Like many fortysomethings, the University of Calgary is facing challenges with its energy levels.
Leaky buildings that date from the 1960s sit beside shiny new ones. There's a bewildering array of energy management and security systems on campus.
Project Evolve, a new initiative between the university and Direct Energy Business Services (DEBS) aims to tackle those thorny problems. And, it turns out, some four-year-old children may help lead the way.
"It's a groundbreaking business model," says Gabriel (Gaby) Franco, director of strategic development for DEBS. "It's the first time that a post-secondary institution in North America has partnered with an energy company not only to supply energy, but also to manage it through the infrastructure."
The seven-year agreement includes a research component that should benefit not only the university and Direct Energy, but all companies that seek to be responsible and economical in their energy use.
Franco cites lighting an as example where huge savings are possible. Anyone passing by a building, be it university or downtown, in the evening, is likely to see whole floors illuminated as the cleaning staff work their way around.
But with a technology called "addressable ballasts," individual florescent lights can be turned on and off at will. Franco sees a day when cleaners and office night owls will have just the right amount of illumination to light their path, saving large amounts of wasted energy.
The whole look and feel of the campus may also change. Information provided by the university suggests that incandescent lights, which use 60 or 100 watts of energy, may be replaced by compact fluorescents (15 watts) or even white LEDs (a fraction of a watt.)
Ottawa-based Delphi Tech has been commissioned to look into the possibility of making commercial-scale indoor and outdoor LEDs. This clean, cool lighting technology is booming. LEDs are popping up in everything from aircraft seat reading lamps to new convention halls.
Behind the scenes, the changes may be even larger. "New equipment, like distribution panels, has metering built right in," says Franco.
So energy managers can track consumption right down to the level of a floor or even a computer lab. "We plan to have monitors to tell the faculty and students what is actually happening, things like the spot energy price, energy saving tips, before and after snapshots of energy consumption."
He adds it's still undecided if or how the energy-management system will tie into the campus security system, which is currently a mix of card access and traditional metal keys. It also wasn't clear if a professor who saved money on cooling costs by taking a class outside would get the loot buy them all ice cream, though it's a nice idea.
As for how all this upgrading will be paid for, Franco says, "We will look at the payback over a seven-year term. If the project can pay for itself through savings, that will be the way we want to go."
The university has access to funds from the provincial government for maintenance that has been deferred over the years, he adds.
A university announcement also notes that the deal includes $3.5 million in student scholarships, $3 million for sustainable energy education and research and $1.75 million for a research chair in sustainable energy. That's good news for the university's fledgling Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE).
Edward Smid, Western region solutions development leader for DEBS, says the system will also do "demand side" management. This means adjusting consumption to cope with the different demands on electricity at different times of the day.
Even though the U of C doesn't have time-sensitive pricing in its deal, it's still a good idea to balance the load. "During those peak times, typically what we do is monitor the actual real- time use of electricity," says Smid. "As we approach those limits we will turn off load as appropriate.”
He cites air handling units, fans, and certain pumps as candidates for this type of load management.
Both Franco and Smid are, pardon the expression, very pumped about the first "from scratch" campus building that will be designed under Project Evolve - the Child Development Centre, a combination daycare and research facility due to open in 2006.
They say it will be the project's "poster child" and that they are "aiming for Platinum LEED Certification."
This designation, formally know as leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED), is given by the U.S. Green Buildings Council to the best buildings from an environmental standpoint.
It takes into account everything from construction materials, to development density, to access to public transit. If they pull it off, the U of C's daycare kids will be playing in a structure that, Smid boasts, will be "the only building of its size in North America to have that certification."
Meanwhile, DEBS also recently announced a contract with Staples Business Depot to "identify opportunities for Staples to improve its overall energy efficiency" at its 152 retail stores across Canada.
The Direct Energy ISMART centre will have access to store data through the existing point of sale network that connects all its stores. As with the university, monthly energy reports will be supplied to the company's management.
Smart meters are another solution that technology is bringing our way. Experts believe they can help to level out the "energy rush hour," even in downtown Toronto.
The Ontario Energy Board submitted a plan in January 2005 to roll out 800,000 smart electricity meters by 2007, starting with large commercial customers.
The meters track hourly data for every customer, communicate it to the energy provider and allow consumers access to their data by telephone or Internet. The goal is for all Ontario customers to use them by the end of 2010.
While many of the benefits from deals such as Project Evolve are for large, sophisticated energy users, there are certainly lessons for everyone. Changing to fluorescent or LED lights, and turning them off when they're not needed will help a lot. So will some of the newer appliances that use less energy.
"Good annual maintenance is another quick fix to yield energy sayings," says Lisa Dornan, media relations manager for DEBS. "This applies right down to the homeowner level."
So get your furnace serviced, and be glad you don't have the array of boilers, chillers, fans and pumps that the folks up at the U of C campus have to deal with.
Web Watch:
www.directenergy.com
www.usgbc.org
(Tom Keenan is a professor at the University of Calgary and an expert on technology and its social implications. He can be reached at keenan@businessedge.ca)
