13 minute read
Experience
Vancouver International Airport CORE Program
435 Indio Way TELUS Garden 435 Indio Way University of Michigan Oregon State University Cascades Campus Energy
435 Indio Way University of Victoria Campus Decarbonization Master Plan
435 Indio Way Swarthmore College Roadmap to Zero Confidential Tech Campus
Oregon State University Cascades Campus Energy 435 Indio Way Feasibility Study TELUS Garden Princeton University, Lake Campus 435 Indio Way Geoexchange Central Plant
The district energy system saves approximately 6,500 tons of carbon and allows University of Victoria to achieve their energy and carbon reduction goals.
This master-planning project involves the development of a comprehensive implementation strategy to enable carbon-neutral operation of the University of Victoria campus by 2040. The study focuses on emission reduction measures related to building operations and construction from the university’s 142 existing buildings, which serve approximately 20,000 students plus staff each year. The masterplan is being funded in partnership with BC Hydro through the CleanBC incentive program, and is being developed in collaboration with the UVIC Energy Manager over two phases. Phase 1 involves a review of existing campus infrastructure, fuel and emission accounting, and stakeholder engagement, in order to identify and assess potential carbon reduction opportunities. Phase 2 involves “filtering” those opportunities through high-level stakeholder objectives, technical criteria, life-cycle cost, and short/medium/long term feasibility. A major focus of the study involves transition strategies from the campus’ existing natural gas-based 27.5MW district heating system, and modeling of relative thermal energy demand intensity (TEDI) of campus buildings. The project will culminate with identification of a final recommended “technical pathway” that will guide the implementation of discrete short, medium, and long-term emissions reduction initiatives over the next 19 years of campus operation. Integral’s team for this project includes staff roles dedicated to District Energy, Sustainability Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Emissions Analysis, Energy Modeling and Data Visualization, Mechanical, and Electrical.
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© Google Earth Pro Location: Victoria, BC, Canada Client: University of Victoria Completion: 2021
Services Provided:
District Energy Sustainability Policy Stakeholder Engagement Emissions Analysis Energy Modeling and Data Visualization Mechanical Electrical
Swarthmore College Roadmap to Zero
The project considered a multitude of technical, economic, environmental, and logistical factors, opportunities, and limitations — all in the specific context of Swarthmore College’s existing energy infrastructure and its ultimate goals.
Swarthmore College aims to become a carbon neutral campus by 2035. The college retained Integral Group to develop and evaluate campus decarbonization strategies, including financial analysis, and develop an implementation plan. Several strategies and specific technical scenarios were developed and evaluated. All scenarios included a transition from their existing steam system to a new low-temperature thermal (LTT) campus heating and cooling network. The proposed solution relies on heat pump/ heat recovery chiller technology that would capture and recover lowgrade waste heat between simultaneous heating and cooling on campus. This is coupled with on-site low-grade renewable energy sources, including a vertical closed-loop geo-exchange system. The scope also included review of the campus electric grid capacity and reliability, and developing and evaluating campus micro-grid opportunities. Following the completion of the Roadmap to Zero, Integral Group was retained to complete the design for the recommended solutions. The schematic and design development for the central plant, geo-exchange field and campus low-temperature heating water (LTHW) distribution network has been completed.
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Swarthmore College © Swarthmore College Location: Swarthmore, PA, USA Client: Swarthmore College Completion: Study completed in 2019. Currently in design and start of construction Area: 425 acres Sustainability: Zero Carbon Campus Master Energy Master Plan
Services Provided:
Energy Master Plan Consulting Energy and Carbon Modeling Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering
Princeton University Lake Campus Geoexchange Central Plant
The new Lake Campus will add 500 acres of additional development to the Princeton campus. Immediate projects include a complex of graduate student housing and a racquet center.
Princeton University is developing nearly 500 acres of land that is currently used for farming and sports fields into the Lake Campus. The new Campus will ultimately including a variety of building types, including housing, athletic facilities, innovation center, and office buildings. Integral Group is designing a new geoexchange central plant to provide hot and chilled water to the new campus buildings. The system will include roughly 3 acres of 600 ft boreholes, along with 600 tons of heat recovery chillers, 500,000 gallon thermal energy storage tanks for hot and chiller water and gas boilers for emergency heating and to reduce peak loads when needed (anticipated to be only 1% of annual heating load). The new plant will supply a nearly zero-carbon source of heating and cooling to all of the new campus buildings. The system is designed to expand over time as the campus is fully built-out over a 30 year period.
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Princeton University © Chris Fascenelli/Princeton University Location: Princeton, NJ, USA Client: Princeton University Architect: ZGF Architects Completion: 2024
Key Features
Designed to provide low/zero carbon emissions heating and cooling for campus via a geoexchange central plant
Services Provided:
Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Plumbing Engineering Energy Modeling
OSU Cascades Campus has set a goal to become a net zero energy campus by implementing highly energy efficient climate-responsive buildings complemented with on-site renewable energy sources and technologies.
Starting with the validation and refinement of the OSU’s Long-Range Development Plan (LRDP), Integral Group conducted a feasibility analysis of several energy system options. The study included technical concepts development, capital and life cycle cost estimates and analyses, development of a phased implementation plan, and consideration of innovative financing strategies. One of the key goals was the detailed evaluation of available geothermal/ geo-exchange options as the primary energy source and conversion technology. The scope also included preliminary concept and cost estimates for new electrical distribution infrastructure for two scenarios: PV system with and without campus micro grid. Following Integral Group’s recommendations from the campus energy feasibility study and based on favourable on-site geothermal/ geoexchange test results, Integral Group has been retained by OSU to design the initial phase of an Open Loop GeoExchange system for the Cascades Campus. Integral Group has completed the design and is currently overseeing the installation of the initial phase of the Open Loop Geo-exchange system in close coordination with the campus infrastructure design team.
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Oregon State University Cascades Campus Energy Feasibility Study © Integral Group Location: Bend, OR, USA Client: Oregon State University Completion: Study completed in 2019, design of Phase 1 completed in 2020, currently in construction Area: 128 acres
Sustainability:
Net Zero Energy Target
Services Provided:
Energy Consulting Energy Modeling Electrical
TELUS Garden consists of two new two new towers in the heart of downtown Vancouver. The 44-story office tower was completed in September 2015 and is the first LEED Platinum office building in Vancouver. It houses TELUS’s new headquarters as well as other offices, a restaurant, and a public plaza, while the 450,000 square foot residential building, built to LEED Gold, includes market housing, retail units, and underground parking. The project also includes over 10,000 square feet of green roofs. The energy use target was set at 35% below ASHRAE 90.1 2007 energy efficiency requirement. Through the integrated design approach the design and energy model came in at 3,296,171 kW hrs/yr and 43% below the energy efficiency standard. The development features a central plant with high efficiency heat pumps and waste heat recovery from the TELUS Data Centre, radiant heating and cooling, demandcontrolled ventilation, and LED lighting. TELUS Garden integrates daylight, thermal comfort, and high air quality for 2,000 occupants at low cost and environmental impact over the life cycle of the building. The building uses information technology to connect a variety of subsystems, which typically operate independently, so that these systems can share information to optimize total building performance.
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Telus Garden © Westbank Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Client: Westbank Architect: Henriquez Partners Architects Completion: 2015 Office, 2017 Residential Area: 930,000 ft² (480,000 ft² office, 450,000 ft² residential) Sustainability: LEED Platinum (office) LEED Gold (residential)
Services Provided:
Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Energy Modeling District Energy System Design Sustainability Consulting
Integral vetted materials used for the structures, finishes and furnishing against ILFI’s Red List-free requirements, reviewing submittals, and communicating directly with manufacturers and advocating for materials health.
This new campus for a confidential client in Silicon Valley will be a showcase of state-of-the-art technologies and innovative engineering design. The facility will be served by an all-electric heating and cooling plant as well as ~5MW of photovoltaics on site. The Integral Group team has been challenged to integrate a mechanical engineering solution in an extremely unique and iconic architectural form while providing the highest levels of thermal comfort and indoor environmental quality. In order to successfully design a campus that encourages workplace connectivity and enables innovation, the design and construction team is fully integrated and committed to meet the fast track design and construction schedule.
To accomplish this goal, the team developed an all-electric solution that includes heat recovery heat pumps coupled with a geo-exchange heating and cooling system that is fully integrated into the building structural piles to exchange heat with the surrounding ground. With the annual heating and cooling provided by geoexchange, carbon emissions are reduced by half compared to a typical building. The innovative system also eliminates water use for cooling. Integral Group is providing MEP Engineering plus a suite of consulting services to help the client meet their goals, including energy modeling, CFD simulations, thermal comfort modeling, and air quality analysis. Integral Group is also supporting the civil engineering in creating a site Zero Net Water Campus and collaborating with the client to complete extensive materials toxicity analysis. This includes working to vet materials based on sourcing and Living Building Challenge Redlist assessments.
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© Emily Hagopian Client: Confidential Tech Client Architect: Confidential Completion: 2021 Area: Greater than 1,000,000 ft²
Sustainability
LEED Platinum Living Building Challenge Targets
Services Provided:
Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Modeling Sustainability Consulting Materials Vetting Photovoltaic (PV) System
Vancouver International Airport CORE Program
The CORE program includes the construction of a new Central Utilities Building which will utilize the largest geoexchange system in Canada. Modifications will also be made to the terminal building to increase efficiency. The project will reduce YVR’s greenhouse gas emissions by 33%.
Since 2014, Integral has worked alongside the Vancouver Airport Authority to develop an initial idea of reducing the Airport Authority’s and Sea Island’s greenhouse gas emissions by 33%. These early studies and designs ultimately led to the current Vancouver International Airport CORE Program, where a new Central Utilities Building (CUB) is being constructed to serve the largest building in British Columbia, the existing Terminal Building. Within the Central Utilities Building, a ew thermal energy plant will utilize the largest geo-exchange system in Canada—with up to 1,400 boreholes at full build-out—as its primary source of low-carbon heating and cooling. The current geo-exchange field of 840 boreholes will provide 3,700 tonnes of greenhouse gas emission reduction at completion in 2023. In addition to greenhouse gas emission reductions, the geo-exchange system also reduces potable water consumption by minimizing the use of evaporative cooling towers. Using cooling towers with plume abatement technology adds the benefit of minimizing low visibility concerns for the control tower.
The CORE Program also includes renovations to the existing Terminal Building’s infrastructure to improve energy efficiency and ready the building to work harmoniously with the new CUB. Modifications include changing the entire heating system for the Terminal from a high temperature system to a low temperature system.
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Vancouver International Airport CORE Program © Francl Architecture
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Construction of New Central Utility Building at Vancouver International Airport © Integral Group Location: Richmond, BC, Canada Client: Vancouver Airport Authority Architect: Stantec Architecture, Francl Architecture Completion: 2022 Construction Value: $650 Million
Key Features:
Low Carbon Energy System Geo-Exchange System Rainwater Reuse Envision Framework
Services Provided:
Commissioning Mechanical Engineering Fire Protection Engineering Sustainability Consulting Energy Modeling
University of Michigan Carbon Neutral Infrastructure Analysis & Conceptual Design
The University of Michigan selected Integral to develop an engineering strategy to transform UM’s energy infrastructure. Reporting to the President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality (PCCN), Integral’s task is to analyze and conceptually design carbon neutral energy systems to deliver heat and power to the University’s 38 million square feet of real estate across its Ann Arbor, Flint, and Dearborn campuses. Integral Group developed and evaluated viable technical concepts to convert their existing energy infrastructure to achieve their vision for carbon neutrality across the university’s six major campuses. Central Campus, the largest of the six campuses representing 60% of the total campus building area, utilizes a natural gas-fired co-generation plant to provide 50% of the campus’s total electricity needs as well as steam for heating and absorption cooling. Integral’s scope involved establishing baseline heating and cooling loads, working with the university to create a bespoke vision of carbon neutrality for each campus, developing cost effective technical low carbon energy infrastructure conversion solutions, and conducting a life cycle cost analysis to identify optimal recommendations for each of the six campuses. This work was packaged into a strategy report providing University of Michigan with a roadmap to carbon neutrality.
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Aerial View of University of Michigan. © University of Michigan
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Interactive map showing the various energy use stats by building for the Central Campus. © Elementa Engineering DPC Location: Ann Arbor, Flint, Dearborn, USA Client: University of Michigan Project Budget: $200,000 Completion: 2019 - present
Key Features:
Passivhaus building envelope Active chilled beam system Retention of historic buildings LEED Platinum
Services Provided:
Utility and campus energy system data analysis Regulatory analysis Financial analysis and forecasting Conceptual design of multiple strategies to improve infrastructure efficiency, deploy solar PV, maximize electrification, and utilize biofuels
