Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/147234
C photo: Gerry Kopelow Above: Jasper Place Branch library in Edmonton, Alberta was a joint venture between Hughes Condon Marler Architects and Dub Architects Ltd. Left: A corridor inside of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at UBC Hospital, Vancouver, B.C. Photo courtesy Stantec Architecture Inc. recovery using water-to-water heat pumps and to replace a steam preheat system. The heat pumps have a very low energy use per kilowatt of heating output compared to others on the market. Brian Sikorski, E-Factor president, points out that when it comes to advanced building controls, the core technology and supplementary software have developed enormously, "even though the controls are still technically in their infancy." Sikorski and his colleagues are hard at work developing and testing fault detection and diagnosis systems for large commercial and institutional buildings. He says the main challenge of building control systems "will be to close the gap between what they are capable of doing and the end-user's basic lack of understanding regarding the full potential." Sikorski is not trying to assign blame and says "it's merely the outcome of the rapid pace of technological development." He adds, "Even building control systems that have been around since the 1990s are not operated to their fullest effect by end-users – so far, only qualified engineers can take full advantage of the technology. What we're hoping to do in the long-run is to make systems more automated and the function easier to comprehend." At Hemisphere Engineering, designing systems for cost-effective longevity is the cornerstone of the company's philosophy. Hemisphere has a unique advantage in that it has practised sustainable design for over 50 years and draws upon past experience. It also applies the latest trends to design the most efficient building systems. Apart from its current roster of projects, the company has developed an Mechanical & HVAC p44-47Mechanical.indd 45 aggressive research and development wing that is working on different design options for net-zero, carbon neutral buildings. The green design principles at the core of all the design jobs undertaken by Hemisphere ensure that the company will meet The 2030 Challenge, an initiative by Edward Mazria and Architecture 2030 asking the global architecture and construction communities to adopt a series of greenhouse gas reduction targets for new and renovated buildings. The challenge the people at IMEC Mechanical Ltd. have faced is making the Thermenex technology widely accepted as a true energy-efficiency/ low-cost system that can help achieve on-site greenhouse gas reductions of up to 100 per cent and energy cost reductions of up to 65 per cent. Fortunately, Thermenex Inc. president Jeff Weston and his colleague Ian Hall have gained considerable ground of late. Thermenex stands for thermal energy exchange. The system achieves the goal of maximizing a building's ability to heat, cool and ventilate itself by treating the building itself as a source of heat, and cooling is nothing more than the removal of that heat. The system is a water-filled pipe shaped in different configurations according to a building's needs. Warm at one end and cool at the other, the pipe is connected to the building's mechanical heating and cooling systems and functions as a hub to exchange energy. No heat is rejected from the building until there's more thermal energy than the building requires, and no heat is added until it has used all of its own thermal energy. In 2009 Langara College was the first institute to incorporate Thermenex; the City of Coquitlam followed suit in 2010 with the $62-million Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, and since then the University of British Columbia (UBC) has selected Thermenex for the Earth Science Buildings and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. This year, both Langara College and UBC have undertaken contracts for additional Thermenex systems. "Nothing says a mechanical system does an excellent job quite like repeat business," says Weston. Companies such as Sterling Cooper & Associates emphasize using sound engineering techniques to make a building energy efficient, and president George Steeves and his colleagues tackle every project with the aim of "keeping things the right size and keeping them simple," says Steeves. "It makes no sense to invest huge amounts of money in complex technology that won't achieve a decent return on investment. Sound engineering principles need to be the basis of all projects. In this regard we're sometimes hired in advance of the architects to make sure duct work is positioned correctly in a design and that the appropriate fans are picked. Energy savings must be imbedded in the building design." Sterling has been a guiding force for district energy plans (such as those utilized in the Shangri-La in Vancouver), ground-source energy storage recovery (Sunridge Gardens seniors home in Langley being the latest example) and specialized cooling and heat recovery applications (for facilities such as the new Moose Jaw Ford Curling Centre in Saskatchewan). Similarly, HTS Engineering Ltd., one of the largest independent built-toorder commercial and industrial fullservice HVAC manufacturer's representatives in North America, credits its success to its commitment to providing the right HVAC solution for each project. The result of this commitment is frequently impressive, case in point: the Dr. David Suzuki Public School in Windsor, Ontario – a 58,000-square-foot facility for which HTS was the basis of design supplier for McQuay Custom Air Handling Units, McQuay Water Source Heat Pumps, Daikin AC Variable Refrigerant Volume Units, ITT/B&G Heat Exchangers and Ductsox Fabrick Ductwork. With these systems, and a host of other green features, the facility has been called one of the most environmentallyfriendly schools in Canada. Finally, sometimes the best energyefficiency solutions are the simplest. In Canada alone, municipalities lose $650 million in water each year through aging and broken water mains. At the same time, taxpayers spend roughly $82-million annually to repair these breaks. Enter IPEX Inc., a company that designs and manufactures one of the world's most diverse lines of integrated thermoplastic piping systems – pipe, valves, fittings, auxiliary components and tools – all engineered from the ground up to handle the full range of today's municipal, industrial, commercial and residential applications. Although thermoplastics may not be as sexy as complex mechanical or building control systems, it's a true green product that costs less to handle, install and maintain than standard piping. n august 2013 /45 13-07-12 11:45 AM