Installing climate controlled irrigation at The Terraces was not only the smart thing to do, but also the right thing to do. The system paid for itself in the first year and the landscape looks great. I would recommend it to any condominium development in Calgary wanting to support the environment and save money.
2011 Potable Water Volume and $$$ Savings
For the 2011 irrigation season ExactET saved their, over 500 clients a total of 312 million litres of potable water. This equated to a reduction in the clients outdoor water bills of over half-a-million dollars. Because energy is required to process and pump potable water, we helped our clients communities reduce their carbon footprint by 84,200 kgs of CO².
The average water savings delivered to our Commercial clients was 1.3 million litres per property. For a Single Family Residential property, the average water savings in 2011 was 236,000 litres and for Multi-Family Residential properties (condominiums etc) the average water savings was a staggering 2.1 million litres per property.
A small sampling of the proven water and $$$ savings for ExactET's Commercial and Multi-Family Residential clients appears below.
Examples of savings for Residential, Church, Retirement Living and Institutional clients is avalable upon request.
- Commercial Properties
| Property | Irrigation Frequency Under ET |
Irrigation Frequency Under Prior Timer-Based Schedule | 2011 Water Savings (l) | 2011 Cost Savings ($) | Return on Investment (yrs) |
| Alberta Infrastructure: Alberta Research Council Lougheed House |
25 29 |
66 54 |
1,111,000 2,572,000 |
$2,000 $4,600 |
2.3 1.3 |
| ATCO Gas: Airdrie Operations |
24 |
54 |
1,007,000 |
$1,800 |
1.9 |
| ATCO Pipelines: APEC Main Bldg (Edmonton) |
16 | 66 | 1,201,000 |
$2,300 | 1.9 |
| Brookfield Properties Suncor Energy Centre |
41 |
154 | 2,111,000 | $3,800 | 2.2 |
| Calgary Co-op West Springs Store |
17 | 42 | 729.000 | $1,300 | 3.1 |
| Beattie Homes Head Office |
24 | 66 | 1,059,000 | $1,800 | 1.4 |
| Bentall Kennedy: East Foothills1 Rangewinds A Canals A 4800 52nd St. SE 4900 52nd St. SE Jacobs Eng. Quarry Pk |
29 29 26 24 29 26 |
68 78 68 68 68 68 |
2,619,000 1,320,000 2,410,000 1,742,000 1,867,000 1,708,000 |
$4,700 $2,400 $4,300 $3,100 $3,300 $3,100 |
1.1 1.4 0.9 1.5 1.3 2.3 |
| GWL Realty Advisors: Westmount Corp Campus 72nd Ave Deerfoot |
34 23 |
66 66 |
2,537,000 1,621,000 |
$4,500 $2,900 |
3.6 1 |
| IKEA Canada: Deerfoot Meadows, Calgary |
23 | 66 | 5,782,000 | $10,300 | 0.7 |
| Ivanhoe Cambridge: Deerfoot Meadows |
30 | 66 | 7,918,000 | $14,100 | 0.6 |
| Morguard Properties: Duncan Building |
30 | 66 | 1,380,000 | $2,400 | 1.7 |
| Oxford Properties: Canterra Tower Southcentre Mall |
38 30 |
88 66 |
550,000 4,269,000 |
$1,000 $7,600 |
3.8 1.2 |
| Real Canadian Superstores: Southport Sunridge South Trail Crossing Airdrie |
17 28 37 16 |
66 66 66 40 |
798,000 2,763,000 3,554,000 2,364,000 |
$1,400 $4,900 $6,300 $4,200 |
1.6 1 1 1.3 |
| Shaw Communications Barlow Operations |
30 | 66 | 3,471,000 | $6,200 | 0.5 |
| Tonko Realty Advisors: Great Plains |
40 | 88 | 1,689,000 | $3,000 | 1.1 |
-
Multi-Family Residential Properties
| Property | Irrigation Frequency Under ET | Irrigation Frequency Under Prior Timer-Based Schedule | 2011 Water Savings (l) | 2011 Cost Savings ($) | Return on Investment (yrs) |
| Coventry Meadows | 22 | 66 | 1,321,000 | $2,400 | 0.7 |
| The Renaissance Villas | 36 | 66 | 1,831,000 | $3,300 | 1.2 |
| Mt Douglas Peaks | 27 | 66 | 3,480,000 | $6,200 | 1.3 |
| Chelsea Station | 34 | 66 | 3,589,000 | $6,400 | 0.6 |
| Springside Villas | 34 | 66 | 2,139,000 | $3,800 | 0.8 |
| Inglewood Grove | 22 | 66 | 5,658,000 | $10,100 | 0.6 |
| Wentworth Villas | 27 | 66 | 2,358,000 | $4,200 | 0.8 |
| Tuscany Pointe | 21 | 42 | 2,015,000 | $3,600 | 0.9 |
| Mosaic of Aspen Hills | 21 | 39 | 693,000 | $1,200 | 2.5 |
| Wyldewood Estates | 39 | 66 | 4,122,000 | $7,400 | 0.7 |
| Raven Ridge Gardens | 34 | 48 | 852,000 | $1,500 | 2.6 |
How is savings calculated?
These are the documented water savings during a typical irrigation season (May-Oct.) with Climate Controlled Irrigation compared to traditional timer based watering. Volume savings for the most part are calculated using irrigation water meters and apply if irrigation frequencies times volume used per irrigation event.. Water cost savings are based on the City's 2011 irrigation water meter rate. For the City of Calgary that rate was $1.7861/m³. ROI is based on water rates at the time and year of installation. Usage amounts have been converted from m³ to litres for demonstration purposes.
2011 Irrigation Frequency Savings
A sample of the frequency reductions under Climate Controlled Irrigation versus Conventional timer-base irrigation:
2011 Irrigation Frequency Savings (pdf)