Award Magazine, February 2018, by Natalie Bruckner-Menchelli
It’s an interesting time for those involved in energy management. Regulations are quickly changing, technology is fast advancing, incentives
are in place to help reduce costs and move Canada toward a sustainable future, and individuals in companies are collaborating to share experiences and further advance the sector.
Over at Williams Engineering Canada they are seeing the effects that not only regulations are having on energy management, but advancing technologies and integration. “Regulation is definitely driving the direction, and in general the industry is growing to a better engineering practice as green building design is a fundamental thing. In addition, with the technology, entrepreneurs are designing better products that can be utilized at an acceptable premium,” explains Peter Kuo, mechanical team lead.
Williams is currently collaborating with many technology manufacturers to help them develop new products that the market is looking for, but not yet available. “Further, we are having staff go through Passive House design training, as we are designing the tallest and largest Passive House building in the world. The project is currently registered under the Passive House Association in Germany,” says Kuo. The building Kuo is referring to is 1488 Alberni Street in downtown Vancouver. “We are aiming to utilize less than 60 kWh/m2/yr energy usage intensity [EUI] level, which is almost half of what a typical building consumes.” In general, Williams has noticed more projects with lower total EUI and higher energy recovery efficiency as a result of new technologies. “For example, buildings constructed five years ago have a EUI range from 140 to 160 kwh/m2/yr, and recently a typical building consumes from 100 to 120 keg/m2/yr,” says Kuo.
Read the full article – Coming-Together
