Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/178323
All Systems Go MECHANICAL AND HVAC SYSTEMS ACT AS ENERGY EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS by Robin Brunet Above: From Hemisphere Engineering, Innovative Centre of Engineering (ICE) building at the University of Alberta campus, Edmonton. Left: From Williams Engineering Canada, Yellowknife Greenstone Building (Government of Canada building). A As energy costs soar, developers are more focused than ever on saving money. And to do so, they embrace the world of green technology, certain that there is a system with just the right functionality at just the right price to suit their needs. But not every mechanical and HVAC provider relies solely on green systems to make buildings energy ef icient. Some believe there are other considerations. "A lot of green solutions are driven from a marketing point of view, not an engineering point of view," says George Steeves, president of Sterling Cooper Consultants. "Sound engineering techniques go a long way in making a building energy ef icient. Unfortunately, this is not applied as extensively as it could be in the industry." Mark Williams, mechanical manager at Genivar, agrees. "In the race to be energy ef icient, systems have become very complex and as a result, very hard to operate," he says. "The consequence is that from an operations point of view, expenses increase." "Keep things the right size and keep things simple," says Steeves. "It doesn't make 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, and in this regard we're sometimes Mechanical & HVAC Systems p.44-47MecHVAC.indd 45 hired in advance of the architects to make sure, for example, that duct work is positioned correctly in a design and that the appropriate fans are picked. Energy savings absolutely must be imbedded in the building design." Steeves and his colleagues are currently exercising their engineering acumen on a 65-storey hotel and residence complex located at 1151 West Georgia St. in Vancouver. "It's a tight space and the owner wants low energy usage, so we've paid scrupulous attention to ensure that everything design-wise is geared towards achieving that goal," he says. Sterling Cooper's record of success speaks for itself: in the development of the Fairmont Paci ic Rim, it realized there would be no space in the building for cooling towers. The solution was to install a chiller in nearby Canada Place that connected to the Fairmont to meet its environmental requirements. Williams points to Genivar's recent work on the 19,000-square-metre Atrium of ice building in Victoria as an example of how close collaboration with architects and other professionals during the initial planning stages can lead to a building that contains extremely ef icient – yet simple – mechanical/HVAC components. "We substantially reduced the volume of shafts and ductwork as well as reduced the size of the cooling plant by 18 per cent by developing a variable volume ventilation displacement system that vents into the ceiling and out through louvres into the covered atrium, which is the centerpiece of the horseshoe-shaped building," he says. Other mechanical features of the LEED Gold Atrium include: heating and cooling provided by air-to-water heat pumps; central air handling units with exhaust heat recovery; digital control of mechanical equipment; and low water consumption plumbing ixtures. The building contains a wet sprinkler system fed from the downtown high-pressure water main (no ire pump). Due to the City of Victoria regulations that curtail the rate of sewage discharged from buildings, Genivar equipped the Atrium with a sewer attenuation holding tank that discharges waste at a metered rate after-hours. Marc Gaudet, senior mechanical engineer (Calgary) for Williams Engineering Canada, has 50 years of mechanical engineering experience with a strong focus on performance, energy ef iciency and sustainable design engineering. He believes in value engineering as a mindset and knows it must permeate through the planning process from the onset of a project. "That's the way we're proceeding on two current projects involving the development of new mechanical systems to replace ones that are more than 35 years old," he says. "The systems are for laboratories for the University of Saskatchewan and Innovation Place in Saskatchewan." Gaudet adds, "By reducing the complexity of the new systems and providing more robust equipment overall, we have a good chance at stretching the lifespan of the new systems to 50 years. For example, we're using direct drive rather than belt-driven air handlers, which reduces noise as well as energy. Another example is ECM motors itted to variable frequency drives, which makes air delivery rates easy to adjust." Williams Engineering has always been dedicated to maximizing the ef iciency of buildings, and an example is its work on the Government of Canada Building in Yellowknife. This LEED Gold of ice complex was out itted with many cost-effective mechanical systems, including a unique Under loor Air Distribution system. Occupancy sensors shut off ventilation when not required and all washrooms use ultra-low-volume AUGUST 2012 /45 12-07-19 12:18 PM