City of Richmond, Olympic Oval, Join Earth Hour
March 26, 2009
The lights at the Richmond Olympic Oval will dim somewhat Saturday night, but its star shines even brighter.
At 8:30 p.m., Saturday, (March 28), the Oval will turn off 60 percent of its lights over the main activity area for one hour to celebrate Earth Hour. This represents approximately 200 of the 300 lights that brighten the great hall. As each light is 1000 watts, this is a significant energy savings, and one of the ways in which the City of Richmond is joining municipalities around the world in reducing energy consumption.
Last year during Earth Hour, Richmond reduced its energy consumption by almost three percent. This year the City hopes to improve that performance by turning off all non-essential lights in civic facilities, and urging employees and residents to turn out their lights and unplug non-essential appliances and electronic devices for one hour on Saturday night.
Reduced energy consumption is one of the reasons the Oval is recognized around the world as a showcase in green building design and construction and was awarded a Sustainability Star by VANOC, the organizing committee of the 2010 Winter Games. Energy saving measures include exterior walls of glass and translucent polycarbonate that reduce the need for artificial lighting, and captured heat energy from the ice plant reused for heating and cooling and heating water.
For more information and to register for Earth Hour, visit www.earthhour.org. For more information on the Richmond Olympic Oval and sustainability features, visit www.richmondoval.ca.
