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CREST Condensing Boiler from Lochinvar. J U N E 2 0 2 5 | 57 Mechanical & HVAC Systems P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y AQ UA-T EC H of Healthcare Engineering honoured Providence Health Care's Holy Family Hospital for achieving the largest building carbon emission reduction percentage in the world; thanks to TGH the hospital's carbon reduction is 75.08 percent. TGH utilizes a patented piping framework and corresponding standardized control logic. The header is built as the core of an efficient, effective, sustainable HVAC system, and integrating a TGH framework into a holistic HVAC design allows engineers to create something that outperforms anything else in both energy consumptions and the lowering of carbon emissions. The TGH has six distinct tem- perature regions that are separated using a simple hydronic design, which allows matching source temperatures with a building's variable load requirements. The recognition that will enable Thermenex to market TGH across North America is not without challenges. "One problem is that the old formulas that worked fine for old system designs include hidden fixed variables based on industry standards that no longer apply," says Jeff Weston, president and CEO of Thermenex. "Once the engineers learn that the hidden variables exist, and that they do not have to adhere to them, they become free to vary them for beneficial performance improvement and capital cost reduction. "Because the formulas have multiple variables there are multiple possible solutions, it is up to the skill of the engineer to iterate until they find the best balance of the variables. It makes the engineering more difficult, but ultimately much more valuable." Despite the hiccups, the implementation of TGH continues on an upward trajectory. "As we speak we have three big projects about to go to tender, one of them at the UBC Hospital and two others at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital," Weston says. Tom Todoruk, national sales manager at Tempeff, explains that his com- pany's hybrid ventilation and heat recovery systems recapture 85 to 95 percent of sensible heat energy and up to 70 percent of latent energy from exhaust air, both in winter and summer. Tempeff's DualCore technology is simple yet effective: it uses two heat exchangers instead of the common single exchanger in conventional units. Outside air goes through one exchanger for a brief period before switching to the other exchanger, so it doesn't have time to build up frost. Energy recovery is constant, around the clock. The technology was thoroughly tested by the National Research Council in two climatic chambers replicating indoor and outdoor temperatures and rela- tive humidities, and it functioned well with sustained outside temperatures of -40 °C. Units were also installed in the Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Cambridge Bay and performed without a hitch. Originally the Tempeff units cost five times more than single-core HRVs, but the company has developed units to operate in residences and small commercial buildings, and the more affordable RGSP-K models that have been in use for the past few years achieve the same 90 percent efficiency as its commercial systems In March of 2025, Graham Lovely, partner at MCW Consultants Ltd., wrote that "engineering greener buildings means using smart and simple energy solutions to make buildings more sustainable." In short, while new technologies are often seen as a silver bullet to solve problems, "market proven, reliable, appropriate, and maintainable systems actually provide the real-world solutions that most of our buildings rely on." MCW recognizes that upgrading electrical and mechanical systems is not just about reducing carbon emissions, it is about optimizing energy use, lowering AQUATECH ™ offers innovative Lochinvar ® commercial and residential space and water heating solutions that engineers, specifiers, builders and contractors can depend on. Turn to AQUATECH for heating and hot water value and support. GREAT PEOPLE. EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS. MEANINGFUL VALUE. Represented by Burlington, ON • 905.631.5815 • Port Coquitlam, BC • 778.285.9596 • info@aquatech-canada.com Aqua-Tech.indd 1 Aqua-Tech.indd 1 2025-04-28 11:21 AM 2025-04-28 11:21 AM

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