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Thermal Gradient Header system installed at the Holy Family Hospital, Vancouver, B.C. 50 | J U N E 2 0 2 2 Mechanical & HVAC Systems Williams provides many solutions – often all in one project – to achieve better energy efficiency, case in point: for client Polygon Homes, the company created a mechanical system for the residential Moda tower in Burnaby composed of electric baseboard heat for all residential suites. Domestic hot water was gen- erated by a central gas-fired high-efficiency boiler/ storage tank system for the high-rise and individual electric water heaters for the concrete city-homes. A boosted water distribution system was installed with four pressure zones to service domestic hot and cold water and re-circulated through the tower. Corridor ventilation pressurization was provided on every level by a high-efficiency gas-fired air-handling unit. Samborsky says electrification will continue to gain prominence. "Seattle and New York City requires all new commercial buildings to be elec- trified, and Vancouver is eyeing the possibility, by requesting natural gas to be derived from renewable sources," he says. "Systems currently available are efficient in regions that experience minus 20 win- ter weather, but not minus 30, although I think that gap will eventually close – and when it does, we'll see many more projects in Canada." Meanwhile, Williams is in the design detail stage of the Hawrelak Park rehabilitation proj- ect in Edmonton, a centrepiece of that city's River Valley containing field houses, a heritage amphithe- atre, and other recreational amenities. "A lot of the underground infrastructure was built in the 1950s and '60s and needs updating," Samborsky says. Finally, with regard to providing true energy efficiency, Jeff Weston, principal at Thermenex, says, "the industry is realizing we can do better with the same equipment we used poorly in the past," and he credits his own ability to do better to having taken "three years of science before trans- ferring to engineering. Science taught me to doubt everything and insist on proof; as an engineer I was taught to believe what I was told. It took me nine years to become an HVAC expert, which I now see as building up knowledge that blocked my ability to see another approach. It then took me 15 years of doubt and effort to unlearn enough to start learning again. "Over the past 10 years I have been develop- ing myself and the Thermenex team into Thermal Energy Experts. As a result, we clearly see that the solution to get some large buildings mostly off car- bon is to recognize the inherent thermal energy in buildings as a resource and optimize its use by elim- inating its waste." Thermenex has done so in spectacular fash- ion thanks to the development of its patented Thermal Gradient Header (TGH) – a simple hydronic approach to HVAC systems utilizing a piping frame- work and corresponding standardized control logic. Integrating a TGH concept into a holistic HVAC design allows engineers to design a system that outperforms any other system in both energy con- sumption and carbon emissions. Simply put, Thermenex turned a pipe into a heat- ing and cooling thermal energy transfer hub, and while this was initially greeted with skepticism, TGH has been integrated into a hospital retrofit in Vancouver with under two-year payback. Tony Munster, executive director of projects, planning and facilities management for Providence Health Care, says, "Based on the validated perfor- mance at St. Paul's Hospital, I decided to implement it in four other facilities that required mechani- cal infrastructure upgrades. PHC's government mandated target is a 50 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, but due to the promise shown by the Thermenex system, we decided to set ourselves a stretch goal of reaching 80 percent by 2023 for the majority of our buildings. Two of these additional TGH equipped facilities are trending to success- fully achieve an 80 percent reduction in annual GHG emissions, which is very impressive performance indeed. The remaining two TGH systems will come online later in 2022, and I expect to see similar results in energy efficiency and emissions reduction." A P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y T H ER M EN E X Want to achieve 80% carbon reduction? Patented solution by THERMENEX An elegant solution to the complex low carbon resilience problem. Find out more at: thermenex.com HVAC REIMAGINED Goal: Decarbonize large buildings with less energy input by treating the inherent thermal energy in and around a building as a resource. How: Apply the Thermal Gradient Header technology. A single pipe that integrates and optimizes all heating, cooling, heat rejection and heat collection systems. Recent project results: • 68% avoided energy waste • 80% reduction in GHG emissions Added Cooling No change in use or envelope Retrofit while operating 24/7 Within planned capital budget Electricity Fossil Fuel Fossil Fuel Electricity Thermenex.indd 1 Thermenex.indd 1 2022-05-24 2:20 PM 2022-05-24 2:20 PM

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