Improving energy efficiency and climate resiliency at a rural seniors’ home in West Hants (pilot)

The Windsor Elms Village for Continuing Care Society (WEV) is a 10-year-old, not-for-profit senior housing complex in West Hants, Nova Scotia, which is currently home to 108 residents. Rural senior housing facilities like WEV are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as increasing energy costs and power outages. They require reliable power to support on-site medical equipment and therefore currently rely on fuel-based emergency backup generators. WEV wishes to undertake a pilot project to reduce its energy consumption while increasing its climate resiliency. The pilot project will implement a deep energy retrofit at the home, including a large lighting upgrade and changes to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems (humidifier upgrade, smart variable frequency drive pump installation, building automation and recommissioning). It will also include a micro-grid that will allow the facility to be powered by a 100-kW solar system coupled with equivalent storage capacity lithium batteries. During normal operations, the micro-grid will allow the facility to use solar energy, reducing peak demand charges from the local utility. If proven feasible, the project will be replicated in other Nursing Homes of Nova Scotia Association (NHNSA) establishments. To complete the pilot, WEV will do a cost estimate and detailed design for the lighting, HVAC, solar and battery storage installation; implement all upgrades and installations; and train staff before undertaking a year of monitoring. In parallel, WEV will engage with the West Hants community and NHNSA through a series of activities. The results will be documented in a final project report. NHNSA has confirmed its interest in the project and that preliminary estimates of environmental benefits have been made for replication projects. Innovative aspect(s): • There are no other similar installations in the province • The use of solar electric generation and on-site storage coupled with significant upgrade measures is very likely to improve patient comfort and the facility’s resilience to climate change • Specialized equipment will benefit from improvements in frequency and voltage support after outages caused by climate-related events, saving the facility from having to spend money on repurchasing sensitive equipment Replicability: The proposed technology has a wide application for facilities that require climate-resilient infrastructure and who also want to reduce their operating costs. There are over 40 senior care facilities in Nova Scotia alone. WEV is committed to working with the Municipality of West Hants, with Mines and Energy and Efficiency Nova Scotia and with NHNSA to, among other things, increase knowledge-sharing of project findings. Environmental benefits: • Reduce the facility’s energy consumption by 55% • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% • Generate 189,000 kWh of renewable energy Economic benefits: • Increase return on investment (ROI of 11.5%), mainly through lower operational and maintenance costs • Defer or avoid capital expenditure, also through lower operational and maintenance costs • Stimulate the local economy by contracting locally Social benefits: • Increase public education and awareness by organizing visits to the improved facility (Project description from original funding application)