Words by Caitlin Lichimo. Photos by Paul Joseph.
Once all systems are commissioned, the project is anticipated to save $40,000/year (1845 GJ) in thermal energy and $53,000/year (240MWh) in electrical energy, with an annual emissions reduction of almost 90 tCO2e per year.
The Networks for Centres of Excellence (NCE) building is situated on top of the UBC Bookstore and consists of two floors of wet labs —facilities designed for research involving liquid-based materials, chemicals, and biological substances— with most labs equipped with a single fume hood. Constructed in 1983 with one of the oldest building management systems (BMS) on campus, the facility was due for a technology upgrade.
UBC Energy & Water Services originally proposed a project that would use occupancy sensors to reduce the ventilation rate in labs when they were unoccupied, mostly during overnight hours. However, the existing building control system was not able to support this strategy. Instead, they took the opportunity to update the building’s BMS and save a significant amount of energy at the same time.
Prior to a full controls upgrade, the project began conducting a thorough inspection of existing components to identify which parts needed repair or replacement. This process also helped improve user safety as they identified areas that were over- and under-ventilated and reset to align with current health and safety standards.
Significant energy and emission savings at the NCE labs
Once all systems are commissioned, the project is anticipated to save $40,000/year (1845 GJ) in thermal energy and $53,000/year (240MWh) in electrical energy, with an annual emissions reduction of almost 90 tCO2e per year.
In addition to the energy savings associated with the controls upgrade and the safety improvements, there were significant operational benefits to the project. During implementation, the Energy & Water Services team found many zones were overheating due to the high discharge air temperature from the central air handler. These concerns were addressed by setting the discharge air temperature to a low temperature, resulting in a significant amount of thermal energy saved during the winter. The controls upgrade will ultimately reduce airflow to unoccupied zones, which will ‘free up’ additional capacity to satisfy zones with high cooling demand.