Count Ontario in for energy conservation

If you were challenged to unplug any unused electronics for the rest of the summer or to only wash full loads of laundry, would you say, “Count me in”? What about installing a ground-source heat pump?

As Ontario gears up for its second province-wide Energy Conservation Week, the Ontario Power Authority is hoping 250,000 Ontarians will step up to the challenge and say “Count me in!” It’s part of an awareness campaign that aims to educate Ontarians about energy conservation and some practical tips to transform awareness into action.

“Electricity is hard to visualize,” says Tim Taylor with the Ontario Power Authority. “It’s not like gasoline where you see it going into the tank. It’s invisible, so we wanted to do something that would make it visible so Ontarians can understand the impact of their own individual use.”

Energy Conservation Week, which runs from May 17 to 23, is just the beginning of a larger four-month initiative to promote action around saving energy.

“Our first year of this initiative was fairly modest. Our surveys results showed that three-quarters of respondents were aware of Energy Conservation Week and that half participated in some way,” explains Taylor adding that the awareness goal of 2008 had been accomplished but that the OPA wanted to make the 2009 initiative one of awareness and action. “As summer is the time that people use the most energy, we decided to use the week as a launching pad for an energy conservation summer that invites Ontarians to fill out a pledge and commit to one or more energy saving techniques.”

So how does it all work? Ontarians are invited to visit the website and fill out the Count Me In Pledge and select one or more of 100 energy saving tips as part of a personalized energy conservation plan. For example, under the ‘Home’ section, Tip # 26 is ‘Hang my clothes outside to dry’. That seems simple enough, but they range in difficulty. Tip # 19 is ‘Landscape for energy savings’ which includes planting coniferous trees on the north side of one’s home to protect from winter winds or to plant deciduous trees to shade the south-facing windows in the summer.

Pledge participants can choose to pick any one or multiple tips that suit their life situation. Tips are also classified according to lifestyle. For example, the ‘parents and caregivers’ section includes simple tips for kids, such as ‘Decide what I want before opening the refrigerator door (Tip # 68). The ‘work’ section includes tips for both employers and employees.

“Lots of people are indicating interest and we believe the goal of getting 250,000 Ontarians to fulfill their pledges is attainable. It represents five per cent of the households in the province,” says Taylor.

The awareness-raising initiative will end with a community-wide challenge that takes Earth Hour to a whole new level. On August 14, which is the anniversary of the 2003 Ontario blackout cited as one of the most widespread electrical blackouts in history, participants will do everything they can to reduce their power use for an entire day.

For Canadians not living in Ontario, making a personal pledge to reduce energy conservation is something everyone should be doing all year around. The 100 tips outlined on the website are also a useful tool for inspiring energy conservation across the country.