bright ideas
sponsored by bc hydro
Energy efficiency learning never ends
in the education sector
BC Hydro works with
some of B.C.’s largest
organizations to implement energy-efficient
initiatives and create
a culture of conservation. The important
work being accomplished by some of the
leaders in energy management is being featured in this space.
The conversation
encompasses innovation, challenges, and
rewards. This month,
the discussion highlights how centres of
higher learning can
benefit from energy
efficiency.
For a list of available energy saving
offers and incentives,
visit bchydro.com/
partners.
A
sk Ron Sue to
look at any building and, almost
instantly, he can
tell you whether it’s being
run properly. The Energy
Manager has spent nearly
three decades analyzing
building systems, and can
easily spot whether lighting
components are up to date,
whether there’s enough
ventilation, and whether
maintenance is being performed on schedule.
“Temperature should be
set between 68 and 72 F,”
he adds. “Buildings are
complex structures, and
it’s quite an involved process to make sure they are
good environments.”
The first projects he
tackled after becoming
Simon Fraser University’s
energy manager involved
upgrading old fluorescent
bulbs to the latest technology available at the time.
These days, the focus is
light-emitting diode (LED)
bulbs, which are being
swapped out as capital
and maintenance budgets
permit.
Lighting upgrades are
generally a good bet for
energy managers. They
save both money and
energy, meaning they pay
for themselves quickly.
Lighting upgrades are generally a good bet for energy managers. They save both money and energy, meaning they pay
for themselves quickly.
They can also literally show
people the value of energy
management.
“We did a library lighting upgrade, and got many
positive comments about
how much brighter it was,”
Sue recounts. “One librarian realized she could now
see all the way down to the
bottom shelf — she hadn’t
realized that wasn’t possible before! It’s very rewarding to see you’re having an
impact on someone’s dayto-day life.”
Digital controls and
monitoring software also
help track quotidian issues
around temperature and
ventilation, plus other factors in energy usage. Sue
says there has been great
support from students,
staff, faculty, and university administration. In
December, SFU approved
an official Energy Policy,
formally committing to
principles of conservation.
Sue and his team are
testing solar panels on one
campus building, and are
exploring the possibility of
geothermal in one location.
They are also considering
recovering heat generated
within the sewer disposal
process, and using that to
help warm buildings.
Pondering all the possibilities while keeping an
eye on the details is fun, he
says.
“I like this business — I
haven’t even thought of
student union building was
a great opportunity to put
practice in action.
The building, which is
targeting LEED Platinum
certification, includes
design aspects that allow
tons of natural light to
stream in, solar panels to
heat hot water, and a range
Buildings are complex structures,
and it’s quite an involved process to
make sure they are good
environments.”
– ron sue
retirement yet! This is
where I can contribute and
make a difference. I want
to stay and do that for as
long as I can.”
Over at the University of
British Columbia, Orion
Henderson is also full of
plans to have things running as efficiently as possible. The director for energy
planning and innovation for UBC says the new
of power and water conservation measures.
He is also proud of a pilot
project that involves using
wind conditions to help
improve the efficiency of
ventilation exhaust fans at
a lab building.
“The system at the Earth
Science building is saving half a gigawatt hour
per year of energy — and
there are other benefits
around noise reduction,
reduced wear and tear, and
decreased maintenance
costs. We will be rolling
it out to the Life Sciences
Centre in the early part of
this year, hoping to gain
another 2.5-gigawatt per
year savings.”
When possible, Henderson says it makes sense to
incorporate energy-management projects with
other scheduled work to
minimize disruption and
maximize the budget. For
instance, if a large piece
of equipment needs to
be replaced, he tries to
leverage financial incentives from BC Hydro
to get something that
meets energy-efficiency
guidelines.
Henderson and his team
are also doing complex
efficiency analyses on the
35 most energy-intensive buildings on campus, trying to figure out
what changes can be made
over the next five years to
improve performance.
A year ago, a PhD student came up with the idea
of using Wifi connections
within a building to estimate occupancy as HVAC
systems work hardest at
the times when there are
more people in the building. The concept is still
being developed, but could
be more cost effective than
occupancy sensors as no
new equipment is needed.
Henderson says it’s a great
example of UBC being
a living lab for energy
efficiency.
It’s easier than you might
think to keep up with rapidly changing technology,
he adds, because there
is great support within
the energy-management
community.
“Every peer I’ve ever
been in contact with has
been delighted to share
what they’re working on
— it’s a very co-operative
spirit in operations, not
competitive.”
Sheldon Marche, associate director, building
systems for the University of the Fraser Valley
(UFV) agrees that successful conservation strategies depend on teamwork
and co-operation. Enrolment in BC Hydro’s Workplace Conservation Awareness program has helped
spread green ideas to staff
and faculty. The message
is also being brought to life
for students in an unusual
way with dashboards at six
campus buildings displaying real-time information
about energy usage.
Marche says funding
can be an issue at any
large organization and it
helps that UFV designates
a percentage of any savings achieved by his team
to fund more energy management projects, which
creates long-term sustainability. Geothermal power,
heat sinks, and heat pumps
also are being explored as
options to decrease electrical usage and boost
savings.
“The thing I love about
my job is the puzzle-solving aspect,” says Marche.
“You look at what you’ve
got and how you can use
it differently to be better.
That’s very satisfying.”
This story was produced by Postmedia Works in collaboration with BC Hydro Power Smart for commercial purposes.
Postmedia’s editorial departments had no involvement in the creation of this content.
Education lights the way
for energy conservation.
Ask Simon Fraser University (SFU) Energy
Manager Ron Sue about how to conserve
power, and he rattles off a long list of options.
They include upgrading to light emitting diode
(LED) light bulbs, teaching people to think
about power use habits, and monitoring
mechanical systems in buildings to make sure
they are performing at peak efficiency.
satisfaction. Rather, he revels in knowing
students are studying in comfortable
environments, and that faculty and staff have
exactly the right amount of light to see what
they need to see.
Last year, these kinds of initiatives helped SFU
achieve a savings of 1,549,000 kilowatt hours
(kWh) of power last year, nearly doubling the
previous year’s results of 805,000 kWh.
“If we don’t manage our resources
properly, there’s a consequence to that.
Energy management is the right thing to
do – it’s good for the environment, it’s
good for the people working in a wellmanaged building. It feels good to make
a difference.”
Impressive as the knowledge and savings may
be, they are not what gives Sue his greatest job
—Ron Sue,
Energy Manager, SFU
To find out how your business can save power and
money, contact your BC Hydro Key Account Manager,
or call 1 866 522 4713, or visit bchydro.com/partners.