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J U N E 2 0 2 1 | 47 Mechanical & HVAC Systems P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E SY T H ER M EN E X Mechanical and HVAC professionals continue to demonstrate innovation and ingenuity by ROBIN BRUNET S heldon Samborsky, team lead, mechanical for Williams Engineering Canada, echoes the sentiments of many of his colleagues in the engineering/HVAC profession when he says of 2021, "It's as if we're emerging from a long, dark winter. The number of work opportunities is huge, almost overwhelming, in fact." Unsurprisingly, the focus of new builds and reno- vations moving beyond the pandemic is on superior HVAC systems, and this dovetails with the ongoing push to increase energy efficiency in a sector that has already achieved substantial gains in this regard. Williams Engineering recently completed the design of the new HCMA /DUB Architects- designed Coronation Park Sports & Recreation Centre in Edmonton. When construction is completed in 2024, the facility will include a fitness centre, multipurpose rooms, a child play space, and a unique International Cycling Union-sanctioned indoor cycling track. Samborsky says of this project, "Mechanically the design has lots of flexibility, and we focused on dehumidification as an objective. While this may seem strange for a city as dry as Edmonton, it was necessary given the amount of moisture that will be generated by guests working out – and it's imperative that the special cycling track is kept in good shape, no swelling or cracking. That's why we went with a dedicated outdoor air and dehumidification system consisting of wrap-around heat pipe technology. This was an elegant way to remove humidity: no motor, just a neatly packaged and very efficient system." The wrap-around heat pipe is just that, a heat pipe wrapped around a cooling coil, with a pre-cool section placed before a cooling coil and a reheat sec- tion placed after the cooling coil. The cooling and reheating of incoming air is such that the relative humidity is lowered from nearly 100 percent leav- ing the cooling coil to approximately 70 percent leaving the second heat pipe section. This is in keep- ing with ASHR AE Standard 62, which warns that if duct relative humidity exceeds 70 percent, fungal contamination can occur. The wrap around system increases the dehumidifying capacity by as much as 91 percent, while using about 50 percent less energy than electric reheat systems and about 25 percent less energy than other types of reheat. Accompanying the boom in business within engi- neering/HVAC circles are a variety of issues, one of which James Furlong, partner at MCW Hemisphere Ltd., touches upon while discussing a surge in demand for what used to be a niche service: robust and reliable wireless systems in residential towers such as the second Park Central series of apartments in Calgary, one of MCW's more recent projects. Furlong says, "There's been a 300 percent increase for these systems. So many people over the past year have stayed at home and relied on Zoom and other communication platforms for business that it's clog- ging delivery systems, like an eight-lane highway suddenly merging into a two-lane road. Hence, we're designing system designs in residences similar to what we've been supplying for years to airports." Such is the case with the second Park Central tower, and Furlong remarks, "When we designed the first Park Central tower, which opened just last year, none of this was on the radar." MCW is also very much on the forefront of the push toward greater energy efficiency: last year MCW Custom Energy Solutions was chosen as the energy engineering partner for the second phase of the University of Calgary's Energy Efficiency and Heat Recovery Initiative. The initiative is a conserva- tion project designed to help UCalgary make strides towards carbon-neutral campus operations through energy retrofits and greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- sions reductions strategies in existing buildings. Specifically, a combination of mechanical and electrical system retrofits, HVAC system retro- commissioning, and building automation system controls upgrades in research, laboratory, and teaching spaces is being undertaken. Furlong says, "We're in construction for most of these projects, and so far we're at 10,000 tons of savings and under budget. COVID has aided us, as we have been able to get into spaces unencumbered by students and fac- ulty." The university aims to achieve a 35 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2025, 50 percent by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2050. The total pro- gram is anticipated to be $18 million. Echoing his colleagues, Darryl Singleton, VP and general manager of Aqua-Tech Sales and Marketing Inc. (the Canada-wide master distribu- tor for Lochinvar Boilers and Water Heaters, save for Quebec), describes business in 2021 as "Almost crazy busy, with many new projects." One project, says Singleton, is "providing indus- try stakeholder consultation to the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating's Canadian Hydronics Council to support the development of a user friendly, best practices guide for owners, sys- tem designers, and installers that will address all the new appliance efficiency requirements man- dated by the National Resources Canada (NRCan) … these requirements will come into effect in July of 2023 for residential products and January of 2025 for commercial products." Aqua-Tech Sales and Marketing is well positioned for this increase in minimum efficiency require- ments, as Lochinvar has been an industry leader in introducing high-efficiency boilers, water heat- ers and pool heaters including condensing products from 55,000 Btuh to 6,000,000 Btuh. Light At The End Of The Tunnel Thermal Gradient Header technology, UBC Life Building, Vancouver, B.C.