A project to measure energy consumption on Canadian military bases such as CFB Halifax could eventually result in savings of tens of millions of dollars.

That’s the hope of the Department of National Defence, which is having “smart” energy meters installed at 46 buildings across the country, including nine at CFB Halifax.

“It’s essentially a sensor, a sophisticated version of what we would have in our own home in terms of measuring the level of energy usage,” said Sarah Evans, the executive director of portfolio innovation within the Department of National Defence.

“It lets us know whether the parts of the building that make up the most energy, which use the most energy, and the parts of the building that are potentially the best opportunity for energy savings.”

DND owns 20,000 buildings across the country, which makes it the biggest property owner of any federal government department.

The 46 selected buildings were picked so representative baseline data on energy consumption can be gathered in different types of structures and the military can later choose the proper types of energy-saving measures to roll out on all military bases and air force wings.

“Based on the data that we gather, we can then save money as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Evans said.

Evans said the selected buildings are of middle age: not old enough to be on the schedule for demolition, and not the newest buildings, which the military already requires to be built to a more efficient standard.

“These buildings are the Goldilocks sweet spot where we’re going to be able to do energy saving investments in order to improve,” she said.

Once the data is analyzed the military could choose from a variety of upgrades, some of which are already happening across the country.

Keep reading on CBC News

 

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