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CFAA RHC 2017 –WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

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VOL.10 NO.2 • MAY/JUNE 2017

rentalhousingbusiness.ca

FORT McMURRAy:ONE YEAR LATER

Skyline GROUP OF COMPAnieS:CHANGING THE INDUSTRY’S CARBON FOOTPRINT

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How many Skylines does

industry’s car

rentalhousingbusiness.ca | 13

it take to change the

bon footprint?

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BackgroundThe Skyline Group of Companies, based in Guelph, Ontario, owns and manages nearly200 multi-family rental properties across Canada. It focuses on acquiring its buildings in thecountry’s secondary and tertiary communities.

Skyline’s approach to property management has always involved looking for efficientand environmentally sustainable ways to add value to its properties and improve thetenant experience. For example, in previous years, the company had retrofitted itsbuildings with more than 100,000 CFL light bulbs. At the time, these bulbs were muchmore energy efficient than the older incandescent bulbs that were in the buildings,and the retrofit ultimately helped to reduce Skyline’s energy usage and costs.

“It may go without saying, but innovation neverstops,” said Roy Jason Ashdown, Co-Founderand Chief Operating Officer, Skyline Group ofCompanies. “Sustainability is a journey, ratherthan a destination. We know that we’ll neverget to a place where we have done enoughand we can stop investing in new technology.”

Given that energy costs are on the rise, homeowners, landlords and sub-metered renters are all looking for ways to reduce their energy usage. Replacingolder incandescent and CFL light bulbs and fixtures with LED equivalents is one

of the easiest ways to lower your energy bills. Thanks to the Independent ElectricitySystem Operator (IESO), landlords can take advantage of incentives and rebates toreduce the costs of making energy-efficient upgrades to their buildings.

All rental property owners and managers can reduce their carbon footprint and lowertheir energy bills by following the lead of the Skyline Group of Companies on a muchsmaller scale. The 18-year-old real estate management company has turned an easysolution—like replacing light bulbs—into a significant investment in energy efficiencyby installing more than 330,000 LED light bulbs in its multi-family buildings, whichwasn’t that easy. In addition to reducing its carbon footprint and energy bill, Skylineis investing in renewables on a much larger scale (see sidebar on Anvil Crawler),which is turning heads in the rental housing industry and beyond.

The Illumination ProjectOrchestration for the Illumination Project began in late2016. At that time, the cost of LED bulbs had droppedenough to make the retrofit’s projected ROI attractiveenough to move forward. Skyline prepared to moveahead and launch the project in early 2017, with thegoal of replacing more than 330,000 light bulbs withinsix months. The Illumination Project was expected tocost approximately $2 million, and save more than 10million kWh per year (which is the equivalent ofpowering 913 single-family homes).

The Illumination Project requireda lot of upfront planning, as itinvolved installing LEDs inmore than 180 buildings and16,764 suites. Skyline had toinvolve employees throughoutits entire organization—morethan 500 staff—to make sure

everything went according to plan. The companysought shipping and storage solutions for the newLED bulbs, and facilitated safe recycling for the oldbulbs. It also provided training for its hundreds ofbuilding staff, which helped to ensure that the proj-ect ran as smoothly as possible.

“In the case of the approximately 3,000 Skylineapartment suites that are sub-metered, the LEDretrofit is solely benefiting the tenants, sincetheir units will be outfitted with the new bulbsas well at no cost to them,” said Ashdown. “Put simply,these 3,000 families will see their hydro bills reduced eachmonth for free. This is a $150,000 act of goodwill andgreen stewardship that we’re pleased to implement.”

“Across all the corners of our company, our‘Skyliners’ have worked diligently to make theproject a success,” said Ashdown. “We dependedon their hard work and enthusiasm to get thejob done.”

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Skyline’s Illumination Project is a large-scale initiativethat will produce significant monetary savings andgreatly reduce the company’s environmental impact.However, this project is just one aspect of its sustainablepractices, which go beyond surfacing value in its rentalproperties. In late 2015, Skyline launched Anvil Crawler Development

Corp., a green energy company, for the purpose of investingin renewables on an even larger scale. Anvil Crawler hasdeveloped and installed several energy production andconservation products, including 19 250-kW solar barnsacross Ontario, a fleet of micro-Combined Heat andPower (CHP) systems, and the Anvil Power House, aportable and scalable solar energy facility. The PowerHouse has a solar roof, internal battery storage systemand Wi-Fi capabilities, and its interior space can be custom-outfitted to serve as many different types of shelters – froma fully-heated office space in a remote mining area innorthern Canada to a fully-powered family home on theAfrican plains. Applications for Anvil Crawler include the rental housing

industry. The company is currently developing hybridsolutions that can assist landlords with peak shaving.The solutions might include a combination of solar power,micro CHP, wind power and battery storage, so landlordscan actively combat over-peak demand charges.Skyline has completed 16 micro-CHP installs in several

regions across Ontario. It has also completed applicationsfor 200 additional properties. CHP (or co-generation)supplies hydro to buildings through efficient natural gasgenerators, and uses the by-product of hot water toprovide heat for buildings, which virtually eliminateswasted energy from the process. One CHP system cansupply up to 90 per cent of a property’s hydro needs.“Skyline has taken the industry lead when it comes to

energy management in its portfolio of buildings throughimplementing measures that lead to long-term sustainablebenefits,” says Peter Ormond, Energy Manager, AlectraUtilities. “This clear leadership provides a benchmarkthat will motivate other landlords and facilities to followSkyline’s example.”Although micro-CHP technology has been popular in

Europe for decades, it is relatively new to Canada. Gettingbuy-in from hydro companies has been a challenge. Horizon

Utilities (now Alectra Utilities) saw major potential in theenergy-saving capabilities of CHP, and assisted Skylinewith its first prototype sites in St. Catharines. In additionto its first installs, Skyline has CHP systems at severalproperties in Niagara Falls, Chatham and Guelph. Alectrarecently presented Skyline with an Innovation Award torecognize the numerous ways in which it has improvedits energy savings and sustainability in its St. Catharines-Niagara properties. “This award is usually reserved for larger industries;

however, it puts Skyline on the map to lead the chargewhen it comes to energy management in the rentalhousing business,” says Ormond. “Skyline has followeda successful formula to first reduce their load throughdeep energy conservation measures, and then to gobeyond by producing their own energy through combinedheat and power systems.”

Anvil Crawler Development Corp.

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London Hydro took the lead in coordinatingprocedures with the other Ontario LDCs. Italso removed many barriers to participation,and handled the applications for programson Skyline’s behalf. The utility did a lot of thelegwork behind the scenes, which ensuredthat the LED installation work ran assmoothly as possible.

As a result, London Hydro is helping morethan two dozen LDCs across Ontario tomeet their annual CDM targets, whilealso helping more than 35,000 peopleacross Canada to become greener withno more effort than allowing their bulbsto be switched.

Partnership with London HydroThe Illumination Project also had a vastgeographic scope. Skyline owns propertieswithin the regions of 27 different local utilitydistribution companies (LDCs). Trying tomanage so many different relationships onsuch a large project could have resulted insome major stalls. With this in mind, Skylinetook the opportunity to partner with LondonHydro for the Illumination Project. Thepartnership ensured that the projectmoved forward and avoided as much redtape as possible.

Incentives and rebatesOver its many years of following environmentally friendly practices, Skyline has learned that it can applyfor energy rebates and incentives to help make its retrofits more affordable. It should be noted that theserebates are not only available to landlords, but to homeowners and tenants as well. In fact, LED programsare primarily designed to help small landlords and homeowners. The Independent Electricity System Operator(IESO) provides incentives on many different types of LED retrofits – whether that involves changing one lightbulb or 330,000 of them.

ConclusionSkyline’s Illumination Project is a large undertaking with significant financial and environmental benefits.It’s also part of an award-winning, multi-faceted investment in renewables, which will have a long-termimpact on the company’s carbon footprint and the rental housing industry. Its strategies can be replicatedon a much smaller scale – even installing LED light bulbs can have tangible results. The first step for landlordsis to look at their bills, and determine what is currently available in the marketplace. By implementing greentechnologies in their buildings, landlords will not only reduce their carbon footprint and attract moreenvironmentally conscious tenants, they will take a crucial step toward elevating the rental housingindustry.

“From 6-plexes to 600-plexes, all rental buildings are valued on income – regardless of the project’s scale,the value of the property will improve,” said Ashdown. “It’s important to embrace technology, to invest ininnovation, and to take advantage of what’s available now.”∎

“We’re proud to be Skyline’s primary partner in thisendeavour,” said Hans Schreff, Manager of Conservationand Demand Management, London Hydro. “We’vehad a multi-year business relationship with Skylineand our partnership is paying off for everyone.”

“There are multiple benefits when organizations such asSkyline take advantage of the IESO’s Save on Energyincentive programs for projects like this,” says TerryYoung, Vice-President, Conservation and CorporateRelations for the Independent Electricity System Operator(IESO). “It helps tenants manage electricity use andreduce costs, and it helps the electricity system overallto reduce demand. We commend Skyline for taking onthe project.”

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