Intrawest Corporation

The story

"We're realizing significant chairlift operating savings – and that's no snow job."

— Rick Temple, Director of Maintenance, Intrawest Corporation

"Reducing the heating and lighting costs involved in operating chairlifts makes good economic sense. And it frees up money that we can put back into making our ski resorts even better."

— Doug Forseth, Senior VP, Operations, Intrawest Corporation

The situation

Laird Brown, Electrical Manager

Intrawest Corporation is one of the world's leading developers and operators of village-centred destination resorts. Intrawest's ski resorts operate a total of 188 lifts. In British Columbia, Intrawest owns and operates the Panorama Mountain Village and Whistler Blackcomb ski resorts, and together the two resorts tallied 2.23 million skier visits in 2002-2003.

At ski hills, chairlift operation consumes a great deal of electricity. In addition to the energy needed to power the lift, underground cables are used to keep loading areas and cables free of ice and snow, and space heating is used in buildings and lifts to maintain the comfort of occupants. At both Panorama and Whistler Blackcomb, heating was provided by baseboard heaters and forced air or unit heaters in the lift enclosures. These systems were thermostatically controlled by the occupant, so some units were turned on and left on for the duration of the winter season.

In addition, electricity is used to light chairlift operation stations. At Whistler Blackcomb, lighting was provided by fluorescent lamps controlled by manual switches and lights were often left on even when they were not needed.

At Panorama and Whistler Blackcomb, chairlift station heating and lighting systems operate 24 hours a day, from October through April. Also, at Panorama's Champagne Chairlift, the doors and windows of the equipment building were opened during the day to help cool equipment, and often left open all night, resulting in large heat losses. As well, the mid-station shed and maintenance building at Whistler Blackcomb had no insulation to prevent cool air and drafts from entering the buildings.

Managers at both ski resorts recognized that a significant amount of energy was being wasted and that there were opportunities to improve energy efficiency. Intrawest Corporation became a Power Smart Partner and, with the help of BC Hydro, began to investigate ways to reduce the chairlift heating and lighting energy use at their respective resorts. In each case, Intrawest electricians came up with different and innovative solutions to address the problem.

The solution

Whistler Blackcomb

Laird Brown, Electrical Manager at Whistler Blackcomb, oversaw an energy efficiency project to reduce operating hours by installing advanced control systems for both heating and lighting. Specific measures included:

• Programmable logic controllers and snow sensors were installed to control the operating hours of the snow melting cables and unit heaters on all chairlift stations.
• Operating hours were reduced by 75% for snow melting cables and approximately 20% for floor warming cables by controlling the cables seasonally and by shutting them down during the peak period of 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. during the ski season. Operating hours were reduced by 80% for unit heaters.
• Advanced occupancy sensors for lighting were installed in lift buildings, which track the number of people entering and leaving the building. Once all occupants had left the building, the lights were automatically turned off. In conjunction with this upgrade, staff were trained to ensure that people entered and exited through areas tracked by the sensors.
• Walls and ceilings of the mid-station shed and maintenance building were insulated, and cracks and holes were filled with caulking.
• Thermostats at lift stations were altered to allow for occupancy control; this reduced temperature settings to a comfortable range and cut operating time by 30%.

Panorama Mountain Village: Champagne Chairlift

For Mitch Thornton, Electrical Manager at Panorama Mountain Village, the solution was to install an automatic heating and ventilation system on the Champagne Chairlift station. The project involved the following elements:

• Heating controls were installed that automatically regulate the operation of the heating system. Before the installation, heat often ran 24 hours a day; now the heating system is available 4.5 hours per day on a high setting and 19.5 hours per day at a low setting.
• An automatic cooling ventilation fan was installed, which is interlocked with the heating controls. This means that the doors and windows in the equipment building do not have to be opened to cool equipment.
• A manual lighting timer was installed in the machine room to reduce the lighting hours of operation.

The benefits

Reduced energy costs

Whistler Blackcomb
The controls on the snow melting and floor warming cables have resulted in annual electricity savings of 1,287,170 kilowatt hours. This represents a 49% reduction in electricity use and is worth over $42,000 in annual cost savings. As well, the insulation upgrade is saving over $3,500 in heating costs each year.

Panorama Mountain Village
Heating energy use has been reduced by 28,800 kilowatt-hours per year, equivalent to electricity cost savings of $1,730 annually. In addition, electricity savings from the lighting timer amount to about $420 per year. The simple payback for this work was less than one snow season.

Increased operational efficiency

Overall efficiency is enhanced because heating, lighting and ventilation systems are in operation only when they are needed.

Enhanced employee comfort

At Whistler Blackcomb, the insulation upgrade means increased comfort for employees working in the maintenance building and the mid-station shed.

Contact us

Find out how Power Smart can energize your bottom line. Call us today at 604 453 6400 in the Lower Mainland or 1 866 453 6400 elsewhere in B.C.