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Surrey Memorial Hospital Critical Care Tower, Surrey, B.C. A PR IL 2016 | 51 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY HOULE ELECTRIC Electrical & Communication Systems C Companies that provide electrical and communica- tions systems these days need to not only be experts in their field but also leaders in innovation and sus- tainability, and be ahead of current trends and trends likely to occur over the coming years. Charlie Yao is an Abbotsford, B.C.-based electrical engineer with Williams Engineering Canada. He says one trend in particular that has resulted in his busi- ness shifting its focus is the increase in the number of new, purpose-built, multi-residential rental projects that have come about as a result of low interest rates, unaffordable housing that is pushing more Canadians to consider renting and various incentive programs such as waiving development costs if developers build rental units. In fact, a report by commercial real estate brokerage CBRE Group Inc. found that rental starts across Canada's six biggest cities are now double their five-year average. Working on rental developments requires Yao and his team to take a different approach. For instance the electrical equipment and fixtures Williams rec- ommends has to match the client's business strategy. "You're focused on finding a balance between initial installation costs and long-term maintenance and utility costs," Yao says. This balancing act comes into play on everything Williams Engineering Canada is called upon to design or provide, from light fixtures and baseboard heaters to electrical infrastructure for systems such as HVAC, communications, fire alarms and security. Consider light fixtures. For a rental property, Yao and his colleagues might suggest fewer types and simpler designs than they'd recommend for a condo development. And the engineers would also point out that the lights in a rental unit should be particu- larly durable given that occupant turnover tends to be higher in apartments than in condos, where esthetics may be more the priority. Over on public sector/institutional projects, how- ever, Yao notes that there is sustained activity in facil- ity and process upgrades and renovations, aiming to decrease maintenance and energy costs while provid- ing modern functionality. Steve Nemetz, president of Nemetz (S/A) & Associates Ltd. in Vancouver, says these mixed-use developments require electrical systems providers to address many needs in one building. "A combina- tion of residential and commercial is a theme that has really come out. It's all about the live-work balance, not just having pockets of residential in some areas and commercial in other areas. It's about bringing both together so you get invigorating street life and activ- ity, a more vibrant area during business hours and in the evenings." Working on mixed-use buildings requires a spe- cial approach. "We need to have a clear understand- ing of which areas belong to which type of strata. The metering of the loads have to be accurately attributed," says Nemetz. For example, a commercial parking area should be metered separate from the common residen- tial areas so costs related to one doesn't affect the other. For mixed-use buildings Nemetz has to develop two differing systems to accommodate the varying needs. "We usually secure a service space between the two so we can transition between the electrical risers and mechanical systems. Since the floorplate is different from the hotel to the residential areas, the equipment doesn't line up between them." Marine Gateway in Vancouver's South Cambie neighbourhood is one such project Nemetz worked on. It has nearly a million square feet over two resi- dential towers plus an office tower with commercial spaces housing a movie theatre, grocery store and other amenities. Over in Ontario, the province is seeing shifts in elec- tricity consumption. According to the 2015 Ontario Electricity Data report by Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), consumption declined last year; total energy withdrawn from the high-voltage transmission system reached just 137 terawatt-hours (TWh), down two per cent from 140 TWh in 2014. The IESO attributes the change in part to conserva- tion. "Broader economic shifts" helped as well, notes the IESO's report. According to IESO spokesperson Alexandra Campbell, that phrase indicates the over- all change that the Ontario economy is experiencing now. "The economy is shifting to less energy-intense businesses, less heavy manufacturing than in the past. You're seeing growth in finance, the service indus- tries and other areas that use relatively less energy," Campbell adds. In addition to lower consumption, increased "embedded generation" made a mark. At the end of 2015, IESO-contracted embedded generation produc- ers fed nearly 3,000 megawatts into the supply pipe, an increase of about 20 per cent compared to 2014. As Campbell explains, embedded generation means elec- tricity created by smaller suppliers, rather than the large suppliers that use the high-voltage transmission system that the IESO tracks directly. Back in B.C., BC Hydro has a massive project under- way to modernize its electricity-generating infra- structure – cost-effectively. The organization recently completed upgrades to the province's largest power generation facility at a cost of $272 million, about $100 million under budget. The project involved refurbish- ing five generating units at the GM Shrum Generating Station, which is located on Peace River. The station was built in the 1960s and supplies some 25 per cent of the total power produced by BC Hydro annually. The upshot of the refurbishment is that GM Shrum can now supply electricity for an additional 16,000 homes. The project required a carefully staged approach, with good reason, says Chris O'Riley, deputy CEO of BC Hydro. "The facility plays a pivotal role in meeting B.C.'s electricity needs, so we needed to ensure the units were in service and available when our customers needed them – especially during the winter season when elec- tricity use in B.C. reaches its peak," says O'Riley. The GM Shrum upgrades are just one part of BC Hydro's sustainability investments. As a leader in energy management, BC Hydro assists with resources, potential funding and technical assistance to building owners, developers and the design industry to create high-performance, energy-efficient buildings. One example of this is BC Hydro's Commercial New Construction Program which is designed for commer- cial, institutional and multi-unit residential new devel- opments or major building retrofits, to help reduce the costs of building energy efficient buildings. It offers design support for large buildings in the early stage of the design process that have potential electricity sav- ings with at least 50,000 kWh per year. BC Hydro will fund up to 100 per cent of an energy modelling study done by an approved consultant. This study will show how a building will perform over a whole year using different energy saving measures Knowledge And Power Changing trends alter the market for electrical and communications systems providers by STEFAN DUBOWSKI

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