Round 2 of City of Sydney’s grants for building owners, managers and tenants in their council area opens June 19.
In the first round of funding, held earlier this year, 15 buildings were recommended for funding. Over the life of the program, funding more than 150 buildings have received funding for energy audits, water assessments, and metering equipment. And there have been some notable success stories.
The Amora Hotel (pictured) received $9,000 for NABERS rating and an action plan. It upgraded its chiller plant, replaced the building management system, and added smart sensors to exhaust and carpark fans.
The changes led to electricity savings of 25.4 per cent and gas savings of 16.9 per cent. The hotel’s carbon footprint was reduced from 14,296kg of CO2-e per guest room to 10,371kg of CO2-e per guest room, a reduction of 27.4 per cent.
A commercial office building at 68 Pitt Street received an innovation grant. It used the funding to pilot a data analytics system, enabling the facility manager to fix equipment faults faster, as well as saving energy, improving occupant comfort and extending the life of their assets.
The project produced identified energy savings of 24 per cent and achieved $32,000 energy bill savings in six months.
Funding of up to $15,000 is available for commercial buildings and residential apartments in the City of Sydney local government area.
Kate Read from the City of Sydney says the mix lately has tended to be more commercial.
“Initially, we were seeing applications predominantly for projects in residential apartment buildings. But over the past financial year the City’s Making Sydney a Sustainable Destination initiative is driving a big increase in the number of hotel building owners and managers applying for funding support for their first NABERS or EarthCheck rating, energy audit, or metering equipment.”
As well as grants supporting energy audits and third party sustainability ratings, the City is funding equipment and technology that monitors and measures energy, water and/or waste. Examples include sub-metering, data analytic systems, and NABERS waste platform.
Interested parties can apply for a City of Sydney grant to:
- Understand how and where energy and water is used in buildings
- Identify ways to improve efficiency and reduce ongoing operational costs
- Get costed options to prioritise building tune-ups and upgrades
- Benchmark and communicate performance with a NABERS, EarthCheck or Green Star performance rating and action plan.
Applicants commit to investing a minimum amount of their own funds to implement cost-effective opportunities identified. Find out more on the City’s website, apply online from June 19, or speak to the City’s Grants team on (02) 9265 9333.