Energy Retrofit In Canadian University

VANCOUVER -- - BC Hydro and the University of British Columbia announced that the university will save a further $600,000 in annual electricity costs by implementing the largest energy retrofit in Canadian university history.

To date, electricity savings have reached $600,000 through lighting upgrades at 50 buildings throughout the campus, reducing UBCÂ’s total annual electricity consumption by 11 per cent.

BC Hydro has contributed $5 million in incentives to help UBC implement energy efficiency initiatives.

"UBC has demonstrated a deep-seated commitment to make its university campus the most sustainable in the country," says Larry Bell, BC Hydro Chair & CEO. "It has pledged to reduce energy use by 20 per cent over five years, from 1999 to 2004. UBCÂ’s initiatives have set the benchmark for other colleges and universities across the country to strive toward. We recognize UBC as a true leader in energy conservation and we would like to congratulate them for achieving the Power Smart Certification."

According to Martha Piper, UBC President, "We are proud to be recognized by BC Hydro with the achievement of the Power Smart Certification. Implementing these initiatives and raising awareness about sustainability and energy conservation at UBC has a strong impact on the universityÂ’s energy costs, while teaching our students to adopt important environmental values for the future. We look forward to commencing the largest energy retrofit project in Canadian university history with the help of BC Hydro."

UBC is embarking on the largest energy upgrade in Canadian university history that will save the university an additional $600,000 in annual electricity savings – equivalent to powering all the computers at UBC for over 40 years. A major component of the unprecedented upgrade project will be the introduction of computerized automation systems for 50 major campus buildings. They will control the buildings’ heating and ventilation, while providing better comfort and energy savings. In addition, new controls and burners on steam plant boilers will be implemented.

Recently, UBC completed lighting upgrades on 50 campus buildings. The upgrade included the replacement of incandescent lights to compact fluorescent bulbs, old T12Â’s to T8Â’s, new electronic ballasts and light emitting diode exit lamps. In addition, a cutting-edge lighting technology called the induction lamp wasintroduced. This high efficiency lamp produces intense white light and is expected to last 25 years. As part of the project, the lamps in UBCÂ’s heritage chandeliers were upgraded making this one of the first and largest installations of this technology in Canada.

To celebrate its Power Smart Certification, UBC and BC Hydro will host educational presentations, featuring keynote speaker Professor William Rees from UBCÂ’s School of Community and Regional Planning and recipient of the prestigious Killam Research Prize. Dr. Rees will speak about the future of energy use in North America, further emphasizing the importance of initiatives such as Power Smart Certification.

UBCÂ’s dedication to energy conservation and sustainability includes a program for campus students, Trek Step Students. Students work as sustainability coordinators within the program supported by funding from BC Hydro. The student sustainability coordinators help faculty and staff in various departments to set up recycling bins, promote energy conservation, and recruit volunteer sustainability coordinators. In addition, they work with undergraduate student societies and custodial staff to raise awareness for energy conservation and to encourage them to implement their own initiatives to reduce consumption.

The Power Smart Certification distinction is reserved for a select group of organizations who are in the upper echelons of energy efficiency leadership and who have a history of continuous improvement in internal energy efficiency. This includes an aggressive Power Smart action plan with a commitment to adopt best management standards to design, build, commission and retrofit facilities to the highest levels of energy efficiency. The organization must also be in the top 25 per cent of their industry with a target to be in the top 10 per cent with regard to overall energy efficiency. Power Smart Certified customers will be granted access to incentive funding for incremental high profile energy management projects and for demonstration technology opportunities.

Power Smart is a cost-effective initiative that assists customers in conserving electricity, thereby saving them money and reducing further impacts on the environment. Electricity conservation helps BC Hydro meet growing customer demands by making more efficient use of the electricity that is currently generated, and by helping delay the need for new, large-scale generation projects. Over the next 10 years, it is expected that Power Smart will save 3500 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity or enough energy to power 350,000 homes each year. To date, Power Smart has saved customers in British Columbia over $1 billion.