Category: Project Updates

Many buildings and industrial sites rely on district heating, ranging from large sections of urban centres to smaller areas such as university and medical campuses. District energy systems offer many benefits ranging from minimized energy consumption, economic savings to better versatility and improved reliability and convenience. They are increasing in popularity as sources of energy for heating and cooling in buildings.

The buildings sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions around the world, with some estimates showing they are responsible for up to 40% of global GHG emissions. Increasingly, building owners are exploring how they can implement decarbonization solutions to reduce their facilities’ carbon footprint.

In 2021, nearly 90% of district energy globally was produced from fossil fuels (source: International Energy Agency). Given their benefits and that they can serve large areas of building infrastructure in an efficient, cost-effective and flexible manner, decarbonizing district energy systems offers significant untapped potential. Across all the industry sectors we serve, we are seeing advancements in technologies that support decarbonization of district energy, particularly in heat pump technology and electrification as replacements for natural gas and other fossil fuel-based energy sources.

Some of our Notable Decarbonization Work

British Columbia is a leader in Canada in developing policy to mitigate climate change impact. The province’s Zero Carbon Step Code took effect on May 1, 2023 with the objective to reduce the consumption of natural gas in the operation of buildings and incentivize electrification. We are currently working with Creative Energy to modernize their existing district energy system in downtown Vancouver. This plant is one of the largest district energy systems in North America and services over 45 million ft2 of floor area. We are working with the client on the development of their new

In Toronto, Toronto’s Enwave District Energy System is the largest in North America, serving 180 buildings, and the greening of its infrastructure is a major gain in the effort to decarbonize buildings.

If you are considering a district energy system for your project or are seeing to modernize your existing system, contact our specialized Energy team who can help.

 

Phil Schuyler, Director, Energy Division
philip.schuyler@hhangus.com

District Energy Association's Campus Energy Conference

Several of our energy specialists attended the recent International District Energy Association’s Campus Energy 2023 conference in Texas, where heat pump technology featured prominently. Among their take-aways from the conference:

  • The transfer of higher temperature heat pump technology, traditionally used in industrial applications, to the commercial/institutional sector at reasonable costs
  • Biomass from sustainable forestry operations as a cost-effective alternative to current dirty fuel sources
  • The need for master planning and feasibility analyses to establish baseline performance with a view to setting appropriate targets

 

Read more

Enwave Press Release for Pearl Street Energy Centre
https://www.enwave.com/resources/enwave-breaks-ground-on-a-new-low-carbon-heating-facility-to-supply-%E2%80%98green-heat-to-toronto/

CBC News Feature:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/carlyle-coutinho-76a6301_enwavegreenheat-activity-7062081213225713665-Jazc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios

Creative Energy Downtown Vancouver Re-development and Decarbonization
https://creative.energy/projects/vancouver-core

Doctor smiling at child and parent

Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Grandview Kids have announced a shortlist of three bid teams to design, build and finance the Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre Redevelopment P3 project in Ajax ON. We’re delighted to be part of the Children’s First Consortium which was named as one of the three teams moving on to the RFP stage for this 100,000+ ft2 greenfield project. The Grandview Children’s Treatment Centre will offer family-centred care for children and youth with physical, communication and developmental needs, and their families, in the Durham Region.

According to IO and Grandview, teams were shortlisted based on design and construction capability, experience, qualified personnel and financial capacity to undertake a project of this size and scope. The Children’s First Consortium prime team members are: Amico Design Build Inc. and Sacyr Construction S.A (Applicant Lead); Parkin Architects and HH Angus (Design Team); Amico and Sacyr ( Construction team); and Stonebridge Financial Corporation (Financial Advisor). 

Source Link: https://www.infrastructureontario.ca/Short-Listed-Proponents-Named-Children%E2%80%99s-Centre-Redevelopment/

We’re excited to be part of the team, led by EllisDon Infrastructure Healthcare (EDIH), that will build the new Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre in Nova Scotia. HH Angus’ Health Division will be providing mechanical consulting engineering services, working with Dillon Consulting in Halifax. This is the first P3 healthcare project in Nova Scotia, and will be an important facility for both the community and the entire province. According to Kim Spencer, HH Angus Health Division Director, “we’re very pleased to be able to support this new facility with HH Angus’ deep experience in the P3 delivery model, and proven track record in thoughtful healthcare design.”

The 134,000 ft2 Outpatient Centre will built on a 15-acre site in Halifax’s Bayers Lake Business Park. Planned services include primary care; clinics such as physio and occupational therapy; high blood pressure, diabetes and orthopedic assessment; 17 examination rooms; 24 dialysis stations; diagnostic imaging (x-rays and ultrasounds); blood collection; and post-surgery or post-treatment follow-up appointments.

Image courtesy of EDIH

Is your facility and its electrical infrastructure prepared?

As electric vehicles (EVs) become more prevalent, they present a challenge for institutional-type facilities that have significant on-site parking, in terms of how to address the charging requirements of EV owners. Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC) is one such facility. With a three million ft2 campus and 4,535 parking spots, vehicular traffic exceeds 10,000 cars per day.

In 2018, SHSC was experiencing power outages in parking lots due to EV owners using adapters and extension cords to charge their vehicles from housekeeping receptacles. Recognizing the growing demand for on-site charging and wishing to promote green initiatives, SHSC investigated available incentive programs for an EV charging project.

HH Angus was engaged to assist SHSC in delivering this project. The first decision was to identify the type and number of charging stations that would best meet the needs within the established budget. One of the first decisions was which charging level to provide of the three levels available. Level 2 was selected, offering a full charge in four to six hours.

Key considerations for the supply of EV charging stations included physical construction and design features (for example, retractable charging cords were an important feature); service agreements; built-in wireless connectivity; and warranty coverage. It was also necessary to address the increased electrical load for the parking lots through power distribution upgrades and modifications to existing switchgear.

An important decision with direct impact on the installation design was the selection of dual-head EV charging stations, which allow two adjacent vehicles to be serviced by a single charging station. SHSC eventually installed 20 dedicated EV charging stations.

The entire project was successfully completed in approximately four months. By undertaking the necessary project planning, institutional facilities can help ensure their parking areas are ready to meet the requirements of EV owners and further support of green initiatives.

Read the full article in MRO Magazine August 12, 2019  

 

Authors :

Philip Chow, P.Eng., P.E., was the lead engineer on the project and is a senior project manager at H.H. Angus & Associates Ltd. He specializes in electrical projects and construction in critical facilities and can be reached at philip.chow@hhangus.com.

Bavan Poologarajah,EIT., was the senior electrical designer on the project and worked on the project from initial concept design to final commissioning. Bavan has worked on a number of electrical projects in critical facilities and can be reached at Bavan.Poologarajah@hhangus.com.

HH Angus' Akira Jones and Melissa Parry will be participating in a webinar on May 29 discussing how we used 3D imaging to streamline the process for Toronto Western Hospital's mechanical and electrical facilities.

For more information and to register, click here to try Matterport >