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-18 3:43 PM Conserve Your Energy Energy management and conservation incentives flourishing east and west, but scarce on the prairies by Godfrey Budd oftware application tools, technologies, products and incentive programs are increasingly targeting building systems to provide effective energy management solutions. Although, in Canada, LEED and other green building initiatives have often tended to find more favour on government and other such projects where the owner is also the future occupant/ operator, green solutions are being applied to cut energy consumption in an everwidening range of sectors. And, despite the fact that, today, the metrics on many of these initiatives fall short of the 80 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) promised by some OECD countries by 2050, they would appear to augur well for what can be done over the next few decades. Take sub-metering. It is a fit for multi-residential towers, apartment blocks and some commercial buildings, and is a relatively simple expedient that produces dramatic results. ���The very high impact of sub-metering can result in a reduction of consumption of 27 to 34 per cent,��� says Barry Zeidenberg, director of marketing for Enercare. Occupants and other users can go online and observe the consumption rate of their suite, factory, office tower, etc. The province of Ontario has had a law in effect since 2008 that requires new condo projects and other multi-residential ones to have sub-metering. There is also scope for retrofits. ���We're speaking to existing condo corporations ��� and there's interest especially where people see electricity prices continuing to go up,��� Zeidenberg says. Sometimes, he says, condo corporations will see an advantage in opting for submetering because it enables them to lower the condo fees, as it removes the collective power cost component. But convincing the owners of older condo buildings can sometimes be the biggest challenge. Nonetheless, Zeidenberg says, ���We've had double-digit growth and are seeing continuing strong interest in sub-metering.��� Another Ontario initiative, known as Save-OnEnergy, is the latest iteration of a series of such programs first launched in 2005. Toronto Hydro is just one of a few dozen local electricity distribution companies (LDC) that take power from the transmission company and ���step-down��� the voltage level and deliver electricity to local customers. Under a demand management program aimed at conservation, Toronto Hydro and all other LDCs have been assigned an energy savings target under provincial legislation, says Joe Bile, manager for business development and program delivery at Toronto Hydro. ���Meeting the targets is a condition of our license,��� he says. The program, he says, is serious about achieving conservation targets. Part of the rationale underlying the program stems from the fact that the amount of power needed at peak times tends to drive the construction of new capacity. But the construction of new capacity tends to drive up costs, so is to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. ���By conserving (at peak times), you slow the rate of building more capacity, and ultimately reduce consumption and energy costs overall. Extra capacity costs the consumer money,��� Bile comments. Both photos: Photovoltaic (pv) panels on exterior of Centre for Interactive Sustainability (CIRS) at UBC. Energy Management p32-35EnergyMgmt.indd 33 photo: Martin Dee photo: Don Erhardt S host of programs for various types of businesses and facilities fall under the Save-On-Energy rubric. One is called peaksaver PLUS. Once a business is enrolled, a technician visits the premises and installs a load management device on the air conditioner or electric water heater. The device can be operated remotely and is used to reduce the appliance's electricity demand. Program participants also receive a free monitoring display unit that provides data on overall power consumption, information on the amount of electricity used by the various devices and appliances on the premises, and the amount of money spent on power consumption, based on current electricity rates. Across the country, in British Columbia, the new construction component of BC Hydro's Power Smart program has four main areas of focus ��� helping with design, construction incentives, operating incentives and education. ���The objective of the program is energy efficient buildings. It's for new construction or major renovations where the use is changing or the building is being gutted to the envelope,��� says Luis Damy, manager for the new construction program with BC Hydro. A february 2013��� ��� /33 13-01-22 3:16 PM

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