Challenge
In 2003, on SFU’s Burnaby Campus, the Applied Sciences, Shrum Biology and South Sciences buildings, along with Chancellor’s Gym and the West Mall Complex, constituted 23% of the campus’s area, yet accounted for over 33% of its electrical consumption. SFU had dealt extensively with Prism over the years on energy measures, including action plans, lighting upgrades, chilled water retrofits, NRCan incentive applications and training of facilities staff. When it needed mechanical auditing services to better understand and deal with the energy use at these five key campus facilities, the university again turned to Prism.
Solutions
For the purposes of the energy audit, Prism gathered information from physical on-site reviews of mechanical equipment, equipment documentation and interviews with key personnel. Based on analysis of that information, and using various methodologies, Prism was able to:
- develop a working model of the mechanical equipment and energy-related systems in the buildings to better understand building operation and energy use
- review and analyze energy use histories and identify a baseline from which savings could be measured
- identify energy reduction measures and system upgrade options and provide a cost/benefit analysis for each
Results
Prism’s audit of mechanical systems identified several areas for potential improvement in energy efficiency. The simple payback for the planned measures, which were associated with over $72,000 of annual cost savings, is 4.2 years. These measures included:
- increasing space temperature in the Chancellor’s Gym natatorium to reduce pool evaporation and the associated ventilation costs
- installing two dehumidification units in the natatorium, and a glycol run-around coil system on the squash courts’ ventilation system, for heat recovery
- rescheduling the operation of the air distribution system in the Applied Sciences Building to reduce equipment operating hours
- reducing space temperature during unoccupied periods and installing a variable speed drive for variable flow heating water to air handling unit preheat coils in the South Sciences Building
- upgrading standard efficiency motors with premium efficiency ones where operating hours and load factors were high
The fuel savings achieved by the Chancellor’s Gym energy retrofits allowed for the heating of a newly constructed 5,400-square-metre (58,000-square-foot) second gym with no increase in fuel consumption.