LEED Certified Projects

Provident Energy’s sustainability consulting department is pleased to announce that it has assisted its new construction clients in achieving final LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for several projects.

The following projects achieved final recognition of LEED Certification by the Canada Green Building Council in early 2012:

Condominiums: Tridel's Republic A (LEED Gold) and Tridel's Republic B (LEED Gold)

North Toronto Collegiate Institute (LEED Gold)

GO Transit Halton Facility (LEED Gold)

GO Transit Brampton Facility (LEED Gold)

Habitat for Humanity Toronto New Head Office (LEED Silver)

Natural Gas Incentive Programs

If your condominium corporation is interested in Variable Frequency Drives and Energy Management Systems – now is the perfect time to proceed. Enbridge is offering double the natural gas incentive amount for VFD retrofits for a limited time.

A couple of items to note:

• the promotion is limited to the first 200 applicants
• the program will run from June 4, 2012 to September 28, 2012
• upon successful implementation of an eligible project, customers may receive an incentive payment based on a rate of $0.20 per cubic meter (m3) of natural gas saved
• the maximum incentive amount is capped at 50% of the project cost

If you have any questions or would like an updated quote on Variable Frequency Drives and Energy Management Systems, please contact the sales department at Provident Energy at 416-736-0630, extension 5 or email them at info@pemi.com

B.O.L.T. - Day of Discovery

The B.O.L.T. (Building Opportunities for Life Today) organization connects youth with training and education in the construction industry. Their Day of Discovery lets students visit a site and about construction career opportunities. Our Operations Manager, Dave Muffitt, was one of the featured presenters. For a recap of the day, please click here. For more information about B.O.L.T and upcoming events, please visit their website.

Energy Conservation Through Building Automation Systems

(excerpt from Condo Business Magazine's Green Issue, April 2012)

With a growing demand for energy conservation and a reduction in operating costs, condominiums are always searching for energy saving methods. Energy efficiency in high-rise multi-residential buildings can be achieved through a variety of retrofits including lighting, variable frequency drives, carbon monoxide monitoring systems, and occupancy sensors. However, one method that is often overlooked is the use of an Energy Management System (EMS) or Building Automation System (BAS) – these are systems that can improve energy efficiency within the building’s mechanical plant.

What is a building automation system?

A mechanical plant is a complex system of boilers, chillers, pumps, valves, and fans that provides heating, cooling, ventilation, and water throughout the building. When the building systems are functioning properly, residents won’t notice them, but when they're not, they can cause a lot of complaints – just imagine the last time there was no hot water in the building.

A building automation system allows for control and integration of the building plant. By scheduling, adjusting, and monitoring the major mechanical plant equipment, the system will become more efficient, reduce energy consumption, and reduce operating costs all without sacrificing resident comfort. The mechanical systems are generally set to meet the highest demand expected for a given season and not necessarily the actual demand at a given time. Essentially, the different elements of mechanical equipment are designed to run at full speed and power at all times which can result in wasted energy consumption. Although most building automation systems are designed primarily for HVAC (heating, ventilation, air condition) control, many systems can also incorporate additional functions, such as lighting control, computerized maintenance scheduling, life-safety functions, and security access control.

The biggest benefit of a building automation system is energy savings. Most engineering sources estimate that the total energy savings to between 5-15% of the building’s annual energy consumption. This means thousands of dollars in annual savings.

To read the complete article, please visit our website or the Condo Business website.

Make Up Air Units and Variable Frequency Drives

Corridor Fresh Air Units or Make-Up Air Units (MUA) are found in virtually all High Rise Multi-Residential Buildings. Older buildings, including rental properties, often have these units with no heating or air conditioning of the air introduced into the building. In newer buildings and in virtually all condominiums, these units do provide heating and cooling of the fresh air.

The purpose of the MUA units is threefold. First, the units slightly pressurize the building in order to prevent infiltration of outdoor air through the building envelope. Second, the units provide, as the name implies, ‘make up air’, to replace air that has been exhausted from the building by in suite exhaust fans. The third purpose is to provide for ‘air changes’, or fresh air for comfort and respiration.

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) have done numerous studies on make up air units, and have found some very interesting results. One of the things that were found was that this air often leaks through the building envelope in unintended ways.Air can leak through door openings, envelope penetrations, elevator shafts, stairwells, and other places where the air can find its way directly to the outside. The result is that Fresh Air Units can be tremendous energy ‘wasters’. When fans are sized during the construction phase, they are often sized using the assumption that a certain number of exhaust fans will be running at the same time. This is referred to as the diversity factor. Clearly, at night and at other off-peak times, the actual use of exhaust fans will be well below the diversity factor used to size the fans.

One excellent solution is the use of Variable Frequency Drives (VFD). The fan can be operated on a time of day schedule, speeding up and slowing down as needed. Variable Frequency Drives today are much more reliable than they have been in the past and their increased use has driven installation costs down. Provident Energy has supplied and installed hundreds of VFDs and we highly recommend their use in a wide range of applications.

For more information regarding VFD applications for your building or to arrange a free energy assessment, please contact the sales department at Provident Energy at 416-736-0630, extension 5.

Free Energy Assessments

Existing buildings can benefit from energy efficiency retrofits. Provident Energy offers a FREE energy assessment to get you started on the road to energy savings. Instead of a costly and time-consuming engineering study, our technical sales team will come and analyze your building. They will provide you with initial recommendations on various energy saving measures and a cost effective way to implement these measures. At your request, we can either analyze a specific area (the pool, the garage, etc), or provide you with an in-depth proposal for the entire building.

The proposal will outline the installation costs, energy savings, payback period, and the estimated incentive rebate. Some of the turn-key retrofits we offer are: energy management systems and monitoring services, lighting, CO monitoring systems, utility sub-metering, and variable frequency drives.

For more information or to arrange a free energy assessment, please contact the sales department at Provident Energy at 416-736-0630, extension 5 or visit our website www.pemi.com

Tech Corner: Spring Change-Over

For many of us in the Greater Toronto Area, this was the winter that never came. With the recent warm weather during March Break, some clients are considering an early change-over.

Last year, we had several buildings that changed over to Cooling by the third week of April. For Heat Pump buildings, it is important that the Fluid Cooler be ready for the first warm days of the year. We advise getting Fluid Coolers ready by the end of April at the latest.

The vast majority of buildings switched over during the second and third weeks of May. It may be helpful to change over the in-suite cooling, while leaving the Make Up Air units in a Heating Mode until the end of May. This is possible with hydronic (water coil) and packaged air handlers. In this way, if there is a cold snap, there is still a source of heat in the building.

One of the most important things that must be done during the change-over is to check and isolate the basement loop heating systems. In some buildings these systems are fed from Primary Boilers, however, in some buildings these systems are fed from the Dual Systems. When fed from the Dual System, this can result in these loops having chilled water flowing through them resulting in condensation and the ensuing damage to locker contents, drywall ceilings and other areas.

After change-over it is also important to check to make sure that ramp heating and stair melting systems are shut off for the season.

For our clients - it is also important to contact Provident Energy when your change-over is occurring. When switching from a heating to cooling mode, the ‘action’ of valves must be reversed. For example, when in a heating mode, if you need more heat, the valve must open to allow more heat to flow. When a rise in the space temperature (the input signal) needs to result in an increase in an output signal, this is referred to as ‘direct acting’. When a rise in space temperature needs to result in a decrease in the output signal, this is referred to as ‘reverse acting’. An Energy Management System must be told when to work one way or the other.

A carefully planned change-over will ensure comfort through the spring and summer.