Canadian Consulting Engineer May 2010

For professional engineers in private practice

MAY 2010

DRAWING HEAT FROM DISUSED MINES GEOEXCHANGE AT SEYMOUR-CAPILANO WESTJET CAMPUS LANGARA COLLEGE BEAVER BARRACKS

SOLAR & GROUND SOURCE

TECHNOLOGIES FOR BUILDINGS

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contents

May 2010 Volume 51, No. 3

SPECIAL ISSUE

Cover: Photo Š iStockphoto/Thinkstock

WestJet Calgary Campus, see story page 24.

departments Comment

4

Up Front

6

ACEC Review

10

Products

32

Engineers & the Law

37

Advertiser Index

40

Professional Development

42

Next issue: Golden Ears Bridge, stormwater control, water reclamation, lidar and laser mapping

Solar and Ground Source Technologies Geoexchange Doing it Right. We need policies for the development and planning of geoexchange fields.

By Jana Levison, PhD, EIT, Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy

14

Mining Heat. Inactive mines can be welcome sources of geothermal energy for local industry and communities.

By Brad Kynoch, B.Sc., Marbek

18

WestJet Calgary Campus. The geoexchange piping at a large corporate complex is incorporated into the structural piles.

By Jim Bererton, P.Eng., Stantec

24

Thermenex at Langara. New technology at a Vancouver college allows the student building largely to heat and cool itself.

By Jeff Weston, P.Eng., IMEC Mechanical

26

Seymour-Capilano Plant. A B.C. water treatment centre’s clear well acts as a thermal buffer for the geoexchange system.

By Dejan Radoicic, P.Eng., Stantec

27

Beaver Barracks District Energy. In downtown Ottawa, a geoexchange pipe field serves five residential buildings.

By Ruben Arellano, P.Eng., Hemmera Energy

36

Solar Solar on the Brink. Timely advice on how to integrate solar technologies into buildings.

By Ian Sinclair, P.Eng., Enermodal Engineering

30

John Molson School of Business. The hybrid photovoltaicthermal system on a building at Concordia University in Montreal serves more than double duty.

35

May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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comment

engineer For professional engineers in private practice

C a n a d i a n C o n s u lt i n g

Editor

Bronwen Parsons E-mail: bparsons@ccemag.com (416) 510-5119 Senior Publisher

Sun is shining for solar specialists

Maureen Levy E-mail: mlevy@ccemag.com (416) 510-5111 Art Director

Ellie Robinson

S

ince Ontario’s government announced its Feed-in-Tariff program, companies have been falling over themselves to supply solar and other renewable technologies that will qualify for the generous contract price. No wonder, when the FIT program pays up to 80 cents for every kilowatt of energy generated. Photovoltaic and solar panels should be popping up on roofs all over the place soon.

In provinces like B.C. and Quebec, not so much. That’s because they don’t rely on “dirty” coal or nuclear plants and because their electricity is cheaper than Ontario’s, so there’s less incentive to tap the sun’s power.

What kind of a role can consulting engineers expect to have in the burgeoning solar market? In many cases, solar systems are supplied on a turnkey basis, and the equipment suppliers have their own engineers on staff. One firm of consulting engineers, however — Morrison Hershfield — has joined forces with a supplier to provide their own complete package of design services and equipment.

Currently the biggest role for consulting engineers is structural, ensuring that the building’s roof can support the solar/PV panels. A few consulting engineering companies like Genivar are also helping to design the large ground-mounted solar farms. It is still a relatively small group of engineers who do the specialized work in designing solar systems for buildings — precisely calculating solar angles, balancing the inputs and outputs, and selecting reliable equipment. Until now, these specialists have tended to be individuals or very small firms who, as one engineer explained it, worked at the grass roots level in solar technology “because they loved it.” Now they find themselves suddenly “on the tip of an iceberg” (bad metaphor) of an industry that has put them in demand.

Consulting engineers told us that before the FIT program, most of the work they did on solar systems remained as just studies. With paybacks of up to 30 years, the systems that did get built were more token displays, meant to signal that the building owner was virtuously green.

Now that the market is taking off, however, will wide-scale solar systems on buildings ever amount to much in terms of our overall energy supply?

It is doubtful that a commercial or institutional building of any size will be able to convert enough solar energy through photovoltaics to supply all its electricity needs all of the time.

Solar thermal technologies, which use solar radiation directly for heating air or water, are much more promising. As Ian Sinclair, P.Eng. of Enermodal Engineering points out on page 30, “From an energy perspective, solar thermal ... is typically three to five times more efficient than PV in converting the sun’s rays into useful energy.” Solar thermal systems are also much cheaper.

Ground source heat pump systems — the other focus of this special issue — are also efficient and have huge potential as long as they’re developed carefully (see Jana Levison’s article on page 14). They are not included in Ontario’s FIT program, but the industry is growing steadily and prospering, even without the government support.

Bronwen Parsons

4

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com May 2010

Contributing Editor

Rosalind Cairncross, P.Eng. Advertising Sales Manager

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up front

ENVIRONMENT

Mirror, mirror on the walls Environmental groups are suing the owners of Consilium Place on the outskirts of Toronto for causing the deaths of thousands of migratory birds in the past decade. The birds fly into the 17-storey complex’s mirror glass walls.

A.-Lepage Port of Call Cruise Terminal, La Baie, Saguenay, Quebec.

AWARDS

Twelve win Quebec Grand Prix The Association of Consulting Engineers of Quebec/l’association des ingénieurs-conseils du Québec (AICQ) held its Leonard 2010 Grand Prix du génieconseil Québecois on March 25 at the Montreal Science Centre.

Congratulations to the following: Pageau Morel, for a triplex, “Abondance Montreal - Le Soleil” (buildings, mechanical-electrical). Cegertec Experts-Conseils for A.-Lepage Port of call Cruise Terminal, La Baie, Saguenay (buildings, structural). RSW for Ashlu Creek Hydroelectric Project, Squamish, B.C. (energy); Les Consultants S.M./ Teknika HBA, Restoration of Site 1, Eustis Mining Complex, Estrie (environment); CIMA+ for University of Sherbrooke’s Longueuil Campus (project-construction management); RSW for Underground Concentrator at Gold Mine, Abitibi (industry); SNC-Lavalin for Baggage Handling System, Transborder Departures, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, Montreal (transport); Les Consultants LBCD for Hudson Wastewater Treatment Plant (urban infrastructure); RSW for Studies at Boussiaba Dam, Algeria; BBA for a Monitoring System of Electrical Networks (telecommunications and new technologies).

Yan Ferron of Pageau Morel won the emerging consulting engineering professional award for Montreal Buanderie 6

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com May 2010

Centrale Modernisation. Stavibel won the jury’s special visionary award for Firefighter Barracks, Senneterre.

The chair of this year’s jury was Isabelle Courville, president of HydroQuébec TransEnergie BUILDINGS

LEED has changed In June the new LEED Canada rating system becomes mandatory. An applicable Reference Guide will be released then as well.

The new system includes numerous changes. For example, the New Construction and Major Renovations rating has been merged with Core and Shell into one document.

The total point score is now 110 rather than 70. Points are weighted according to their environmental importance, and there are regional priority credits.

Performance thresholds have also been changed. The threshold for onsite wastewater treatment, for example, has been reduced to 50%, but there is a new prerequisite for water efficiency.

Outdoor air ventilation rates have to be 30% above ASHRAE Standard 62.12007. Fire suppression systems must be free of ozone-depleting substances.

The certification process has been reduced from three rounds to two, eliminating the audit round.

See a complete list of changes at www.cagbc.org continued on page 9

HVAC

Care for cooling towers New research supported by ASHRAE indicates that nonchemical devices to prevent problems such as Legionella in cooling towers don’t work. The research by Dr. Radisav Vidic at the University of Pittsburgh evaluated five technologies and found none measurably reduced planktonic or sessile microbial growth in the cooling towers.

The five technologies studied were hydrostatic cavitation, pulsed and static electric fields, and ultra-sonic and magnetic devices.

GREEN ROOFS

Putting out fires The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved VF-1, Fire Design Standard for Vegetative Roofs.

The standard sets out criteria for prudent roof design and mandatory maintenance. It was created by industry associations Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and SPRI.

up front

continued from page 6 Halsall/RFR

being built farther upstream. The Walkerton Clean “Peace Bridge” is designed by Spanish Water Centre opens architect Santiago Calatrava.

The Walkerton Clean Water Centre will officially open its new faciliTRANSPORTATION ties in June. The centre is located Stoney Trail contract awarded in the town that became infamous Chinook Roads Partnership, a 50/50 in 2000 after its public utility disjoint venture of SNC-Lavalin of tributed contaminated water, which Montreal and Acciona has won a Design concept for St. Patrick’s Island pedesled to several deaths and thousands contract from Alberta Infrastructure trian bridge in Calgary by Halsall/RFR. becoming ill. The tragedy and subsefor the largest single highway projquent inquiry prompted widespread ect in Alberta’s history. The P3 partchanges in the water treatment secsprings from the city’s East Village nership will design, build, operate, onto St. Patrick’s Island, then to tor throughout Ontario and the rest maintain and partially finance the the neighbourhood of Bridgeland of Canada. southeast section of Calgary’s Stoney to the north.

The Walkerton centre is an agency Trail Ring Road. With six lanes, The public apparently appreciated of the Ontario government and prothe 25-kilometre stretch will include the winning project’s simplicity and vides hands-on training and educanine interchanges, one road flyover, saw it “emulating a stone skipping tion to drinking water system operatwo rail flyovers and 27 bridges. across the Bow River.” Others saw it as tors, and system owners. It also has Construction is set to begin in rolling foothills or the Chinook arch. a demonstration facility for leading May, with an opening in the fall of Systemair 4/13/10 8:52 AM Page 1 The new $20-25 million bridge should water technologies.

2013.The Chinook Road Partnership be completed by 2012. John Ford, The new 2,013-m2 building is will operate and maintain the highP.Eng. is project manager at Halsall. way for 30 years. Their contract is designed for LEED Gold, with solar Calgary has another new bridge worth $769 million. and ground source heat pump systems. It also uses 78% less water than the norm. AECOM are architects, structural and civil engineers. VanderSystemair is a leading ventilation company with westen & Rutherford Associates are operations in 38 countries in Europe, Asia, Middle East, mechanical-electrical engineers, and Enermodal Engineering are LEED South Africa , North America and Australia. and energy efficiency consultants.

WATER

t

BRIDGES

Halsall wins St. Patrick’s Bridge competition Halsall Associates together with RFR of Paris, France won a competition to design a concept for the St. Patrick Island pedestrian bridge to cross the Bow River in Calgary. The design competition held by Calgary Municipal Lands Corporation was a rare event and initially drew 33 entries, many from consulting engineers. All 33 designs are shown at www.calgarymlc.ca/submissions Eventually three teams were shortlisted (Halsall/RFR, ARUP, and Buckland & Taylor) and the public was invited to give its input. Over 2,000 comments were received, but the final decision was left to an advisory committee on March 22.

Halsall-RFR’s winning design is a low profile arched structure that

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May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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ACEC review

Chair’s Message

Advocacy in Uncertain Times

T

the federal budget tabled this past March was the proverbial good news/bad news story. While the government will follow through on its infrastructure commitments, there likely will be significant scaling back on government infrastructure investment beyond 2011.

Our industry, on balance, has faired better than most through the recent financial downturn. And the years preceding the turndown were boon times for most of our members.

While ACEC, as an organization, made significant progress on behalf of our member firms (InfraGuide’s endorsement of Qualifications-Based Selection as the Best Practice for procurement of engineering services comes to mind), it is clear that continuous sustained advocacy is critical.

Ongoing education and communication is required to influence policies and change, as is the commitment of individual firms to take strong stands with clients on issues

of contractual fairness and procurement in support of the efforts of ACEC. In preparation for updating our Strategic Plan we have recently completed a members needs survey, the results of which were central to the deliberations by the Board of Directors at the strategic planning session. Thank you to those member representatives who took the time to complete the survey and I assure you that your input is very much appreciated. In keeping with the theme of this article, government relations and advocacy were ranked highest by participants when considering value and role, as well as the importance of services provided by ACEC. Whether times are good or challenging, it is important that members continue to support ACEC advocacy efforts by making informed business decisions as individual firms — short-term decisions that will help to improve the business climate for the entire industry in the long run.

ANDY ROBINSON, P.ENG., CHAIR ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERING COMPANIES (ACEC)

Message du Président du conseil

La promotion et la défense des intérêts de l’industrie en temps incertains

L

e budget fédéral déposé au mois de mars était typiquement empreint de bonnes et de mauvaises nouvelles. Alors que le gouvernement poursuivra ses engagements au plan de l’infrastructure, ses investissements dans l’infrastructure vont vraisemblablement beaucoup diminuer après 2011. Dans l’ensemble, notre industrie s’est mieux tirée de la récente récession que la plupart des autres secteurs. De plus, les années qui ont précédé le ralentissement ont été très prospères pour la plupart de nos membres.

Bien que l’AFIC ait réalisé de grands progrès pour le bénéfice de nos firmes membres (dont la promotion, par InfraGuide, de la sélection basée sur les compétences comme la meilleure pratique d’achat de services de génie-conseil), il est clair qu’il est essentiel d’assurer une représentation continue de nos intérêts. Il faut une sensibilisation et une communication continues pour influencer les politiques et le changement, et il est aussi important que les firmes individuelles agissent auprès de leurs clients pour assurer l’équité des contrats et des modes d’approvisionnement à l’appui des efforts de l’AFIC.

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

May 2010

En préparation de la mise à jour du plan stratégique de l’AFIC, nous avons récemment complété une enquête sur les besoins des membres dont les résultats étaient au centre des délibérations du conseil d’administration lors de sa séance de planification stratégique. Je remercie les représentants des firmes membres qui ont pris le temps de répondre au questionnaire de l’enquête et je vous assure que vos commentaires sont très appréciés et qu’ils ont été dûment notés.

Les relations gouvernementales et la défense des intérêts de l’industrie figuraient en tête de liste des priorités des répondants aux plans de la valeur et du rôle de l’AFIC ainsi que de l’importance de ses services aux membres.

Autant en périodes de prospérité qu’en temps difficiles, il est important que les membres continuent d’appuyer les efforts de représentation et de promotion de l’AFIC en prenant des décisions éclairées en tant que firmes individuelles – des décisions à court terme qui contribueront à améliorer le climat d’affaires pour l’ensemble de l’industrie à long terme.

ANDY ROBINSON, P.ENG., PRÉSIDENT DU CONSEIL ASSOCIATION DES FIRMES D’INGÉNIEURS-CONSEILs (AFIC)

ACEC review

CSA Training Course Supports Best Practice in Selection and Procurement of Professional Services By the Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

A

s part of its Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program (MISP), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) will launch a new training course on the Selection and Procurement of Professional Services in Spring 2010. The course is the result of a collaborative effort with leading experts from stakeholders across Canada.

Municipalities face many challenges as they strive to optimize infrastructure investments and to effectively respond to these challenges requires specific competencies and qualifications that often need to be secured through engineering, architectural and other professional service providers.

The CSA course addresses issues surrounding the selection and procurement of professional services including sourcing methodologies. One highlight of the course is a virtual learning experience focused on Qualifications Based Selection (QBS).

Implementing QualificationsBased Selection QBS employs a different cycle of steps than price-based methodologies characterized by requests for proposals.

Pricing is a consideration only after ensuring that a qualified professional service provider has contributed their

expertise and experience at the earliest stages of the project.

Initial project design and engineering costs typically represent 1% to 2% against the balance of

other lifecycle costs such as construction and maintenance (Infraguide, 2006). An investment in the quality of consulting services presents an opportunity to make a substantive difference in a project’s success.

In the United States, QBS has been mandated at the federal level for a number of decades via The Brooks Act. A recently completed academic research study in the U.S. entitled An Analysis of Issues Pertaining to Qualifications-Based Selection, reviewed 200 projects and findings reinforced the benefits of using QBS such as better control over construction costs and a higher degree of project satisfaction.

In Canada, the province of Quebec officially adopted QBS for contracting professional services in July 2008 and QBS has been adopted by

a number of municipalities to date.

Building community and value added solutions An important principle for the CSA MISP program is to build upon and complement the ongoing efforts of other organizations. The new course is aligned with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Infraguide best practice report Selecting a Professional Consultant which provides a solid comparison of price and qualifications-based methodologies (www.fcm.ca).

The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) is currently supporting the efforts of CSA. “Organizations that support and adopt QBS are organizations that understand that professional services such as engineering are an investment in a successful project — not an expense” notes ACEC President John Gamble. “To be successful under QBS, consultants focus on the best possible outcome for the client. This is an incentive to be innovative and to provide value added solutions.”

Additional details about the MISP and contact information for CSA representatives can be found by visiting www.csa.ca/infrastructure.

ACEC Member Organizations: Consulting Engineers of British Columbia, Consulting Engineers of Yukon, Consulting Engineers of Alberta, Consulting Engineers of Northwest Territories, Consulting Engineers of Saskatchewan, Consulting Engineers of Manitoba, Consulting Engineers of Ontario, Association des Ingénieurs-conseils du Québec, Association of Consulting Engineering Companies of New Brunswick, Consulting Engineers of Nova Scotia, Consulting Engineers of Prince Edward Island, Consulting Engineers of Newfoundland and Labrador.

May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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ACEC review

ACEC Summit 2010! Register for the Young Professional Program today!

T

he Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) is pleased to be hosting its second annual Young Professional Program.

Young Professionals are invited to attend the ACEC National Summit & Convention, June 24-26, 2010 in the picturesque town of St. Andrews-bythe Sea, New Brunswick.

The ACEC Young Professional Program has been designed to bring emerging leaders in our industry to-

gether from across the country for professional development and networking opportunities. The YP program has been specifically created to address the issues facing the YP today and to foster a better understanding of the Canadian consulting engineering industry.

“The ACEC Summit was a great opportunity to meet other young professionals and industry leaders from the consulting community,” said Selena Wilson, EIT with McElhanney Engineering Services Ltd. “The business sessions gave us an opportunity to exchange ideas and perspectives from different parts of the country, and the social program was excellent.”

Young Professionals attending will be afforded the chance to network with peers and senior executives, while also gaining a national perspective on the business of engineering.

Individuals who are 35 years of age and younger and working for an ACEC Member Firm are eligible for the special YP registration rate.

Further registration information, along with a preliminary program and accommodation information, can be found on the ACEC website at www.acec.ca.

ACEC Set to Review Strategic Plan

T

he ACEC Board of Directors is meeting on April 19 in Halifax to review the organization’s strategic plan. Recently, a membership satisfaction survey was issued to all Member Firms requesting feedback on its services and programs. We also asked members to rank the effectiveness of these programs and services.

The results of the survey very 12

Canadian Consulting Engineer

May 2010

clearly spell out the challenges facing firms today. The ACEC Board will be discussing these issues and determining how the association can best support members in the months ahead. Communications will follow after this important meeting to provide updates on the association’s plan.

We thank you for your feedback!

Consulting Engineers Compensation Survey

A

CEC has partnered with WCBC to produce an annual compensation survey of consulting engineering firms.

WCBC is collecting data from now until the end of August for its 12th Annual Consulting Engineers Compensation Survey.

Get the data you need and save 50% or more by registering to participate. You will receive industry specific data on over 60 positions including engineering, technical, executive, management, information technology and administrative positions.

Register online at www.wcbc. ca.surveys/consultingengineers.

ACEC Co-ordinates The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies’ national office is located at 130 Albert Street, Suite 616, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5G4, tel: 1-800-565-0569; 613-236-0569; e-mail: jgamble@acec.ca. website: www.acec.ca

ACEC review

Register today for the ACEC Summit and National Convention!

June 24-26, 2010

Keynote Address By Bruce Sellery, Journalist and Business Analyst A Map of the Markets – Are We on Course?

B

R

egister today for the ACEC Summit and National Convention set to take place June 24-26, 2010 at the Fairmont Algonquin Hotel along the breathtaking coast of St. Andrewsby-the-Sea, New Brunswick.

With the Bay of Fundy (featuring the world’s highest tides) and the changing economy as a backdrop, this year’s theme “Changing Tides” will focus on identifying risks and opportunities in the business and regulatory landscape after the recession and after stimulus funding. Can your firm take advantage of the new marketplace — both domestically and internationally? We’ll find out from experts representing both the public and private sectors.

Business sessions will include discussions on market trends; changing demands, building high performing organizations in challenging times, and trends in law, liability and insurance. Also planned are the popular Owner’s Panel and the CEO and Principal’s Roundtable. A PSMJ Pre-Event Bootcamp is scheduled for June 23rd and will focus on “Strategic Based Business Development.”

For delegates and companions looking to enjoy the sites surrounding St. Andrews, an exciting array of social activities has been planned. Highlights include a lobster feast, a historic bus tour, whale watching, kayaking and the annual ACEC Golf Classic.

Many other tours have been planned, so make sure to check out the ACEC Summit Brochure for more details.

Registration information, along with a preliminary program and accommodation information, is now available on the ACEC website at www.acec.ca.

ruce Sellery is an experienced business journalist and speaker. He is one of the founders of CTV’s Business News Network and is currently the host of “workopolis tv,” a national prime-time program all about the world of work.

Sellery headed up BNN’s documentary unit and served as the New York Bureau Chief for three years, covering major corporate and economic stories.

Prior to his move into business journalism, Sellery worked at Procter & Gamble where he held leadership roles in both sales and brand management. He also led the company’s diversity training initiative and is a graduate of the Queen’s School of Business.

May 2010

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geoexchange

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By Jana Levison, PhD, EIT Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy (OCEPP)

Doing it Right

lthough today’s renewable energy policies often focus on electricity generation and biofuels for transportation, up to 40–50% of the total global energy demand is for heating and cooling.

Ground-source heating and cooling (GSHC) systems are a versatile, proven technology with low carbon emissions for applications ranging from small residential buildings to large commercial and institutional developments. GSHC is a great unsung technology.

David MacKay, chief scientific advisor to the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change, is a big GSHC fan. He asks: “Can we reduce the energy we consume for heating?

Yes. Can we get off fossil fuels at the same time? Yes…[W]e should replace all our fossil-fuel heaters with electric-powered heat pumps; we can reduce the energy required to 25% of today’s levels…Heat pumps are future-proof, allowing us to heat buildings efficiently with electricity from any source.”1 With their first patent dating back to 1912, GSHC systems have been used for many years. But as the demand for renewable energy production rises, they have been growing in popularity. According to the Canadian GeoExchange Coali-

As the market for ground source heating and cooling systems grows across Canada, we must develop policies to address any hydrogeological and planning impacts. tion, over 15,000 new units were installed across the country in 2008, about 3.5 times the number just two years earlier.

As the market for GHSC explodes, the hydrogeological and planning impacts of these systems must be addressed.

We must ensure that the natural earth energy resource is used fairly and sustainably.

Hidden below the ground GSHC systems consist of a subsurface loop, a heat pump and a distribution system. Open-loop systems draw water from two or more wells and return it after use to the aquifer or a surface water body. Closed-loop systems use pipes buried in the ground horizontally, vertically, or in a coiled configuration. Within the loop an antifreeze-water solution is continuously circulated.

Despite their benefits, GSHC systems can pose some concerns regarding their impact on the host terrain. There is concern, for example, about the following: • Potential leakage from the GSHC system of heat transfer fluids (for closed-loops) or water geochemical changes.

• Thermal pollution if the subsurface becomes hotter or colder than the ambient conditions. This heat or cold could travel in the subsurface and affect adjacent properties or systems, surface water bodies or flora/fauna.

• Well biofouling or clogging from subsurface biological changes.

• Preferential flow pathways (ways for contaminants more easily to reach the subsurface) due to improper siting, maintenance, and decommissioning of the GSHP system.

• Groundwater flow rate reductions from excesAbove: Staufen Town Hall, Germany. Cracks started to form in this and neighbouring buildings (right) immediately following geothermal drillings in the city centre in 2007. Photographs taken 2009, courtesy Nico Goldscheider.

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www.canadianconsultingengineer.com May 2010

continued on page 16

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geoexchange

continued from page 14

sive chilling or ground freezing.

• Aquifer depressurization in areas with artesian conditions, or water table mounding from water discharge.

• Frost heave, swelling, or ground subsidence.

We do not know as much as we should about these potential issues. More technical study that couples long-term field monitoring data (temperature and water biogeochemistry) and numerical modeling are required.

Regulatory vacuum There is little GSHC legislation across the world. According to British hydro and thermogeologist David Banks, “In many areas of ground source heat technology, there is currently a ‘regulatory vacuum’ — laws simply do not exist in many countries to govern the use and abuse of the subsurface heat resource. In the absence of binding legislation, regulators and professional trade organizations are seeking to develop codes of best practice.”2 Some of the most detailed regulations have been developed in Germany, Sweden, and Austria. In Canada, minimum requirements, including site selection, equipment and materials, design and installation, testing and decommissioning, have been recommended by the Canadian Standards Association (C448). The standards are embedded in the Ontario Building Code, for example.

For commercial systems, the CSA standards advocate that professional engineers do the design, and that professional geoscientists investigate the groundwater/subsurface conditions. In British Columbia, a code of practice for well construction, testing and maintenance in the Ground Water Protection Regulation under the Water Act includes provisions for open and closed-loop systems.

Although standards and water resource-related legislation exist, there is no comprehensive legislation dealing specifically with hydrogeological aspects of GSHC installations across Canada.

In order to protect our water resources, dependent ecosystems, consumers and the GSHC industry, the regulations for subsurface development and community planning must

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be updated to reflect the rapidly growing GSHC industry. In Ontario, for example, the Ministry of the Environment has recently undertaken a consultation process to determine if policy or regulation changes are required. Standards surrounding system siting (including reporting), maintenance, and decommissioning are essential. Watershed-scale protocols must be developed for conservation authorities. Technical hydrogeological research must be applied to develop policy for such issues as the appropriate system densities in different geological settings.

According to environmental engineer Paul Younger, GSHC sustainability requires three things: financial viability; social limits to ensure the use of the natural resource by others is not compromised; and protection of natural ecosystems. These broad and comprehensive principles must form the basis of GSHC planning policies.3 GSHC systems cannot be installed haphazardly without incorporating hydrogeological and planning considerations. Community planning and district energy heating and cooling schemes must ensure the equitable and sustainable use of this technology. Engineering research, regulations and guidelines must grow with the industry.

There must be an informed, evidence-based balance between over-prescriptive regulations that can hamper the industry in the immediate future, and the need to guarantee the long-term sustainable use of these systems. Canadian consulting engineers and geoscientists have an important role to play in this undertaking.

CCE 1

MacKay, D., Sustainable Energy — Without the Hot Air. 2009, UIT Cambridge, England, p. 153.

2 Banks, D., An Introduction to Thermogeology: Ground Source Heating and Cooling. 2008, Blackwell, Oxford, England, p. 273.

3 Younger, P., Ground-Coupled Heating-Cooling Systems in Urban Areas: How Sustainable Are They? 2008, Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 28(2), pp. 174-182.

Jana Levison, Ph.D., EIT is with the Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy (OCEPP) in Toronto.

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geothermal

Instead of being left as empty holes in the ground, inactive mines can be welcome sources of geothermal energy for the local community.

By Brad Kynoch, B.Sc. Marbek

O

ver two centuries of mining in Canada have left thousands of underground mines that are no longer used but are still largely intact.

With increasing energy prices, price instability, and the focus on energy independence, it may make sense to extract geothermal energy from some of these underground workings and use it to heat nearby buildings. The idea might sound far-fetched, but it has been around for decades and has many benefits for the community and the environment. Upon closure of a mine, turning it into a renewable geothermal energy source

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www.canadianconsultingengineer.com May 2010

provides a welcome parting gift to the community and can improve a mining company’s public image.

There are a number of geothermal underground mine water systems in operation or under active consideration around the world, including in Canada, the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Slovakia and Ukraine. Site-specific conditions vary widely, with a range of mine types (e.g. coal, lead, gold, copper), volumes and flow rates. Consequently, energy savings and payback periods also vary widely.

One system in Canada that has been successfully

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MINING HEAT

geothermal

Springhill, Nova Scotia Geothermal Mine Water One of the longest running geothermal mine water systems in the world is in Springhill, Nova Scotia. The system, championed by Ralph Ross of Ross Refrigeration, was the first in North America and has been running for almost 20 years now. Its project history is as follows: 1958 - Coal mines ceased operation Early 1980s - Warm surface water noticed by local residents Mid 1980s - Proponents explored geothermal potential; gathered interest of industry, community and town; met with federal government earth scientists

1986-88 - Engineering study and test drilling 1989 - Designed system and flooded mines 1990 - Demonstration project running 2009 - Seven buildings connected

Using multiple extraction (18°C) and re-injection (13°C) points, a district heating loop, and a number of heat pumps, the system supplies heat to seven commercial and municipal buildings: the Ropak plastics and Surrette Battery manufacturing plants, a community centre/arena, dental/MLA complex, restaurant, firehall, and funeral home. The benefits in three of these buildings are described below.

Building

Building & HVAC system

Savings & Benefits

Ropak Manufacturing

• Manufactures injection moldings • 13,500 m2 conditioned floor space • 22 water-source heat pumps

• Operating cost savings of $160,000/yr (66% of original heat requirements) • Conditioned workspaces • Reduced absenteeism

Surrette Battery Manufacturing

• Manufactures lead-acid batteries for auto/industrial and energy storage sectors • Requires high volume of fresh make-up air due to chemical processing fumes • Potential for waste heat project

• Capital cost savings of $75,000 (avoided new $95,000 acid chiller and used $20,000 to pipe geothermal) • Operating cost savings of $26,000/yr

Dr. Carson & Marion Murray Community Centre

• 5,000 m2 of arena, conference rooms, and offices • Year-round NHL-sized ice surface • Occupancy of 1,200; seating for 800 • In-floor heating throughout • Fully air-conditioned

• Operating cost savings of $70,000/yr including operator wages

operating for many years is at Springhill in Nova Scotia (see above).

Potential in Canada - a Survey In 2006, Marbek and FVB Energy completed a study for the Mining Association of Canada and Natural Resources Canada. We examined the potential for using geothermally heated mine water from inactive underground mines to heat nearby surface facilities.

Based on the best available data in regional mine databases, the study estimated that 2,500 to 7,500

inactive underground mines exist in Canada.

The following five criteria were used to assess the preliminary technical suitability of these mines for geothermal mine water systems: • Depth of at least 30 metres as a proxy for sufficient mine water temperature.

• Extensive underground workings as a proxy for size and renewability of the geothermal reservoir.

• Closed after 1950 as a proxy for mine workings in good condition and availability of accurate mine data.

• Located near potential end-uses to minimize the cost continued on page 20

May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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geothermal

continued from page 19

of insulated pipe.

• Low possibility of re-opening to ensure long-term project financial viability.

Based on the limited data on these thousands of mines and their nearby communities, the study found that

around 25 sites adequately met the screening criteria above. Most of the 25 sites are now owned by provincial and territorial governments, with only a few still owned by mining companies. The remaining thousands of sites were deemed unsuitable because they

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appear to be too shallow, small, old, or remote, although more accurate site data may improve their suitability for geothermal.

According to the 2006 study, even 25 such geothermal mine systems could help reduce approximately 10 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year (ktCO2 e/yr) of greenhouse gas emissions.

Some of the more promising sites in Canada are: • Noranda copper mine near Murdochville, Quebec, with extensive workings from 40-50 years of mining (the town has recently applied for funding through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to implement a geothermal mine water system).

• Con gold mine under Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, with 130 kilometres of workings to a depth of 1,900 metres.

• Wellington coal mine under Nanaimo, B.C., with workings to a depth of 125 metres.

• Frood nickel-copper mine in Sudbury, Ontario with workings to a depth of at least 900 metres.

• Falconbridge nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario, with workings to a depth of 2,000 metres.

• Various coal mines (e.g. Dominion and Old Emery) near Sydney and Reserve Mines, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.

They have underground workings spread over 10-15 square kilometres and reaching a depth of 1,000 metres.

Geothermal mine water system design is very site specific and requires detailed, locally-drawn information to more accurately assess the technical suitability of a site. Consequently, the 25 potential sites noted above provide only a first approximation of the potential in Canada.

What makes a mine suitable?

The most important considerations for determining the suitability of an underground reservoir as a geothermal resource are its overall shape, condition, thermal capacity, and thermal sustainability (i.e. whether the surrounding earth can replace the continued on page 22

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geothermal

continued from page 20

heat that is continu• Heat pump configually removed). Also ration important is the • Temperature lift quality of water that from mine water to would be circulated desired temperature through the reser• Electricity price relvoir. Water quality isative to fossil fuel sues such as dissolved prices solids and acidity • Electricity generamay require specialtion source(s) and asized filtration and sociated emissions. materials selection, which would directly Above: typical geothermal mine water system. Image based on U.S. Department of Energy, Engineering National Renewable Energy Laboratory, March 1998, www.eere.energy.gov affect project costs. aspects The illustration Heat extraction and inshows the system configuration and main components in a jection system. The heat contained in the geothermal typical geothermal mine water system. Other key technical reservoir water must be extracted and transferred to considerations are: thermal loads, where it can be used. If the water tem• Mine condition and connectivity perature in the mine is close to that required by the • Water quality (filtration and treatment) end-user, then a simple heat exchanger can be used to • Temperature change by depth transfer heat. Most suitable inactive underground • Water flow rate to avoid exhaustion mines in Canada, however, would require a heat pump • Distance from extraction point(s) to thermal loads to lift the temperature adequately.

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geothermal Heat transfer and distribution system. Most systems require a significant amount of medium- or low-temperature water/fluid to be moved from the geothermal extraction point to the thermal loads. This transfer is usually achieved through an insulated pipe network.

The insulated pipes are very costly to purchase and install, which adds to the overall project costs.

End-use heating applications. Typical end-uses for the extracted heat include medium or low-temperature applications such as space heating, domestic hot water, and processes in industrial, commercial, residential and municipal buildings. Since heat pump performance is particularly sensitive to the required application temperature, it is important for the system design to minimize the temperature difference between the mine water and the intended heat use.

Multiple benefits Geothermal mine water systems can benefit both the mining sector and the local community in several ways.

Renewed life for inactive infrastructure. Legacy mine workings can continue to serve the community with renewable energy. Industry spends a great deal of money creating huge cavities in the earth over decades of mining. Depending on the mine characteristics, it may make good sense to repurpose the inactive workings as ready-made geothermal energy collection fields.

Improved economic development. The lower heating costs from the geothermal systems can help attract businesses and jobs to communities where facilities can be built above or near underground mines, potentially revitalizing old mining towns. The use of the systems can also strengthen local interest in renewable energy and green technology, especially when the geothermal energy is used to heat buildings with a high level of public access.

Lower energy costs from renewable energy. While the current energy-savings-based payback can range from 5 to 20 years for suitable sites, this will improve as fossil fuel prices continue to rise in the long term. With a renewable energy source at hand, businesses and institutions can operate more competitively, with lower and more stable energy costs and increased energy independence.

Fewer air emissions. Using low-impact renewable energy offsets fossil fuel use in the connected facilities. This reduces the greenhouse gases and air contaminants produced from fossil fuel combustion.

Improved mining legacy. Transitioning suitable mines into renewable geothermal energy sources provides a welcome parting gift to the community. cce

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This highly efficient system facilitates virtually no energy waste, reduced CO 2 emissions and drastically reduced operating cost. Also, with a reputation for exceeding industry efficiency standards, like VRF technology, it’s only natural to find City Multi at the cutting edge of geothermal HVAC installations.

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Brad Kynoch, B.Sc., is an associate at Marbek, an energy and environmental consulting firm in Ottawa that serves public, private and non-profit sector clients.

May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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geoexchange

By Jim Bererton, P.Eng. Stantec

At a large corporate complex in Calgary, the engineers incorporated geoexchange piping into the structural piles.

WestJet Calgary Campus

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egional markets where natural gas costs much less than electricity challenge the commercial viability of conventional geo-exchange systems. There are few places where this is more true than in Alberta. Geo-exchange systems do require electricity and they only begin to reduce energy costs when the cost ratio of electricity over alternative heating energy is less than the seasonal performance coefficient.

In such a market, the annual energy savings of a conventional geoexchange system for the 30,200-m2 WestJet Airlines corporate campus near the international airport in Calgary, did not justify the upfront investment. It would have cost $1.4 million to install the large 200-borehole field that was necessary to meet the building loads.

As a result, designers had to use innovative thinking and sophisticated control algorithms to achieve the optimum efficiency necessary to make the geoexchange system worthwhile.

Conventional building design examines the worst-case weather conditions and sizes the boiler and chiller separately to meet the peak demands, which results in oversized equipment for more average conditions. As well, segregating the heating distribution network from the cooling distribution network forces designers to supply each building zone with capacity to meet peak heating and cooling demands. In larger commercial buildings like the WestJet campus it is not uncommon to have simultaneous heating and cooling calls on the central HVAC plant.

Right: approach to the campus.

Below: preparing rebar for the 20-m deep piles; the geothermal pipe loops are attached inside.

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The first and perhaps most effective design innovation to achieve optimum efficienct at the WestJet Campus was to dedicate two heat pumps to transfer heat directly from the cooling loop to the heating loop whenever simultaneous heating and cooling was required. When operating in this mode, the dedicated unit can achieve an effective COP of 7.0 because both the cooling energy extracted and the heating energy delivered are counted as useful energy produced. This direct energytransfer method greatly reduced the size of the geoexchange borefield required to meet the load balance.

Incorporating geoexchange piping inside the structural piles also reduced the number of conventional boreholes. As the six-storey structure already required piles drilled over

geoexchange 20 metres in depth and up to 1.0 metres in diameter, the soil beneath the building could act as a shallow vertical borefield, with no need to drill down to bedrock.

The geoexchange piping loops were therefore attached inside the cylindrical rebar cages before they were lowered into the drilled piling hole. The loops were attached with high-strength tie wraps to ensure the piping did not separate from the cage as the concrete was poured. While there were some piping failures during the construction, using a tremie pipe would have avoided this risk.

Each piling loop was connected to a header system, forming a horizontal geo-exchange field beneath the parkade slab. In spaces where no headers were required, extra loops were installed to augment the horizontal field. When some of the piles located beneath the building failed, additional boreholes were drilled outside the building footprint.

Further examination of the building load profile during the design indicated that while many periods permitted the direct transfer from the cooling loop to the heating loop, there were also many days with heating only loads in the morning/evening and cooling only periods in the afternoon. The only way to use the heat rejected from the cooling loop was with thermal storage.

As a result, a large (13,000-L) water tank was installed in the basement mechanical room and piped in series with the ground loop. The tank stores the rejected heat from the cooling cycle for extraction during the next heating demand period. The concrete piles also act as thermal storage, but the rate the heat can be added or extracted from them is limited. The water tank has no such limitation; virtually all stored energy is immediately accessible by the heat pumps.

The design of the West Jet hybrid geothermal HVAC system involved many hundreds of model years to combine energy piles, conventional

Coefficient of Performance Calculations COP is determined as Useful Energy Output/ Electrical Energy input. For a heating example with 3 kWh of energy extracted from the ground and 1 kWh of energy supplied from electricity, 4 kWh of energy is delivered as useful heat. This gives 4 kWh Useful Heat/ 1 kWh electricity yielding a COP of 4.0. With 3 kWh of cooling energy extracted consuming 1 kWh of electricity, the COP is given by 3 kWh/1kWh resulting in 3.0. When the dedicated heat pumps perform these two functions simultaneously, there are 3 kWh of cooling + 4 kWh of heating delivered with the same 1 kWh of electricity. (3+4)/1 generates a COP of 7.0.]

boreholes, a water thermal storage tank, heat pumps (dedicated to direct heat transfer, heating and cooling), a high-efficiency chiller, cooling towers, and high-efficiency boilers. Detailed models were developed using a TRNYS transient thermal analysis software to measure the size of each component and how they could best work in symphony. Cost functions were added to the model and a Hookes-Jeeves optimization algorithm was applied.

Compared to a conventional geoexchange design, the hybrid design saved over $800,000 in capital costs.

Occupied last year, the building is projected to consume 67% less energy than a purely conventional design. cce Mechanical-electrical consultants: Stantec (Jim Bererton, P.Eng.).

Architect, structural, landscape: Stantec.

Civil: Idea Group.

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May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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Date:

building HVAC

By Jeff Weston, P.Eng. IMEC Mechanical

A patent-pending “thermal gradient header” pipe used at a Vancouver college allows a building complex largely to heat and cool itself.

Thermenex at Langara

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©Thermenex

A

t Langara College in south Vancouver, Building-C was recently renovated and connected to the new Langara Student’s Union building. The combined multiuse complex designed by Teeple Architects is 5,463 square metres and five storeys, incorporating offices, classrooms, studios, restaurants and a bookstore.

The goal was for the building to have minimal greenhouse gas emissions and maximum energy savings.

The obvious answer was to use a ground source (geoexchange) system; a 90-ton vertical ground loop system was installed. Less obvious is that the ground source system is the least efficient heating system in the building.

The project is the first application of a patent-pending technology called Thermenex. Thermenex uses a water-filled pipe that functions as a hub for thermal energy exchange.

The pipe is not a loop; it has no pumps; it is simply a long length of pipe (with a temperature differential from one end to the other. A “thermal gradient header” (TGH) is the best description. The water can flow in either direction depending on the secondary pumping systems and controls.

Essentially, the building heats and cools itself. The use of a thermal gradient header pipe for all the building’s heating and cooling systems allows all heating loads to be considered as cooling sources and all cooling loads as heat sources.

The system targets zero thermal energy waste, with heating and cooling added for peak demand. No need for solar panels — the building is a

General piping schematic of thermal gradient header.

solar heat collector. No ‘free’ cooling — the building needs heat when it is cold outside. When the building is unable to heat itself, the ground source system is used.

The Application At Langara College, the thermal gradient header pipe is 100 mm diameter and about 250 metres long. It serves the entire Langara-C and Student Union complex, as well as some neighbouring buildings.

The first stage of heat is extracted from any cooling load, such as computer rooms, electrical rooms, and interior spaces.

When the sun is shining on a cool day, free cooling is not used. Instead, the heat from cooling the sunny side of the building is transferred to the header and used to heat the building’s other side.

When the building requires more heat, the second stage of heat comes

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com May 2010

from cooling the exhaust air. Standard water source heat pumps are used to heat the water in the header by cooling the exhaust. The system has COPs (coefficient of performance) ranging from 5.2-6.8. This is twice as efficient as ground source heating.

What the geoexchange system is best for is cooling. Why? Because the ground is cold and that makes it an efficient place to reject heat. The ground source heat pump is more efficient than a typical chilled water system. What is another source of cooling? Stated another way, what else needs heat? Since the water can flow in either direction in the header for thermal exchange, a DHW Heat pump is connected to the header and it provides cooling for the building.

Every heating and cooling system takes water from the header at the temperature it needs, increases or decreases the water temperature, continued on page 28

geoexchange

By Dejan Radoicic, P.Eng. Stantec

At a large new water treatment plant north of Vancouver, the buildings’ ground source heat pump system uses the clear well as a thermal buffer.

Seymour-Capilano Plant

I

n December, Metro Vancouver’s new water filtration plant in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve began providing the Lower Mainland with pristine water drawn from the Seymour and Capilano watersheds in the mountains north of Vancouver.

One of the largest water filtration plants in North America, the Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant will process 1.8 billion litres per day. Efficient processes and equipment are used throughout the facility.

One of the efficiency components is the use of a central ground source heat pump system (GSHP), or ‘geoexchange’ system, to heat and cool space throughout the complex. The GSHP system provides environmental control for the 2,400m2 operations and maintenance building, as well as for the various process buildings in the plant, which amount to 7,500 square meters of enclosed space. The GSHP system is also used to preheat the complex’s domestic cold water.

The geoexchange system reduces the plant’s required electrical capacity as well as its electrical energy consumption. Also, since the plant is a post-disaster facility it has back-up diesel generators in case it is cut off from the utility power supply during a seismic event. Under these conditions, it was found appropriate to heat and cool the entire complex by a central GSHP. The central GSHP system includes water-to-water heat pumps configured as chillers in a heat pump application. The switchover from heating to cooling is achieved on the water side, without the need to reverse the refrigeration cycle (common for the

Above: installing the ground loop below the clear well.

The loop has 40 kilometres of HDPE pipe.

Left: conceptual sketch.

traditional heat pump operation).

A unique aspect of the GSHP system is the ground loop, also referred to as the field. This is a horizontal field located below the plant’s clear well. Over 40 kilometres of HDPE pipe was installed in a “mud-slab” below the structural concrete that encases the clear well (see above).

The pipe exchanges heat with the surrounding ground. The body of water in the well acts as a 200-megalitre

water supply buffer, but it also has a significant thermal influence on the surrounding ground. It helps to stabilize the temperature swings in the ground over different seasons as heat from the GSHP ground loop pipe is either extracted or rejected.

Locating the ground loop beneath the clear well saved excavating elsewhere and had construction advantages. The exposed ground provided continued on page 28 May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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geoexchange continued from page 27

a ready-made bed for the mud slab holding the geothermal pipe, so the clear well structural slab could simply be built on top.

The GSHP centralized system allows the antifreeze loop (fluid in contact with the cold evaporator and field loop) to be separate from the heating and cooling loop (fluid circulated through the buildings). The system also allows simultaneous heating and cooling, as both services are available at all times.

In winter, the spare cooling capacity is used to recover heat. Waste heat from the main electrical room is recovered using the cooling coil.

The heating and cooling is generated by a modular plant of three banks, each with five heat pump modules. Each module of 105 kW (30 tons) nominal capacity consists of two separate refrigeration circuits. As the overall capacity is broken down to 30 independent loops, simple on-off controls for each module allow reasonable step control of the capacity in ~3.4% increments. The large volume of water in the system also helps achieve a stable capacity control.

Philippe Roulston

Seymour-Capilano Plant

Above: Operations and Maintenance Centre.

The modular concept provides reliability as well as ease of operation and maintenance. If a compressor fails, a single refrigeration loop is affected. All other compressors continue operation. The maintenance does not require immediate response, which is often very costly. Also, since small loops are common, the refrigeration mechanics do not require specialized training or certification.

Although the building GSHP system has not yet gone through a full year’s seasonal cycle, it proved itself during the commissioning of the water treatment process. The

performance so far has shown that even during the cold period when the evaporator loop was at sub-freezing temperatures, a significant amount of renewable energy was extracted from the ground and used for heating, replacing the need for fossil fuels. The control system permits monitoring and will provide reliable data on the heat pump system performance. cce Mechanical (HVAC) consultant: SSBV/ Stantec (Dejan Radoicic, P.Eng.) Architect, structural, electrical: SSBV General contractor: North American Construction.

building HVAC Thermenex at Langara

continued from page 26

and returns it to the correct portion of the header using control valves. Thus the mechanical design uses systems that function with the coolest “hot water” and the warmest “chilled water.” The efficiencies and energy exchange potential is maximized by using minimal water flow and maximum temperature change, which in turn minimizes energy transportation costs.

The building has been submitted for LEED Gold certification, with all 10 energy points. About 75% of the annual heating energy comes from thermal exchange within the building. The independent energy model predicts energy savings of 65%. Not 28

bad for a building with no natural ventilation and no “free” cooling.

(If you think about it “free cooling” is “heat wasting.”) The building systems include radiant heating and cooling in the slab, chilled beams, induction units, heat pumps and airhandling units with a single heating/ cooling/reclaim coil.

The system is still being commissioned but the early numbers are very promising. The per square foot electrical energy consumption — which includes heating — is less than half that of the existing buildings which are heated by a gas fired central boiler plant. And these numbers were taken when the system was

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com May 2010

not fully optimized. Best of all: no greenhouse gas emissions.

A thermal gradient header can also be used for district energy sharing. Langara College is looking at the possibility of using the Thermenex system to “harvest” thermal energy from the central cooling plant and using exhaust air from the existing building stock to heat new facilities that can take advantage of low grade heating systems. cce Mechanical/design build & Thermenex inventor: IMEC Mechanical (Jeff Weston, P.Eng.). Architect: Teeple Architects. Electrical engineer: Genivar. General contractor: Bird Construction

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solar

SOLAR on the BRINK

BY IAN SINCLAIR, P.ENG. ENERMODAL ENGINEERING

F

www.canadianconsultingengineer.com May 2010

Enermodal

More and more engineers are being asked to integrate solar technologies into building designs.

Here is some timely advice on how to do it.

or perhaps the first time in Canada, solar technologies are catching the interest of conventional building owners and developers. Whether it is because solar serves as a visual flag to show that a building is green, or because solar is an investment opportunity thanks to Ontario’s Feed-in-Tariffs (FIT), more and more engineers are being asked to integrate solar technologies into building projects.

Solar photo-voltaics (PV) to generate electricity have caught the imagination of building owners and financiers in Ontario for good reason. The FIT program is poised to make Ontario the Germany of North America as a centre for solar technology, with the attendant benefits of green collar job creation. PV systems are easy to understand, implement and maintain. Further they make great sense as a tool for reducing peak electrical demand in urban areas,

30

An array of 60 solar thermal panels is mounted on the roof of the West Village residence in Hamilton, Ontario. Its peak output is 105 kilowatts.

which eliminates the need for utilities to build peaking electricity plants and upgrade distribution networks.

Efficiencies of thermal vs. photovoltaics What is often overlooked, however, is that in the absence of subsidies PV remains the least efficient solar technology from the perspective of energy generation, CO2 offset, and economics. From an energy perspective, solar thermal (capturing the sun’s energy to produce heat) is typically three to five times more efficient than PV in converting the sun’s rays into useful energy.

Solar thermal technologies are five to 12 times more cost effective per equivalent kWh (ekWh) of energy generated for a comparable $100,000 invested. Electricity is, however, a more valuable fuel to offset, and so thermal’s advantage over PV from an economic point of view is reduced by half

solar

in Ontario. In provinces with cheap electricity, that half reduction may be negated, meaning there is an even clearer financial case for solar thermal from a pure dollar-for-dollar investment perspective.

Engineers, who are given the task of identifying solar options, should review the merits and potential for solar thermal before committing to PV. What’s my load?

Canadian buildings can have significant ventilation air heating loads that may not be served economically by heat recovery. Solar thermal technologies are one of the simplest and most cost-effective means of pre-heating ventilation air. The most basic system uses transpired air collectors (perforated, dark-coloured metal cladding installed over south-facing exterior walls). Air is drawn through pin holes in the cladding and gains heat from the metal as it passes. Additional heating is gained from the back of the panel and the building facade (heat that is usually lost to the atmosphere through the wall) as the air is drawn up

to the ventilation fan inlet. The system requires a large wall space and an architect or owner sympathetic to the look of dark siding on a south-facing wall. A sloped or flat roof can also serve for backpass types of solar air collectors, which are less efficient. It is important that make up air systems are relatively close to the solar collectors in order to minimize the need for expensive insulated ductwork. In addition, products are available that integrate PV with solar air and give improved efficiencies.

Another energy-efficient solar technology is solar domestic hot water (SDHW) pre-heating. Solar collectors on the roof heat up in the sun. A fluid circulating through the collectors transfers its heat via a hydronically separated heat exchanger into a thermal storage tank containing water. A controller compares the temperature inside the collectors with the storage tank; when the collectors are hotter, a circulation pump is activated to begin transferring heat. When that temperature drops, the pump shuts off. A well-designed system exceeds 50% efficiency in converting the sun’s energy to useable heat, making it the most efficient of all active continued on page 32

Three Solar Applications Recent Enermodal projects demonstrate how photovoltaic and solar thermal systems can be included in a building project in different ways — separate from or integral to the building.

The PowerStream Head Office in Vaughan, north of Toronto, has a ground-mounted PV system with nine banks of 210 W panels with a total rated capacity of 17 kW. The system is grid-tied, eliminating the need for batteries. A dual-axis tracking system maximizes year round output.

Three inverters are used to provide a threephase grid connection.

At the West Village residence in Hamilton, Ontario, the building has a 60-panel rooftop mounted solar thermal system with a 105 kW PowerStream peak thermal output. It serves a nine-storey Head Office residence for over 1,300 students. The flat panel collectors operate on glycol with a flat plate heat exchanger heating large pre-heat storage tanks. A cistern is used as a waste heat dump if required to prevent glycol damage due to stagnation in high temperatures. (When heat exchange fluids get too hot they can start to break down.)

On the Steelcare warehouse in Hamilton, transpired solar thermal collectors are used to provide ventilation air heating for the warehouse area. The ventilation air quantity required is relatively small in this unmanned portion of the facility that has daytime operating hours. The solar system provides all the ventilation air heating and more on all except the cloudiest of days. Space heating is needed year-round to ensure the dew point is as high as possible even in summer.

•

Enermodal

•

•

May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

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solar

continued from page 31

Annual Solar Radiation in Toronto Flat Roof – 3.57 kWh/m²-year Vertical wall facing due South – 2.71 kWh/m²-year Vertical wall facing due SW or SE - 2.65 kWh/m²-year Vertical wall facing due West or East – 2.27 kWh/m²-year Vertical wall facing due NW or NE – 1.69 kWh/m²-year Vertical wall facing due North – 1.35 kWh/m²-year Approximate optimal angle for Toronto: sloped at 30 degrees from horizontal and due south – 3.96 kWh/m²-year

solar technologies. However, a regular water heater is unfortunately necessary for the days when the sun isn’t shining.

Solar domestic hot water systems require dedicated storage to store energy for when it is needed in the evenings and early mornings. The building design team therefore needs to allow for space for the tank. Also, the solar and main hot water heating systems must be integrated. As storage temperatures even in February can exceed typical set points, a tempering valve is required after the solar heat exchanger and before the regular hot water heating system.

Considering how to tie collectors into the building struc-

ture takes care; roof interconnection costs can exceed the costs of the solar collectors themselves.

Good applications for solar water heating are buildings with large water loads such as hospitals, hotels, apartment buildings, and recreation facilities.

Working with architects and solar experts An architect typically holds sway over a building project so he or she needs to understand early what are the aesthetic impacts of solar systems. A correctly sloped roof surface can save on structural costs, and solar can be integrated into the building’s façade. However energy generation fundamentals will likely dictate an installation angle requirement of 20°- 60° up from horizontal and a need to account for the impacts of accumulations of snow.

If the goal is energy self-sufficiency, it is very difficult to achieve this aim without using available south-facing surfaces. Note, however, that since solar generation peaks in the months of March to September when the sun is often north of the east-west axis, solar can still be viable for a building that does not face to the SE or SW. Energy modeling is going to be a key component and so alerting the team early on to the realities of carbon

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Topvex TR energy/heat recovery ventilators from Systemair have a specific fan performance (SFP = kW/m3s) rating.

Heating/cooling coils can be operated from the same control. www.systemair.com

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Osram Sylvania’s Post Top Fixture LED Retrofit Kit is for a variety of existing outdoor fixtures. Uses 40 watts of power and directional light of 66 brightness. www.sylvania.com

Enermodal

solar

Above: rooftop thermal panels at West Village.

neutrality and to potential energy sources is vital.

If some or all of the above is new information, chances are you should bring in a consultant familiar with solar who has the proper understanding of how the system should be designed, and how it will impact construction and integrate with the building as a whole. An accurate model of how the system will operate must be in place, and you should take advantage of construction economies by coordinating the system’s installation with the roofers, structural engineers, plumbers, and so on. Make sure that the control systems integrate the renewable energy systems.

Making solar worthwhile It is important that the solar expert guiding the design is also responsible for commissioning. Commissioning is hugely important for systems whose performance varies significantly throughout the year. Real-time monitoring for all solar system types is available at low cost and should be a vital part of the design; after all, owners and engineers need to know if it is working as expected. The project costs should account for operational reviews throughout the first year.

As with all aspects of building technology, it is vital to understand the factors affecting solar investment decisions. A solar PV system selling energy at 60-80 cents per kWh to the grid (such as Ontario’s FIT program establishes) can provide returns on investment in excess of 10-15%. But without such a selling rate, the pay-

backs on PV systems are in excess of the product’s lifetime.

A solar thermal system’s economic performance can only be understood in relation to the operational efficiency of the building’s heating plant, the projected heating fuel price, as well as the constantly changing incentives available. These factors need to be well understood within the context

of the system’s life expectancy.

Finally, once a project is commissioned, it is very important to leave the knowledge and resources required for system maintenance in place. Owners and facility managers need to understand the equipment, performance reviews, standard maintenance tasks and schedules, and simple trouble-shooting. Maintenance budgets and preferred maintenance and repair contractors are best identified ahead of time. Nothing gives solar energy a bad name like a system that ceases operation after a few years simply because no one knows that it isn’t working properly or does not know where to go to fix the problems. cce Ian Sinclair, P.Eng., LEED-AP, is manager of existing building services with Enermodal Engineering’s Toronto office.

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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solar

On a new building at Concordia University a wall-mounted system combines both solar air collector and photovoltaic panels to generate a total of 100 kW of energy.

John Molson School of Business Solar Buildings Network

T

he combined photovoltaic-thermal energy system installed on the facade of the new John Molson School of Business at Concordia University is the first system of its type in the world. Called a building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T) system, it combines photovoltaic (PV) and distributed air inlet technology.

The solar panels cover almost 300 square metres across the two top floors of the building at the corner of Ste. Catherine Street and de Maisonneuve Boulevard in downtown Montreal.

The BIPV/T system reaps 100 kW of solar energy — 75 kW thermal, 25 kW electricity. It is expected to have a combined solar efficiency near 60%.

The thermal collector component is a high-efficiency SolarWall by Conserval Engineering of Toronto. It collects the heat that builds up at the back of the photovoltaic modules and directs it to the building’s HVAC ventilation system. On sunny days during winter, the air in the solar collector will be heated to around 20°C. If required, the air is further heated for supply to the building spaces.

The collector delivers an added bonus: by drawing off warm air and cooling the photovoltaic panels, it increases the PV panel’s electrical performance by up to 10% on cold sunny days. Cooling also ensures the panels have a low breakage rate.

Furthermore, the thermal collector acts as the mounting rack for the photovoltaic panels. The vertical mounting means the panels capture more of the sun’s energy in the winter. Also, unlike rooftop units, they don’t have a problem with snow accumulation.

Above: installation on the south facade; heat generated behind the photovoltaic panels is drawn off and delivered to the building’s ventilation system.

The photovoltaic panels — 384 in all — are 65-watt modules customdesigned by Day4 Energy of Burnaby, B.C. They are poly-crystalline modules with conversion efficiencies of 14.7%, and they incorporate a proprietary electrode for interconnecting the solar cells. The electrode consists of a polymer film embedded with thin copper wires coated with a low-melting-point alloy.

Each PV module operates independently, in a “massively parallel” systems approach that allows each to operate at its optimum power point regardless of other modules in the system.

The LEED-registered building opened in the fall of 2009. It has a real-time display of the solar energy system in the lobby. Dr. Andreas Athienitis of Concordia’s Department of Civil Engineering and the NSERC

Solar Buildings Research Network (a network of researchers from 10 universities) led the overall design, which also received funding from Natural Resources Canada. The SBRN team is using the monitored data from the Molson building installation to create a computer simulation model for designing future systems.

The project was featured on the Discovery Channel, and it recently won a 2009 Renewable Energy World Award. cce PV-thermal system: Solar Buildings Research Network (lead design); Conserval Engineering (SolarWall); Day4 Energy (photovoltaic modules); Sustainable Energy Technologies (inverters; layout).

Building: Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg/Fichten Soiferman (architects); Nicolet Chartrand Knoll (structural); Groupe HBA (mechanical-electrical) May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

35

district energy

By Ruben Arellano, P.Eng. Hemmera Energy

One geoexchange pipe field feeds into a central plant and services five residential buildings in downtown Ottawa.

Beaver Barracks Geoexchange

I

n the Centretown neighbourhood of historic Ottawa, Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation is developing Beaver Barracks as a sustainable affordable housing community. The complex has five buildings with over 240 residential units.

A central element of the project’s sustainability mandate is an innovative geoexchange district energy system.

Geoexchange, also known as geothermal heat pump technology, takes advantage of the abundant low-grade solar thermal energy that is stored in the ground year-round — literally free energy under your feet. This energy is captured by use of a ground-heat exchanger (GHX) and standard heat pump technology.

Only a small amount of electricity is used to operate the system, resulting in overall energy efficiency 300 to

500% greater than common natural gas or electric equipment. Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced dramatically by the same degree.

The geoexchange system at Beaver Barracks includes 60 boreholes drilled 137 metres deep through soil and limestone bedrock. The individual loop pipes are thermally fused together into a continuous parallel piping network that forms one large geoexchange field. The field feeds to a single central energy plant, which provides heated and chilled water and domestic hot water to the individual buildings.

The central energy plant uses modular high-efficiency heat pumps to maintain a two-pipe central loop tempered to 23–31°C (73-87°F), This feeds a secondary loop in each building, maintained at 21–32°C (70-90°F).

Above: drilling boreholes 137 metres deep throught bedrock for the geoexchange system.

In the background is the Victoria Memorial Museum Building.

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www.canadianconsultingengineer.com May 2010

Small individual heat pumps in each apartment draw from the secondary loop to maintain the temperature desired by the occupant.

Once final commission checks are completed this summer, the geoexchange district energy system at Beaver Barracks will be the largest of its kind in Canada Uncommon features • Common field and central plant for several buildings — an uncommon feature in geoexchange systems.

• Primary and secondary loop design for maximum efficiency in running low-temperature distribution and to allow energy sharing in shoulder seasons.

• Central domestic hot water generated primarily with heat pumps.

• Deep borehole loops using newly formulated and CSA-approved PE4710 HDPE pipe resin compound, allowing for a reduced GHX field footprint and no risk of exceeding pipe pressure rating.

• Central plant design with three energy source options to maximize the plant efficiency depending upon building use, energy demands and utility costs. The multiple source redundancy ensures residents are always provided with heating, cooling and domestic hot water.

• Use of “thermally enhanced” borehole grout, with strict construction quality controls.

Geoexchange system: Corix Utility Services (design-build-own-operator); Hemmera Energy, Vancouver (design). Architect: Barry J. Hobin Associates. Supplier: Multistack (heat pumps)

engineers & the law

By Mathieu Turcotte and Antonio Iacovelli Miller Thomson, LLP

Partial Site Supervision

Quebec court limits consultants’ professional liability

I

n Quebec, architects and engineers are subject to various al liability on architects and engineers with regards to contypes of liability. In addition to their respective contrac- struction defects for work that they directed or supervised. tual and ethical obligations, they are subject to statutory But this question arises: What extent of liability exists for liability imposed by the Civil Code of Quebec (CCQ). a professional who is less involved on a given site, such as a Under chapter VIII of the Civil Code, “Contract of Enter- professional who is hired to provide only partial supervision? prise or for Services,” the liability of architects, engineers The Quebec Court of Appeal has addressed these imporand contractors is twofold. tant issues in the case known as Le Massif inc. v. La clinique On the one hand there is Article 2118 CCQ con- d’architecture de Quebec inc. Although the case deals specerning “the loss of the work.” It cifically with a firm of architects, the reads: “Unless they can be relieved The Court apportioned a same reasoning applies to engineers. from liability, the contractor, the certain liability to the client architect and the engineer who, A chalet with ice dams who refused to intensify the In the spring of 2001, architects at as the case may be, directed or supervised the work, and the subarchitects’ supervisory role. the Clinique d’architecture de Quécontractor with respect to work bec were assigned the task of preparperformed by him, are solidarily liable for the loss of ing the plans and specifications of a ski chalet built atop the work occurring within five years after the work was a mountain called the Massif located in Quebec’s Charlecompleted, whether the loss results from faulty design, voix region, east of Quebec City. It was a major project, construction or production of the work, or the unfavour- with a budget of $3.5 million. The client also charged the able nature of the ground.” architects with the task of partially supervising the work.

In other words, a client benefits from a five-year warranty The chalet officially opened its doors on December 26, from the time the work is completed against what is com- 2001. Right from that first winter, the chalet’s management monly referred to in Quebec as major defects. Such defects watched ice dams forming all around the building’s roof. are construction flaws that might compromise the structural Experts were called in to carry out tests, which revealed integrity of a building. the existence of thermal bridges. Corrective measures were On the other hand there is Article 2120 CCQ dealing finally taken in the summer of 2004. with “poor workmanship.” It reads: “The contractor, the What inevitably followed was a lawsuit filed against the architect and the engineer, in respect of work they direct- architects claiming a sum of over $1 million. The Supeed or supervised, and, where applicable, the subcontrac- rior Court of Quebec dismissed the suit, holding that the tor, in respect of work he performed, are jointly liable to impugned defects amounted to instances of poor workmanwarrant the work for one year against poor workmanship ship that the architects could not have discovered even if existing at the time of acceptance or discovered within they had made more frequent visits to the construction site. one year after acceptance.”

The client appealed.

Poor workmanship can refer to any number of construction defects resulting from non-compliance with plans and Quebec Court of Appeal sets things right This matter provided the Quebec Court of Appeal with the specifications, or non-compliance with accepted practice.

Now, whereas Article 2118 CCQ is a “public order” pro- opportunity to remind us that contrary to statutory liability vision, Article 2120 CCQ is not. This distinction in Quebec for the “loss of the work” (2118 CCQ), liability pertaining law means that while parties theoretically have the option to “poor workmanship” (2120 CCQ) is not the domain of to “contract out” of the obligations imposed on them by “public order.” Therefore liability for “poor workmanship” Article 2120 CCQ, Article 2118 CCQ is imperative. In other is apportioned according to the contractual obligations words, Article 2118 applies no matter if there is a contrac- between the parties, and even according to the circumstances unique to a construction site. tual stipulation to the contrary.

In Le Massif inc. v. La clinique d’architecture de Québec, In either case, the Quebec Civil Code imposes professioncontinued on page 39 May 2010

Canadian Consulting Engineer

37

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engineers & the law

continued from page 37

the court held that a certain liability should be apportioned to the client who, despite the accelerated speed at which the work was completed, refused to intensify the architects’ supervisory role to that of onsite supervisors.

The judge stated: [translation] “The architects diligently carried out their supervisory role according to the terms of the contract between the parties. In other words, I believe that the client may not invoke its own wrongdoing while holding the architects to a more rigorous standard.”

This Quebec Court of Appeal decision tolls the bell for the notion of out-and-out professional liability, and it gives rise to the possibility of a “reasonable diligence” defence for engineers and architects, depending upon the particular circumstances of each situation.

It appears henceforth clear in Quebec that, with regards to liability for “poor workmanship,” architects and engineers charged with supervising a site will be liable for poor workmanship only to the extent of their mandate and their actual involvement on site. Clients must take note of this reality when establishing a budget for their work.

The Quebec Court of Appeal decision appears to be in line with the case law in the other Canadian provinces. That is, the consultant will only be responsible where contractor

• Pathway • Canopy • Parkade

performance issues arise while the consultant is carrying out its duties under its contract with the owner — subject of course to any limits on liability set out in that contract. cce Antonio Iacovelli and Mathieu Turcotte practise law in the Montreal office of Miller Thomson LLP.

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ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS I am engaged in the following Professional Engineer in a consulting engineering practice Specification Writer in a consulting engineering or architectural firm, government department or development company Engineering Technologist/Technician in a consulting engineering firm Other (Please specify)________________________________________________ Engineering discipline (Check one box only) Civil Structural Mechanical Electrical Other (Please specify)________________________________________________ Do you have product specification responsibility?

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professional directory

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Canadian Consulting Engineer

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professional development

By Carl Friesen

Thought leaders

Building your profile with potential clients

H

ave you ever sat through a presentation at a confer- profile with insurance carriers, lawyers acting as counsel ence and thought, “I know more about this topic to the insurance industry, and motor vehicle authorities. than this presenter does”? Or have you seen an arYour next step is to think of the challenges you want to ticle written by someone you know and thought, “I really solve, which involves looking at the world from the market’s should get some articles published to build my professional perspective. In our forensic engineer example, the client’s profile”? Perhaps you’ve seen a colleague’s name listed as challenge is around not paying out on fraudulent insurance the leader of a professional task force and wondered why claims, and you are able to help them manage that. you don’t seem to get that kind of opportunity.

This may be the next step in your career: being seen as a Articles, public speaking and joining committees “thoughtleader” within your engineering specialty.

Your third step is implementation. Three tools stand out Some people think of a thoughtleader as a “guru” or as being the most effective in building a profile as a general management consultant — someone like Tom thoughtleader.

Peters. Or they think of someone who has developed a The first and most accessible tool is publishing inforbusiness approach that has popumative articles. These can be in lar appeal, but is more style than your professional journals, but be They can charge good rates sure also to get published in magasubstance.

But there are many thoughtleadand they get their pick of the zines read by your market. A foers with tremendous value to add, most interesting projects. rensic engineer dealing in auto some of them in tightly specific encollisions must publish articles in gineering areas. I have known engineering journals, but also in thoughtleaders who are experts in tailings dam design, soft- magazines published for the insurance industry and for soil tunnel project management, and the underground the legal profession. If you are unable to write in magadisposal of radioactive waste. zine style, a freelance writer can help you turn your ideas A thoughtleader is someone with the professional into words on a page. qualifications, expertise and experience to develop soluPublic speaking is a second tool. It gives you a chance to tions to difficult challenges. They are the go-to people meet potential clients and referral sources in a setting that when these issues come up. They get the work, they can is powerful for you — they are more likely to listen to what charge good rates, and they get their pick of the most in- you have to say. While you need to have reasonable speaking teresting projects. They also have the satisfaction of having skills to convey your ideas, your audience will be more interleft their profession stronger than when they found it and ested in what you have to say than in your speaking style.

Moreover, through the audience’s reaction and the queshaving left the world a better place.

The key is that thoughtleaders are known as experts by tions they ask, you’ll refine your knowledge base.

The third tool is becoming involved in the right business people with the ability to send them business. communities. Find out the organizations and associations attended by your potential clients, join those that welcome Set a target audience This article assumes you have the professional qualifica- you — and get involved. Committees are a great place to get tions, body of knowledge and experience to be a thought- to know influential people. leader. You won’t get far if you can’t demonstrate that you These three steps — publishing, public speaking and have what it takes. professional community involvement — are a multi-year To become known as such, your first step is to determine process. But start now and the sooner you will be able to the audience you want to reach. You are interested in reach- reap the benefits. cce ing not the general public, but specific business niches.

Imagine yourself, for example, as a forensic engineer Carl Friesen, MBA of Mississauga, Ontario is a senior associate with a specialty in reconstructing automobile collisions. with emerson consulting group, tel. 289.232.4057, e-mail carl@ You may be able to narrow your focus to building your thoughtleading.com 42

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