Langley Seniors' Village

Print This Page

Developers of retirement homes naturally seek to make their buildings comfortable for residents. At the same time, new buildings represent a considerable investment, so there is a need to keep operating costs low. And forward-looking companies want their buildings constructed with a reduced environmental footprint.

It was that triple motivation that prompted Retirement Concepts Seniors Services Ltd., developers of retirement communities and assisted living facilities across Canada, to look for Power Smart opportunities when they were planning their new Langley Seniors Village development.

"We have a corporate mission and vision to build, own and operate the most energy-efficient retirement homes in British Columbia," says CEO Azim Jamal.

Through their long-standing partnership with BC Hydro, Retirement Concepts heard about the new Energy-Efficient Lighting Design offer, which helps building owners and their design teams create and install energy-efficient lighting designs.

"Building Power Smart makes sense because it's much more cost-effective to build energy efficiency features into a new building at the design stage than to retrofit later on," says Laura Williams, Retirement Concepts' Manager of Properties and Energy. "High-performance buildings are healthier and more comfortable, cost less to operate and maintain and have lower environmental impact. These features make buildings more attractive to clients and increase the value of our investment."

The High-Performance Building Program for small to medium commercial buildings provides design funds to help owners create more energy-efficient lighting designs, plus a capital incentive, based on total energy savings, to reduce the incremental cost of installing those designs.

Retirement Concepts' lighting designer, Falcon Engineering Ltd., created a design for the 47,000 sq ft of common area at the Langley complex that incorporates a variety of energy-efficient lighting technologies and controls. If implemented according to plan, the energy-efficient design could save up to 405,000 kW hours and $15,525 annually, compared with a conventional design. That's enough electricity saved to power approximately 40 households per year.

According to Falcon Engineering's Geoff Hann, participating in the High-Performance Building Program benefits lighting designers as well as building owners and residents. "The program has increased builders' awareness of the benefits of installing energy-efficient lighting, so they're more receptive to the new technologies and design solutions that we're promoting. Working together, we can design facilities with a very comfortable, residential ambience while maintaining the desired energy efficiencies," he says.

The Langley project could qualify for a BC Hydro incentive of nearly $70,000 if the energy-efficient lighting design is installed as planned. Construction is underway, with completion expected by July 2007.

Retirement Concepts is so pleased with the projected lighting savings at Langley Seniors' Village that they are planning to do the same at all of their planned new buildings in Nanaimo, Courtenay, Rosemary Heights, Maple Ridge and others.