When a half-century-old apartment block in a northwestern Toronto neighbourhood needed its balconies renovated, its owners decided to take the opportunity to try to bring down the building's electricity use. Instead of regular balcony guards, they installed solar panels. "It reduces the energy bill and the electricity consumption of the building," said Stephen Job, vice-president of Tenblock, a climate-conscious developer that works on energy-conscious construction and retrofit projects and was contracted by the building's owner for the retrofit. Using solar energy is better for the environment because it produces fewer emissions, he says, but it's also good for the business...