Easy York building heats up

[attach]5171[/attach]Toronto residents are used to seeing their money being spent in council chambers across the city, but in East York the building housing the former seat of its civic government is actually going to be making money.

This bright economic future is all thanks to the newly installed solar panels on the building’s roof.

The solar panels will produce 37,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, said Jim Kamstra of the city’s Energy and Waste Management office. This electricity will then be sold by the city to the Ontario Power Authority at 71.3 cents per kilowatt-hour.

In addition the solar panels will also be supplying 10 percent of the electricity for the centre and also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 864 tonnes over a 20-year period.

The centre was chosen because of its south-facing roof, which also had the correct slope of 45 degrees, allowing the solar panels optimal access to the sun’s rays.

The solar panels also required substantial anchoring to the roof, which is on top of the former East York council chamber.

“The chamber is still used for tribunals and therefore scheduling work around tribunal meetings was challenging,” said Kamstra.

The decision to install solar panels seems to be a hit with community members says Kamstra.

“Everyone who has commented has been very complimentary,” said Kamstra. “Staff report that many people using the building have commented that they want to see more of this type of work.”