Energy efficiency
Building energy efficiency is a key part of the City’s Climate Change Action Plan, and the City of Winnipeg is committed to seeking out and implementing opportunities for energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades in civic facilities.
With the support of Manitoba Hydro, we have been working to upgrade a number of our buildings. A total of 185 buildings have been retrofitted in one way or another to increase their efficiency since 2002. The retrofits will reduce the amount of energy used to run the buildings (which reduces greenhouse gas emissions) and it also saves us money. To give you a better sense of how this is done, here are two examples of our building retrofits.
Pan Am Pool Weight room enclosure
One of our premier Civic facilities – site of two Pan Am Games, 1967 and 1999, has received a lighting upgrade and an innovative structural retrofit that allowed an energy project to take full effect. The photos below show the weight room in the facility that was previously exposed to the warm moist pool air which was uncomfortable to users and damaging to the exercise equipment.
The weight room was enclosed on all sides and windows installed to overlook the Olympic-sized pool and the adjacent running track. This allowed the exercise room to have air conditioning for improved comfort and allowed the pool to increase its humidity thereby decreasing the amount of heating of outside air required by the air entering this area. The exercise equipment and gym users are isolated from the moist pool air and energy is saved throughout the facility.
City Hall Complex
The City Hall Complex has also gone through a number of energy efficient upgrades since 2002 as part of the Power Smart partnership with Manitoba Hydro. This includes mechanical system upgrades, chiller plant upgrade, building envelope upgrade, energy efficient lighting retrofit and installation of water conservation equipment.
The end result is that City Hall uses less energy. In 2002, a total of 5,136,300 kWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity were used. In 2006, after the City Hall complex was retrofitted, a total of 5,112,855 kWh were used. This is a reduction of 234,445 kWh.
In April of 2008, City Hall was certified under the Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA) ‘Go Green’ Environmental Certification program. This program recognizes buildings that have incorporated a number of environmentally-friendly practices into their operations. Please visit the BOMA website for more information on this program.
Future Initiatives
One of the most exciting developments in the building industry has been the increased awareness and acceptance of green buildings. The most widely-known international standard for green buildings is the LEED Green Building Rating System (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). LEED is a set of internationally-recognized standards for the design, construction, and operation of ‘green’ buildings. The Canada Green Building Council manages the LEED program in Canada, and their home page will help you to learn more about LEED and green building in general.
Another way to make a building more environmentally friendly is through what is called a green roof. This consists of a garden or vegetation (i.e. trees and grass) planted on a roof. Not only is it a treat for the eyes, but there are a lot of environmental benefits to be found in doing this, such as reduced cooling requirements in the summertime. If you’re interested in learning more about green roofs, the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities site is a good place to start.
And finally, if you’d like more information on what you can do to increase the energy efficiency of your own home or business, here are some links to follow: