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AUGUST 2019 | 27 Mechanical & HVAC Systems based on exergy preservation to reduce energy con- sumption and carbon emissions, understands that sharing information and education are essential in order to achieve a net zero future. And while he says high-performance solutions are different and there- fore perceived as more complex, by simplifying the message it allows a greater understanding of how we can get there. First off, Weston reiterates that "fun- damentally heating is cooling, and cooling is heating, and you can't have one without the other, but this is not how we think about thermal energy." He adds that we need to start by understanding the value of resources and consume as much of the least valuable thermal resources before we consume the more valuable, non-thermal resources. "Once we start thinking differently, the clear objective is to optimize the utilization of all thermal resources and when you do that, you don't inadvertently let thermal energy go to waste." Thermenex has changed the approach it takes to defining the solution. "We explain thermal energy like a fluid level. When it is maintained at the right level you feel comfortable in your space, and the key to keeping us comfortable is to ensure thermal energy entering the space, equals that which is exit- ing the space. Moving that energy around, to and from other spaces in the building, before dumping it outside or consuming non-thermal resources, is what matters," says Weston. Last year, the TGH solution was approved by B.C. health authorities to go into hospitals, and two sys- tems are now being installed in the BC Children's and Women's Hospitals that will save substantial amounts of carbon. Another system is going into the existing old St Paul's hospital that is expected to save more than 800 tonnes of carbon a year, with a very short payback. "Our application into dynamic buildings is proving its worth where it counts, at the meters. As a result of actual performance, we are now looking at several hospitals in B.C.'s Interior as well as cancer centres," says Weston. And there's more exciting news ahead. Thermenex recently developed a new version of the TGH sys- tem that improves performance, while simplifying the application and lowering the cost so that it can be applied to a greater range of buildings. Chi Zhang, sustainability manager at Norman Disney & Young (NDY), a Tetra Tech Company, agrees that our perceptions have changed when it comes to heat, and that it is no longer viewed a quantity to be added or extracted from a space to balance envi- ronmental and internal losses and gains. "Instead, excess heat from one space can now be surrounding spaces, used to heat service hot water, or even stored for later use." Zhang adds that what was once viewed as waste is now viewed as a source of heat recovery. "Technologies exist now that can both passively and actively reclaim heat from exhaust and sewage." Zhang's colleague, Joseph Chow, associate at NDY, uses the Musqueam Capital Corporation (MCC) as an example of a group that is forward thinking. "With their in-construction Passive Energy Loop, a buried condenser water loop, they are demonstrat- ing how taking the energy that would otherwise be drained into the sanitary sewer or ejected into the atmosphere will be used for heating buildings. Their masterplanned community will share energy." Another example is Shannon Estates Utilities Ltd. that is leading the way in its Shannon Estates Thermal Energy System (SETES) utility. "It is one of the very few thermal energy utilities that directly bill residents for their energy usage," says Chow. "As Wall invested in much more energy metering than others did and took on the effort to directly interact and be responsive to end users – instead of stratas who have diluted interests – residents can know their indi- vidual choices will affect their energy bills. Endpoint energy metering is allowing people to become much more responsible for their own energy consumption." It is now commonplace for property develop- ers and managers, and not just specialized utility companies, to look to NDY for good, site-wide HVAC thinking. "The bottom line always includes how much it costs to purchase and construct, but now expands to so much more to include how costs are shared, whether the HVAC is a financial investment, how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, long-term replacement, and how to make systems more resil- ient. One point that also keeps on coming up is how to make sure the system actually works and achieves its design intent. Complexity is the bane of HVAC and it's up to us to not overcomplicate the design," says Chow. Looking ahead, both Chow and Zhang agree that the future lies in smarter systems and buildings that not only react to changing conditions, but can predic- tively prime or unload systems. A 2:28 PM Aquatech.indd 1 2019-07-04 9:41 AM 2:55 PM

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