news
October 6, 2008
Business workshop features energy management veteran
Mary Frances Hill
For bchydro.com
The questions Brian O'Donnell will answer at his Power Smart Forum workshop sound simple enough.
What's the benefit of saving energy?
Who's responsible for purchasing it, and how much does it cost?
When and where do we use energy, and how can we motivate others to save it?
O'Donnell’s November 17 workshop, Identifying Energy Savings Opportunities, will be geared to small and medium business owners. And while the answers he gives may sound straightforward, the knowledge behind them is hard won.
It took 29 years for O'Donnell, a co-founder and principal of Prism Engineering, to hone the expertise to see waste where others can't, and motivate entire labour forces to see their workplaces in a different light, so to speak.
A career in energy management
It was timing and fate that brought O'Donnell from New Brunswick, where he was raised and studied, to B.C. and Prism Engineering.
During his mechanical engineering studies at the University of New Brunswick, the global concern over energy supply, and the energy crisis caused by OPEC piqued his interest.
Even in 1979, the progressive new grad was captivated by the possibilities of wind and solar power. Finally, his decision to focus on energy management was borne out of practicality, and a sense of where he thought he could do most good. In energy management, "I felt that I would have a greater potential impact on the problem."
That led him to work as an engineer-in-training with BC Hydro's Energy Use Engineering Department, the predecessor of Power Smart. The two-year stint was only the beginning in O'Donnell's storied career in energy management. After work at an engineering firm in Ontario, he returned to B.C. in 1990, to launch Prism Engineering.
"Leaving solid and enjoyable employment in Ontario and uprooting everything to come to a questionable future in B.C. was the toughest part of getting started," he admits.
Prism takes on BC Place Stadium
Once again, the timing was right. BC Hydro had just launched its Power Smart program. From the cozy confines of O'Donnell's basement office, Prism became one of the first Power Smart Alliance partners.
In the last 18 years, Prism has worked on a a series of successful projects. Among them: energy savings at 260 buildings in 42 sites, totalling more than $1.5 million a year for BC Housing; heating, air-conditioning and lighting upgrades, among many other measures, for Langara College, for an annual cost savings of more than $70,000.
And in what sounds like a mammoth project, Prism took on an audit of BC Place Stadium, a building that's been a pride and joy to sports and live-music fans for 22 years — and an energy disaster for nearly that long.
Prism Engineering upgraded an inflexible, high-maintenance lighting system that worked only if electricity was being wasted. If a custodian wanted to work in one area of the stadium, every light in the huge facility had to be on. The waste was monumental.
Today, maintenance staff need only light where they're working, rather than bathe the whole stadium in light; lights can be pre-programmed to suit the occasion, whether it be a trade show, a major rock concert or a sporting event.
Organizational commitment the key
As much as Prism's engineers do, O'Donnell gives much of the credit to the staff in the organizations he has helped, as they accept change, adopt it permanently and maintain what he calls the "energy management culture."
"All the really successful projects have an 'energy champion' in their organization that really believes in what we were doing and has the devotion to get the project beyond the hurdles that can stop a program from being implemented" he says.
O'Donnell counts Vancity — for whom Prism acts as ongoing engineering consultants — Air Canada and Pacific Centre as Prism's badges of honour. They wouldn't have reached that status if it weren't for the leadership inside the organizations — not necessarily the CEOs, but the one or two people in every company with the energy to embrace change, and motivate others to keep it up.
"All three have accomplished fantastic results and all three have an energy champion that makes the program happen within their organization. In all cases they have instituted ongoing programs, not just a one time retrofit."
The knowledge that has propelled Prism to help large public facilities save millions in energy costs every year can be used to make changes on a far smaller scale, O' Donnell says.
"People need to think of energy management as an ongoing program, not an event," he says. "You have to keep at it. Its like a diet, you can lose weight, but to keep it off you need an ongoing lifestyle change, otherwise the savings are lost and the weight comes back."
All it takes is a positive psychology, and a lot of patience. "Everyone wants feedback on how they are doing," he continues. "Whether it's turning out lights or upgrading the lighting and heating systems, if we don't get feedback on the results we are unlikely to develop the "energy management culture" needed to sustain change."
"If you 'nag' kids to turn out the lights, the response will likely be resentment. If you show them the results of their turning out the lights then they will appreciate the reasons for doing it, and the behaviour change will continue."
Register for the Identifying Energy Savings Opportunities Workshop.
Source: BC Hydro
