This Wednesday saw the culmination of the 2015 Scotiabank EcoLiving Awards where $75,000 in prize money was awarded to entrepreneurs and students who are creating sustainable designs in the energy-conservation sector. Through the awards, Scotiabank hopes to support and encourage those who are creating innovative solutions to help save the planet.
The $10,000 student leadership prize is awarded to a post-secondary student with a concept or prototype that provides an energy conservation solution. This year, the award went to a group of engineering students from the University of Guelph. Wesley Romak, Melissa Love, Thomas Marshall and Cody Carey built the Flywheel Energy Storage System which stores energy during off-peak hours when it’s cheap and abundant and converts it to usable energy during peak hours.
The $15,000 innovation award goes to an eco-friendly product or service aimed at the residential sector. This year’s winners were Janet and Peter Janiuk who created a line of affordable, lightweight wind turbines for residential homes and small businesses. “We’d really like to see the impact of installing these turbines globally, and whether we could bring reliable, renewable power to areas of the world that don’t have access to electricity,” says Janet Janiuk.
The grand prize of $50,000 is awarded annually to a business which provides environmentally-friendly services for residential homeowners. This year it was scooped up by Diana Livshits from Krumpers Solar Solutions which produces temperature-control blinds. Use the blinds one way to block out the harsh summer sun and for UV protection. Flip them around to absorb winter warmth and reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 40%.
All of the entrants show the incredible local talent Canada has to offer in the race to save the planet. These innovative designs will help Canadians to live more sustainably and reduce their annual energy costs.