BC Hydro Head Office
The Story
Lowering blinds helped us save over $35,000 - now, that's a cool solution.
"It doesn't cost anything to reduce energy consumption in this way, you just have to get employees to buy in. The homeowner is pretty good at being Power Smart because he's paying the bill but at work, well, it's someone else's money. This is the attitude that we have successfully helped to change with the occupants of the 333 Dunsmuir building".
Ed Luccock, Operations Manager of 333 Dunsmuir St. & Contracts Administrator for Dunsmuir and Edmonds Complexes, BC Hydro
The Facts
Located on the Southwest border of downtown Vancouver, BC Hydro's corporate headquarters building (333 Dunsmuir) officially opened in 1992. Covering 291,000 square feet of land and standing 18 stories high with four levels of underground parking, the building presently comprises a mixed tenancy of approximately 1,100 BC Hydro, Accenture Business Services, and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency employees. The building has been jointly managed and operated by BC Hydro Facilities Management (now Accenture Business Services of BC) and Canem West Operations since 1994. Canem works with BC Hydro on a day-to-day basis to provide energy-efficient cost savings initiatives.
The Situation
In 1998, Canem West Operations', Project Manager Rick Friesen and Operations and Contract Administrator, Ed Luccock were confronted with an unexpected setback. During the heat of the summer, one of the building's main 300 tonne chillers (air conditioning units) failed and was inoperative for two days. Without an emergency backup system in place, this created an immediate facility and building occupant comfort problem.
The Solution
Canem West Operations realized that in order to compensate for the breakdown of the chiller, action from building occupants had to be encouraged. Facilities management immediately posted notes and sent out emails asking building occupants to close, or lower all exterior blinds to reduce the amount of solar heat entering the building. They also asked occupants to turn off all unused office equipment (such as computers, printers, fax machines etc.) and ceiling lights and requested that occupants use their task lighting when needed.
"The results were dramatic," says Ed Luccock. "Once these measures were put into place, we found that we were able to maintain the normal building environment with only one chiller running at about 75 to 80% of capacity. The program cost nothing and yet the returns are easy to demonstrate."
Based on this experience, Canem West Operations and BC Hydro Facilities Management initiated the following program in 2001:
- Sending out building-wide email notices asking occupants to:
- close or adjust all window blinds to deflect direct sunlight on sunny days;
- turn off any non-essential lighting;
- turn off any office equipment not in use.
- Reduced lighting levels and closed blinds in the main lobby and cafeteria during the sunny days of summer.
The Benefits
Cost savings
During the summer months since 2000, occupant participation alone has saved:
- Over $5,000 in steam consumption and
- $7,000 in electrical consumption during the summer months of 2000 - 2002.
Canem building operations staff anticipate even greater energy savings in the future and expect that with the continued help of the occupants of 333 Dunsmuir it will save up to 15% annually on its summer energy bills.
Improved employee comfort
Ed Luccock emphasizes that implementing these measures does not mean sacrificing on occupancy comfort level - in fact, it's quite the opposite.
By adjusting blinds to deflect sunlight on sunny days, especially on the south and eastside of a building, a more comfortable and consistent temperature can be achieved. This avoids the cycle of heating and cooling that occurs when the air conditioning system has to battle heat gain that results from the sunlight, which can lead to uncomfortable hot and cold areas in the building.
Also, reducing overhead lighting and using natural and/or task lighting can reduce occupant stress levels and allows employees to have greater control over the lighting in their work area, resulting in increased comfort levels.
Contact Us
Find out how Power Smart can energize your bottom line, call us today at 604 453-6400 in the Lower Mainland, 1 866 453-6400 elsewhere.
