Season’s Greetings!

On behalf of the entire staff at Provident Energy, we would like to wish you and your families a very happy and safe holiday season! We look forward to seeing you in the new year!

CO Monitoring Systems in Underground Garages

When looking for areas in a building where energy savings can be attained, there are many variables to consider. One of those variables is whether the retrofit proposed will hamper the comfort of residents. Ideally, we want a retrofit that will not only save energy but also maintain, or even increase, resident comfort.

One of those possible retrofits is the installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) sensing technology to an underground garage. The CO Monitoring System will control the exhaust fans to run only when a certain level of carbon monoxide is detected.

Exhaust fans in the underground garage of your building should be running 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you do not have a CO Monitoring System installed. Contrary to popular belief, it is a violation of the building code for exhaust fans to be cycled or shut down at any time during the course of a day unless there is a CO Monitoring System in place. Section 6 of the Ontario Building Code states that an enclosed storage garage should have (a) a mechanical ventilation system to limit the concentration of carbon monoxide to not more than 100 parts per million of air or (b) provide, during operating hours, a continuous supply of outdoor air at a rate not less than 3.9L/s for each square metre of the floor area. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas It can be toxic, even causing death, for humans.

Not only will the installation of a CO Monitoring System in your garage save electrical energy and ongoing maintenance costs, but it will also make the garage warmer in winter and cooler in summer. With a CO Monitoring System, the exhaust fans will run only when required, instead of constantly circulating cold or hot air from outside. On top of that, most fluorescent lamps and ballasts in garages are not designed to withstand colder temperatures – with the garage now being warmer with a CO Monitoring System, there will be an increase of light output and lifespan of any fluorescent lights in the garage. If that isn’t reason enough to contemplate a retrofit like this, than perhaps the addition of a healthy incentive to help offset the cost will warm you to the idea of introducing CO Monitoring to your building. 

Provident Energy supplies and installs CO Monitoring Systems for garages - we offer complete turnkey solutions, including incentive applications. For more information or for a quote on a CO Monitoring System, please contact the sales department at Provident Energy at 416-736-0630, ext 5, to schedule a free assessment of your garage.

We Are Hiring!

The holidays are just around the corner but we are keeping very busy and we're looking for a few people to join the Provident Energy team!

Energy Management Systems Technician - 1 position available.

Billing Administrators - 2 positions available.

Sustainable Building/LEED Professionals - 3 positions available.

For more details, including job descriptions and how to apply, please visit our career section.

What Products and Services Does Provident Energy Offer?

Provident Energy offers a wide range of products and services to help your building optimize and reduce energy bills.

• Free Energy Assessments that outline potential retrofits, energy savings, and payback periods                      
• Energy Management Systems
• 24-hour a day Energy Management System Monitoring
• Variable Frequency Drive Installations on make-up air units, pumps, and cooling towers
• Lighting Retrofits (corridors, garages, stairwells, etc)    
• Installation of Lighting Controls/Occupancy Sensors                                
• CO Monitoring Installation
• Turn-Key Sub-metering Systems (electrical, thermal, water)         
• Sub-metering Billing & Collections       
• Energy Modeling
• Energy Measurement & Verification     
• Renewable Energy Consultation
• LEED Certification & Project Management
• Re-Commissioning or Retro-Commissioning
• Utility Aggregation Programs (bulk natural gas contracts)

For more information regarding any of these services or to arrange a free energy assessment, please contact the sales department at Provident Energy at 416-736-0630 or visit our website, www.pemi.com

Small Metering Projects

Many condominiums have recreational facilities and commercial units as part of their common areas. If these areas are not separately metered, the electrical consumption is based on estimates, not on the actual usage of the facility or units.

Provident Energy can install a small metering system (either electrical, natural gas, thermal, or water) into your recreational facility or commercial units. This type of metering system is also available to condominiums that currently do not have individual suite sub-metering. The cost will depend on the number of units and the number of loads required to be metered. For example, if there are 5 commercial units and each unit has 4 electrical loads to meter (in-floor heating, exterior wall heaters, heating/AC units, and suite power), then the entire project would require 20 meters.

The data will be available online for property managers and accountants to read and bill. The invoices will be issued by property management. Provident Energy will simply host the data over the internet, along with providing maintenance services to the meters as required.

For more information on these small metering projects, please contact the sales department at Provident Energy at 416-736-0630, extension 5.

ACMO-CCI Condominium Conference

This is a just a quick reminder about the ACMO-CCI Condominium Conference this Friday Nov 4 & Saturday Nov 5. It’s back to the 2-day format at the Toronto Congress Centre (650 Dixon Road).

Provident Energy (http://www.pemi.com/) will be exhibiting both days so please stop by our booth (#325) where you chat with Jason and Jennifer about energy efficiency retrofits, free energy assessments, new technology, sub-metering, incentives, etc…..plus you can enter our raffle for some fantastic prizes. Yes, that is a basket of vintage wines!

For more information, including seminar session times, please visit the ACMO-CCI Condominium Conference website: http://www.condoconference.ca/

Hope to see you there!

We're Hiring!

We're looking for an Energy Systems Technician to join our building automation department. For more information on the position, including how to apply, please see the job posting on our website.

BILD - Ride For Humanity

On September 25, we participated in the first annual BILD Ride for Humanity event. Over 100 riders did the 50k course and raised over $25,000 for Habitat for Humanity. It was a fabulous day for a great cause. Here are a couple of photos but more information/photos can be found on the BILD blog.

Melissa (Tridel) and Dave (Provident Energy)

Dave, Melissa, Leona, and Jim (Tridel)

Greenbuild 2011 & Canada House Showcase

Provident Energy is excited to participate in the Canada House Showcase, October 4^th-6^th at the Steamwhistle Brewery Roundhouse. We are a supporting sponsor and exhibiting company. In conjunction with North America’s largest green building event, Greenbuild, the Canada House Showcase will explore technologies, products, services, and expertise in the Canadian green building industry.

Access to the Canada House Showcase is free. Please come down and visit our table! In addition to the exhibiting companies, there are parties, Taste of Canada lunch, Meet the Expert sessions, and much more. For more information, please visit the CaGBC website. 

For more information or to register for the Greenbuild Conference, please visit their website.

Warden Hilltop Community Centre

Provident Energy was the LEED/sustainable design consultant for the new City of Toronto Ward 35: Warden Hilltop Community Centre. We were on hand at the grand opening to provide area residents with information on the centre’s various green features. The LEED target community centre has geothermal heating, water efficiency technology, solar panels, daylight harvesting, and a green roof.

Project: Warden Hilltop Community Centre

Description: 24,000 sq ft community centre, LEED Target

Client: CS&P Architects, City of Toronto

Services Provided: LEED Project Management, Energy Modelling, Measurement & Verification

More information can be found on the City of Toronto website.

Change-Over Time!

It's September and the leaves are already beginning to change colour. That means it's change-over time! Here are a couple of quick tips for condos...


- Condominium Boards determine the changeover date for their facilities. This matter should be brought up at Board meetings in September.

- Change over times are the busiest times of the year for Contractors. Call ahead by at least two weeks to schedule your changeover.

- In some facilities, it may be possible to change over the corridor make up air units prior to converting the in suite fan coils to heating. This gives you the option of heating the Building should a cold spell occur prior to the change-over.

- You can speed up changeovers by shutting down Chillers prior to the arrival of your Contractor. Most Boilers should not be started if the water in the pipes is still very cold.

- Facilities with Energy Management Systems have further options including “Cooking-Time” Only Schedules, Duty Cycling, Outdoor Air Temperature Fan On/Off, and other advanced options.

- Reduce complaints and service calls by posting any changes that must be made to Thermostats on Bulletin Boards. Make it clear that there will be NO Suite Air Conditioning after your changeover date.

Take a Minute. Save a Life.

Volunteers from Tridel Corporation, Toronto Police Service, and IBM Canada Ltd.,

have formed a community support partnership to help combat Leukemia. The volunteer group, who all have friends, family or work colleagues affected by Leukemia, are striving to build awareness, better education and to grow  the stem cell donor base with the OneMatch Program.

Join the Community Swab Event

August 20, 2011 - Saturday (9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)

Vaughan Cultural Interpretive Centre, 9541 Weston Rd, Woodbridge

For more information, please click here or please visit the onematch.ca website.

Provident Energy on YouTube

Sometimes seeing is believing...

We've started uploading short video clips of garage lighting retrofits onto our youtube account:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ProvidentEnergy

At the moment, most of the videos show examples of garages that have installed motion sensors to control the underground lighting. Another popular lighting retrofit is converting high pressure sodium (HPS) lighting to the more energy efficient T8 lighting technology. Not only can you save energy but the light output will be significantly higher. Click here to see a comparison of the HPS to T8 lighting.

Interested in a lighting retrofit for your apartment or condominium? Please contact the sales department for more information: 416-736-0630 or info@pemi.com

Tech Corner: Summer Inspection

Summer is upon us and now is a great time to have your superintendent take a stroll around your building to check on your building systems. Here are some things your superintendent can look for:

-     Cooling Towers – check for water draining out of the main drain on the sump. There should be no excess water draining from the main drain or the float and sump levels might need to be adjusted. Also check for bacterial growth on sump surfaces, the fill, and metal components and even on the rocks around and under the tower.

-     Air Intakes are often overlooked in the winter. Take the time to check any openings in the building for leaves, grass, bird nests or other obstructions. It is also a good time to clean vertical openings such as air plenums for garage exhaust fans.

-     On a warm day, take a few minutes to observe how many windows on the building are open. If there are too many windows open, supply air temperatures and chiller operation may need to be adjusted. Keeping windows closed during cooling operations is a must. Drapes and blinds can also be surveyed.

-     Check the roof envelope integrity. Look for missing rain hoods on stacks and ensure roof drains are clear.

-     If possible, vent pool mechanical rooms. Moist, mildly corrosive air in these rooms can wear out equipment – venting can prolong equipment life.

-     Check lockers and other below grade areas for condensation dripping from water lines and equipment. Ceilings should be checked for water stains.

-     In the summer, pipe tracing, stair melting and other under-slab electric heating systems should be turned off.

Provident Online: E-billing & Consumption Information

Provident Energy Management provides our utility submetering customers with a couple of websites full of information.

The main Provident Energy website (http://www.pemi.com/) is your main portal. From there, you can sign up for electronic billing and online consumption views (more information below). You can also find answers to most general submetering questions on the FAQ section http://www.pemi.com/customers.php

Provident Energy now offers Electronic Billing – Electronic billing (e-billing) allows you to view your bill online. Electronic bills (e-bills) provide many benefits:

-          E-billing is better for the environment (reduced paper usage).

-          E-billing is accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week. 

-          E-billing allows you to view previous bills from the past 12 months (no need to file paper copies or request invoice print outs).

-          Please be advised if Canada Post is still on strike, all payments are still due on the due date. We encourage you to register for e-billing so you can receive you bill on-line and avoid late penalty fees.

To register for e-billing:

·          Visit our web site www.pemi.com

·          Click on “sub metering customers”

·          Scroll down, until you see a small yellow box on the right “To register for e-billing, please click here”.

·          Once you click “here” you will be directed to Provident – Online Customer Information System.

·          Follow all the registration prompts to create a new account and in the end, you will receive an e-mail from Provident asking you to confirm.  Once you click on the link in this e-mail, your e-billing will be activated.

Residents can also view your consumption online – You can see how much electricity, heating, cooling and/or water you consume. The website has a variety of graphing options to help you track your consumption on an hourly, daily and monthly basis. This will help you determine what periods of the day you consume the most and hopefully help you reduce your utility bills.

In order to view your consumption:

·          Visit our web site www.pemi.com

·          Click on “sub metering customers”

·          You will see “to view your consumption, please click here”

·          Once you “click here” you will be directed to Provident Energy Management powered by Obsidian.

·          Your user name is your location ID, and your password is your six-digit customer number, both of which can also be found on your bill.

If you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our billing department at 416-736-0630, extension 2.

Long Term Service Awards

Yesterday, we celebrated the long term service of 3 Provident Energy Management employees...

Dave Muffitt, Operations Manager, 20 years

Craig McIntyre, Engineering Manager, 5 years

Jason Schembri, Technical Sales Representative, 5 years

Congratulations Dave, Craig, and Jason!

Provident Energy In The News

Our Commissioning Agent, Chris Wong, recently had his re-commissioning and retro-commissioning article published online in Condo Business Mazagine.

The Article: Effective Energy Savings Solutions For Existing Buildings: Re-Commissioning And Retro-Commissioning. To read the article, please visit the Condo Business Magazine website --> Link To Article

2011 BILD Awards

Provident Energy was a finalist of this year's BILD Awards!

P2G COMMUNITY OF THE YEAR – HIGH-RISE

• Concert Properties, The Berczy – Provident Energy Management
• Liberty Development, World on Yonge – Kirkor Architects and Planners, Montana Steele Advertising, Brandon Communications **WINNER**
• Tridel, West Village – Hefele Makowka Design Associates, Drive Agency

For complete summary of the 2011 BILD Awards, please visit http://www.bildawards.com/

Incentives Paying You to Save Energy

The number one ongoing cost for any condominium corporation, is the cost incurred through the consumption of energy. The OPA (Ontario Power Authority) is providing the funding for local utilities to provide a new set of incentives to help multi-unit residential dwellings facilitate energy efficient retrofits. This incentive program will be available from March 2011 through to 2014. The new Save ON Energy program follows many of the same guidelines of previous incentive programs, except for a few key differences. Instead of providing $0.07 per kWh or $400/kW in demand reduction for lighting retrofits they will be providing the greater of either $0.05 per kWh or $400/kW with a maximum of 50% of the retrofit cost being covered by the incentive, which is up from the previous cap of 40% (for custom and engineered track). For non-lighting retrofits an incentive of either, $800/kW or $0.10/kWh of first year electricity savings to a maximum of 50% of project costs.

The Provident Post Is Moving Online

Provident Energy is committed to conservation and sustainability. We will be slowly phasing out printed copies of the Provident Post – by the end of 2011, we will only be sending the newsletter through email. Although the Provident Post is printed on recycled Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved paper stock, manufacturing paper still requires energy. The paper and envelopes used to distribute the Provident Post releases approximately 500lbs of carbon dioxide annually into the environment – and this does not include the transportation energy of the mail couriers. By going electronic, Provident Energy will be reducing its carbon footprint. To all property managers and board members – if you would like to have the quarterly Provident Post sent to you, please send us your email to info@pemi.com.

Tech Corner: Air Balancing

In virtually all condominiums, fresh air is introduced into the building from the outside through one or more main air handlers, typically located on the roof or in the basement of the building.

The fresh air is air-conditioned at the central source and is then ducted to individual floors terminating at a grille or supply vent located in the hallway.

The typical supply vent will have one or more components. In all cases, the vent will include a directional louver, designed to direct the air down the hallways in a horizontal stream. On the majority of condominiums built within the last 25 years, a set of balancing dampers will be found immediately behind the directional louvers. There may also be a fire damper located behind the balancing dampers, designed to close on a rise in temperature (using gravity or a spring loaded arrangement held in the open position by a fusible link). The fusible link is simply two pieces of metal that are fused together with a metal that has a low melting point. The fire dampers may also be equipped with a damper actuator or motor that is engaged when the fire alarm system sends a signal to the actuators or motors.

Since the air going to individual floors comes from central air handlers, it is necessary to balance the amount of air that is delivered to each floor.

The balancing dampers are equipped with an adjustment screw to control the amount of air delivered to the floor.  Specialized companies provide these air balancing services. Using a measurement device called a velometer, the technician can check the speed of the air coming out of the vent and using a calculation based on the size of the vent can determine the volume of air delivered in litres per second (l/s) or cubic feet per minute (CFM).

Fresh air is used to pressurize the building (to prevent infiltration of outdoor air through the building envelope). It is also used to ‘make up’ for air that is exhausted from the building (bathroom and kitchen exhaust) and to provide fresh air for respiration.

Provident Energy recommends air balancing every two to three years.

~~ Dave Muffitt, Operations Manager