hooked on natural gas

11/2021 - CORPORATE KNIGHTS - Without strong policy signals, utilities continue to invest millions annually in expanding and renewing gas distribution infrastructure, compounding the risk of stranded assets and financial disruptions.

YWCA Hamilton raises the bar to build amazing affordable housing

11/2021 - New YWCA building in Hamilton shows what’s possible when resident health, comfort, and the climate are put first. We interviewed key players from the design and project teams and took a tour of the facilities. Take a peek to find out how they did it.

WoodGreen breaks new ground on social housing with energy-saving project

8/2021 - NOW - WoodGreen commissioned Efficiency Capital to fund, develop, and implement a building retrofit plan, bringing in engineering firms SensorSuite Inc. and Finn Projects to do much-needed capital upgrades to the buildings. The project was funded by Efficiency Capital and The Atmospheric Fund, the City of Toronto’s Better Building Partnerships loans, and WoodGreen’s capital reserves.

Budget 2021 is a healthy dose for the clean economy, but climate measures lack potency

4/2021 - Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland just announced $101.4 billion in new spending. With the trend toward increasing emissions in the Great Toronto and Hamilton Area and other cities across Canada, there are welcome investments in Budget 2021 to support urban climate action, but a critical missing link is missing.

Four ways the federal budget should boost the retrofit market

2/2021 - With Canada’s 2021 budget just around the corner, cue TAF’s refrain that investment in deep retrofits will hit the mark local job creation, carbon reduction, and numerous positive social outcomes.

Will Whitby approve a green development standard? Here’s why it matters

7/2020 - Whitby declared a climate emergency almost exactly one year ago; this fall’s decision on the WGS will be the first litmus test of the Town’s commitment.

Removing the upfront cost of retrofits

5/2019 - TAF and Efficiency Capital are making it easy for building owners to improve a building's energy efficiency without spending any money upfront.

Scaling and focusing for greatest impact

4/2019 - As a learning organization, TAF regularly reviews its progress, learns from failures and successes, and considers how the outside world affects us. We recently undertook this process in order to update our strategic plan for the 2019-2022 period.

Boiler Replacement that Achieves up to 136% Gas Heating Efficiency

4/2019 - To generate substantial reductions for both cost and carbon you need a technology, and an application, that can save a huge amount of gas. That’s how STEP got interested in gas absorption heat pumps.