When the entire community gets involved, every individual act towards saving the environment makes a huge difference. That’s why a number of cities in Quebec are choosing more energy-saving or ecological solutions as part of their management practices and are encouraging their residents to do the same thing at home. Here are a few inspiring initiatives you’ll definitely want to imitate!
1. Varennes: Rénovation Écogestes program
Varennes is offering a subsidy program called Rénovation Écogestes to reward its residents who perform eco-friendly renovations. Solar panels, rainwater management, installing an outdoor clothesline… and joining Hilo! The City is reimbursing residents 50% of the cost of their smart home bundle. What could be a better way of making a solid contribution to accelerating Quebec’s clean energy transition?
2. Landrienne: Sustainable street lights
What about energy management that also lets you see the stars at night? That was the challenge taken on by Landrienne. To replace its energy-intensive street lights, this municipality in Abitibi went with light-emitting diodes, also known as LED lights. Not only is Landrienne saving money on its maintenance costs, but the equipment it installed is “dark sky certified,” which means the directional LED lights reduce light pollution as much as possible, thereby allowing the moon and stars to appear brighter in the night sky. A gesture that’s not just greener, but also blacker!
3. Dorval: Home charging stations
Most people are already familiar with the Quebec government’s “Roulez vert” program, which offers subsidies for installing home chargers for electric vehicles. But did you know there are a number of municipalities offering cash grants for such installations in addition to the provincial program? Among the more generous of those cities is Dorval, which was also the first municipality on the Island of Montreal to offer such a subsidy. With the coming end of the sale of gas-powered vehicles in Quebec in 2035, now’s the time to start considering your options!
Further information about the Dorval program
4. Gatineau: Green roofs
In 2020, the City of Gatineau made a rather original change to its zoning regulations: Buildings within the municipality with an area greater than 21,528 square feet must now have a portion of their roof structures covered with vegetation. In addition to capturing rainwater, cooling the ambient temperature and generating savings on air conditioning, green roofs in Gatineau are also being turned into patios and vegetable patches. It’s an excellent way of fighting against heat islands while taking local action for the good of the planet.
5. L’Assomption: Eco-friendly lawn mowing
Close to 70% of Quebecers’ lawnmowers are gas-powered, which creates a lot of greenhouse gas just for the sake of having a nice lawn. So what did the municipality of L’Assomption do? Reduce the number of lawnmowers that emit GHG within its territory while also encouraging the purchase of new electric or manual lawnmowers. In addition to not creating any pollution, electric and manual lawnmowers reduce noise pollution as well as smog. This makes L’Assomption’s lawns a lot greener!
6. Trois-Rivières: Electrifying municipal vehicles
To reduce the amount of GHG produced by its vehicles, the City of Trois-Rivières launched an electric vehicle pilot project. With the help of Ingenext, a proudly local company, it converted one of its delivery trucks to electricity. Within three months, the municipality estimated its savings at over three metric tons of CO2, plus it was able to collect data that will enable it to one day electrify its entire fleet of vehicles.
Find any of these initiatives interesting?
Get in touch with your municipality to see whether such an initiative is available or, if not, how a similar project could be launched where you live. Every eco-friendly or energy-saving gesture contributes to creating a greener future. When every person lends a hand, all of Quebec benefits!
Saving money and energy with Hilo!
The Hilo smart home service earns you money in two ways: by helping you reduce your electricity bill and by providing cash rewards for successfully participating in Hilo challenges. Learn more about how your smart home can help you save.