House of Rose Winery will receive $25,000 to help complete an energy efficiency project as part of the LiveSmart Small Business Champion program.
The provincial government is providing a total of $269,415 to 13 small businesses across B.C. to help complete energy efficiency upgrades.
Like many wineries, House of Rose Winery is a large energy-user for several reasons:
There is significant use of hot water to sterilize and clean tanks, the bottling line and all other equipment.
A constant temperature of between 12 and 15 C year-round is required—requiring heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.
Several pieces of equipment, most drawing a 220-volt current, are used including pumps, destemmers and a bottling line.
The building uses significant energy as it is steel and concrete with a metal roof built in the early 1990s. Energy codes have changed significantly since that period.
House of Rose Winery is undertaking a variety of steps to produce energy savings.
Those steps will include: ·
•Heating upgrade—installing an air source heat pump and efficient fans to distribute the heated or cooled air as well as installing a programmable thermostat to turn down heat in working areas during the evening and weekends.
• Adaptation to solar hot water.
• Insulation improvements to the building envelope.
• Building a separate area for fermentation (to provide a two-tiered temperature control in the winter: 15 C in the fermentation room and 10 C elsewhere).
• Installation of solar tubes over the working areas to add natural light and reduce the light energy requirement.
• Lighting upgrade from older fluorescents to newer lights.
Each project demonstrates innovative energy-efficiency opportunities and/or energy savings of at least 20 per cent above current consumption.
The LiveSmart Small Business Champion applications were evaluated on project feasibility, energy and cost savings, innovation and their benefit and value to other companies and the community.
To help encourage energy efficiency upgrades in the business community, these small business champions will share their project ideas with their local community and businesses, so others can learn from their experience and leadership.
The project participants will also be featured on the LiveSmart BC website for the benefit of other small businesses throughout British Columbia.
“As the owner of a winery, I appreciate the value of these energy efficiency upgrades,” said Westside-Kelowna MLA Ben Stewart, who owns the Quails’ Gate Winery in West Kelowna.
“Not only are they good for the environment, but they also minimize costs. I commend House of Rose Winery for acting as an industry leader as they reduce their carbon footprint.”
The LiveSmart BC Champion Program is a component of the LiveSmart BC: Small Business Program launched in January 2011.
This $17-million program assists business owners in saving money by reducing their energy consumption with free energy-efficiency advice, equipment and incentives.
The funding for this program ends on March 31, 2013.
Small business can receive a free assessment from business energy advisors through business associations and chambers of commerce across the province.
To date, the LiveSmart BC program has helped over 9,000 small businesses to reduce energy costs.
