Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/177525
square foot. In about the same time frame, average SEER (seasonal energy ef iciency ratio) ratings for HVAC systems have gone from eight to around 20. "That's two and a half times less energy for heating and cooling. A lot of buildings are speci ied for 12 or 13, but 20 is available with a small premium," says Steeves. But money on a good HVAC system is wasted if monitoring falls by the wayside after the building systems are commissioned. Full commissioning, monitoring, timely maintenance and employing a trained building operations manager save building owners thousands in energy and maintenance and repair costs in the long run, says Steeves. LED lighting, which Steeves expects will soon cost less, and more products with higher SEER ratings could also help. Steeves says that if pressure was applied, products with a SEER rating of 30 would become available. "By improving quality, we could have excess electricity," he says. Curbing electricity demand is very much the focus of the Ontario Power Authority's (OPA) High Performance New Construction (HPNC) program, launched in 2008. Aimed at new construction in ICI and multi-residential as well as major renovations, the program provides assistance and incentives to support building designs that enable a reduction of summer peak demand levels. Utilities like Enbridge Gas Distribution also offer incentives for customers that can be added to the HPNC program. "Preliminary estimates are that more than 60 megawatts (MW) of peak demand savings will have been realized by the end of 2012," says Susan Clinesmith, manager of Phase 1 of HPNC for Enbridge Gas Distribution, which delivered the irst phase for the OPA . "About 1,000 new buildings are to be built under the program. Some are built, and some are under construction. The reduction of peak demand ranges [by individual building] from four kilowatts to several hundred kilowatts. The program is aimed at getting the owner used to incorporating energy ef iciency into the design stages, so it's built into the inal product," she says. A second phase of the program is in the works, to be delivered by electrical utilities. "It's very similar to the irst phase, with the same concept. The purpose is the same – to encourage building above the code, that is, 25 to 50 per cent above base. The Ontario code is changing, so this re lects the change," Clinesmith says. Apart from direct government programs, the use of sub-metering has been shown to be a very effective method for reducing individual and business energy consumption from utilities. Sub-metering metres the energy consumption of Energy Management p.26-31Audio_Energy.indd 31 individual of ices, businesses, apartments, or condos, so that, for example, in the case of condos, electricity is not paid via condo fees, but paid by residents based on their respective condo's consumption. Sub-metering metres energy consumption of various kinds; it can simply focus electrical power consumption, or encompass energy consumption stemming from HVAC and hot and cold water use. In the case of condos, energy consumption reduction between 25 and 35 per cent has often been accomplished as a result of sub-metering, says Barry Zeidenberg, director of marketing for EnerCare Solutions. The company, formerly The Consumers' Waterheater Income Fund, includes a division called EnerCare Connections, and following the acquisition of Enbridge Electric Connections, is now one of the country's largest suite of sub-metering companies for multiresidential and commercial buildings. An advantage for the condo sector is that condos can reduce fees when they switch to sub-metering – and potentially acquire LEED points in new construction. "As well as of load costs, managing a reserve [condo] fund becomes less complicated with full sub-metering," says Zeidenberg, who notes that the company has been involved with submetering since the late 1990s. Internet protocols support the interface between customer and EnerCare's metering system. "People can check their electrical consumption in almost real time via our web portal. Because of increasing costs, there's now more interest in this," says Zeidenberg. The company now services over 100,000 sub-metering units. Owners of existing buildings are also opting for wide-ranging energy retro its that can dramatically boost ef iciencies. The MCW Group of Companies was involved in a series of retro it projects, one of which entailed heating retro its of about 15 multi-residential buildings, previously mostly heated by hot water radiation, says Greg Lord, a partner at MCW. The new high-ef iciency condenser boilers that were installed, along with sophisticated monitoring and controls, achieved up to 98 per cent ef iciency, compared to the older boilers that had operated at around 70 per cent ef iciency. "Automated lighting controls were also part of the project," says Lord. For owners to get the best bang for their buck, though, he recommends that they use an energy services company or ESCO that can provide everything from design to commissioning and monitoring. "If you did this piecemeal with different consultants and contractors, it's much harder for the client to impose accountability, let alone get a guarantee," he says. ■ FEBRUARY 2012 /31 1/23/12 10:32:00 AM