New heaters take shine off green building


High Voltage Maintenance Training Online

Our customized live online or in‑person group training can be delivered to your staff at your location.

  • Live Online
  • 12 hours Instructor-led
  • Group Training Available
Regular Price:
$599
Coupon Price:
$499
Reserve Your Seat Today

Jean Canfield Building electric heater retrofit addresses cold drafts near windows, using rooftop solar power capacity, HVAC adjustments, and energy-efficiency tuning in a Charlottetown federal office to balance occupant comfort on extreme winter days.

 

The Core Facts

An HVAC upgrade adding about 75 electric heaters for window comfort, partly powered by the 139 kW rooftop solar array.

  • Largest single rooftop solar array in Canada: 139 kW
  • About 75 electric heaters added in floor vents near windows
  • Used only on the coldest winter days, per Public Works

 

One of PEI's most environmentally friendly buildings has had to supplement its green systems with some old-fashioned electric heaters for the comfort of the people who work there.

 

When the Jean Canfield Building, a five-storey federal office tower in downtown Charlottetown, where a local hotel went geothermal as well, opened two years ago it included a number of new technologies to lessen its ecological impact. On its roof sits the largest single solar power system in Canada. It can generate up to 139 kW of electricity.

But now some of that power will be used to operate about 75 new electric heaters, even as electric heat and peak demand concerns persist across the region. The heaters were installed in the existing floor vents, after employees who work next to windows complained about the cold.

Kerry Taylor, director of Public Works Canada for PEI, where Atlantic Canada's largest wind farm recently opened, said this kind of change in a new building is not unusual.

"This is something that you find when you open a big building like this," said Taylor.

"There are some things you have to add, there are maybe some things you have to take out to make it more efficient, and that's pretty common in any building, even across a province pursuing wind power self-sufficiency today, whether it's government or private sector."

Related News

TotalEnergies to Acquire German Renewables Developer VSB for US$1.65 Billion

TotalEnergies VSB Acquisition accelerates renewable energy growth, expanding wind and solar portfolios across Germany and…
View more

The German economy used to be the envy of the world. What happened?

Germany's Economic Downturn reflects an energy crisis, deindustrialization risks, export weakness, and manufacturing stress, amid…
View more

Why Canada should invest in "macrogrids" for greener, more reliable electricity

Canadian electricity transmission enables grid resilience, long-distance power trade, and decarbonization by integrating renewables, hydroelectric…
View more

Texas Authorizes Emergency Grid Backup Power

Texas officials granted emergency authority for the grid operator to direct data centers and large…
View more

TransAlta Scraps Wind Farm as Alberta's Energy Future Blusters

Alberta Wind Energy Policy Changes highlight TransAlta's Riplinger cancellation amid UCP buffer zones for pristine…
View more

COVID-19 Pandemic Puts $35 Billion in Wind Energy Investments at Risk, Says Industry Group

COVID-19 Impact on U.S. Wind Industry: disrupting wind power projects, tax credits, and construction timelines,…
View more

Sign Up for Electricity Forum’s Newsletter

Stay informed with our FREE Newsletter — get the latest news, breakthrough technologies, and expert insights, delivered straight to your inbox.

Electricity Today T&D Magazine Subscribe for FREE

Stay informed with the latest T&D policies and technologies.
  • Timely insights from industry experts
  • Practical solutions T&D engineers
  • Free access to every issue

Download the 2026 Electrical Training Catalog

Explore 50+ live, expert-led electrical training courses –

  • Interactive
  • Flexible
  • CEU-cerified