Published on: Monday, December 19, 2011
Details:
How does a company get named one of MacLeans' 30 greenest
companies in Canada? From the ground floor up!
Yes, there are corporate polices, directives, programs and
initiatives to provide support and direction at BLJC. There
is also leadership demonstrated by the personal commitment and
professionalism of the individuals who make up the team and work in
the buildings. This is the ground floor for success.
Maintenance team lead (MTL) David Huang has taken a leadership
role in BLJC and his team have managed to reduce natural
gas consumption at Robson Square by 40 per cent in 2009,
while also shrinking the annual total energy consumption by 12 per
cent, saving approximately $77,230. All this
has happened in spite of increased occupancy and use of the
facility extending hours later.
Changes that have been implemented by David Huang at the site
include:
-
Setting the boiler set point at 65 degrees Celsius after 9 a.m.,
rather than 65-80 degrees Celsius. There are eight boilers on the
site, each of them rated at 2 million BTU/hour so there is an
opportunity to fine-tune, share and adjust load regularly.
-
When the warmer season arrives, certain valves are isolated and
reheat pumps are shut down to prevent the heat energy loss through
circulation in the two buildings. Supply fans also help add
"free" cooling and heating and are set at specific degree ranges,
depending on the season. For example, in winter they raise
the set point of the air handling unit to 20 - 25 degrees C, hence,
the mixed air dampers will be at minimum outdoor air positions most
of the time. This provides adequate heating without burning the
natural gas.
-
All of the reheat pumps are shut down if the outdoor temperature
is higher than 11 degrees C. This was obtained by modifying
the programs controlling the major supply fans (30 in total) of our
1.3 million sq. ft. building.
Robson Square has not had additional variable speed drives
installed or invested one penny to reach the above small steps.
To support its environmental objectives, BLJC tracks relative
energy performance in every building through its Building Energy
Performance Indicator (BEPI) reports which are developed and
reviewed quarterly.
These reports help keep facility management teams motivated and
on top of changes in consumption. The teams work collectively to
develop the most effective energy management strategies possible
from the ground floor up. Success is built by reporting on
each building, each facility management zone, each region and
across the country.
BLJC went as far to create a scorecard which supports a healthy
competition between facility management teams to score points
for:
- The lowest BEPI (Megajoules per square meter)
- The biggest BEPI reduction and;
- Total gigajoule (GJ) reduction and the coveted position of
highest GJ Reduction.
Congratulations to BLJC!!