GBC’s Casa Loma Facilities/Operations Team and GBC’s Sustainability Team came together to look for opportunities to make the campus more energy efficient.
October 23-24, 2024
An Energy Treasure Hunt is an exercise whereby employees identify energy saving opportunities in a scavenger hunt like process to create a list of low/no cost energy saving and efficiency measures to implement with the goal of achieving a minimum of 3% - 5% total energy reduction for the facility. These hunts focus on easily achievable measures that have low capital costs and minimum barriers to implementation.
These events are employee driven and are used to elevate the opportunities identified by facilities and operations staff to create proactive plans used to improve building operations and act as a snapshot to determine how efficiently the property is currently operating.
Throughout the two-day event, partners from the Green Will Initiative (GWI), the Canadian Institute for Energy Training (CIET) and members from the GBC Facilities, Operations and Sustainability teams took part in productive discussions and analyses of current energy-management practices across the Casa Loma Campus.
For Day One, GBC’s 146 Kendal building was the featured location of a virtual Energy Treasure Hunt hosted by GWI. The GWI and its partners reviewed the property and presented potential energy-savings opportunities for the College to further investigate. Great ideas were generated, including adjusting chiller controls, lighting control upgrades and retrofits, retro-commissioning the temperature sensors and flow stations within the existing Air Handling Units (AHUs), and adjusting AHU start-up times.
On Day Two, Matthew Archdekin, GBC’s Energy Management Specialist, presented site-specific energy and water consumption/challenges associated with Casa Loma’s facilities. GBC staff engaged in conversations about campus lighting systems, washroom flow and flush systems, the Athletic Centre and Childcare Rooftop Units (RTUs), the building management systems, and the central heating/cooling systems before heading out to see first-hand the current energy and water systems at the campus.
A walk around the campus helped to identify quick and easy ways to save energy such as utilizing photocells to turn off lights in areas illuminated via natural daylight.
Throughout the process a total of 13 energy saving measures were identified for 146 Kendal alone. Phasing out fluorescent and metal halide light fixtures for LEDs is estimated to save approximately 48% on common area lighting energy consumption and will reduce electricity demand on-site by roughly 53 kW resulting in lower electricity demand charges for the site.
Implementation of the identified measures is anticipated to realize a total annual electricity savings of 12%, a total annual natural gas savings of 37%, a total annual utility cost savings of 18%, and a total annual GHG emission reduction of 32% for the site. This equates to a possible reduction in GHG emissions of 93 Tonnes.
This far exceeds the 3% - 5% energy savings identified as the initial target. We consider our inaugural energy treasure hunt a resounding success and look forward to conducting similar events at both our Waterfront and St. James Campuses in the coming year. Findings from the Energy Treasure Hunt process will now be used to inform operations-driven solutions and future energy projects.
Beyond searching for the “low-hanging fruit” we are also using this process to inform the timelines and milestones for major equipment replacements, capital planning and engagement with incentive/funding programs in a timely and effective manner to maximize our return on investment. We aim to take this process from a campus level event to an annual event for each property within our portfolio to help optimize building operations and drive our sustainability initiatives.
For more information on the Energy Treasure Hunt process and other energy-saving programs at GBC, please contact sustainability@georgebrown.ca
Let’s work together to make GBC energy-efficient and sustainable!
