Clean indoor air doesn’t have to come at a cost

Achieve high air quality in schools without sacrificing budget and efficiency

Integral Group is committed to creating healthy school environments that benefit people and the planet. High efficiency mechanical systems, such as those at Sutherland Secondary School (SD 44), provide energy savings and improved ventilation.

PHOTO BY DAVID BIRDSALL.

In a time of uncertainty, school facilities are doubling • Students who have moved from a conventional school down on the importance of creating healthy spaces to a LEED Gold school building showed major health imthat enhance the health and performance of students, provements as well as a 19 per cent increase in average teachers, administrators, and staff. Heightened aware- student oral reading fluency scores. ness around the risk of airborne diseases matched with In deciding what choices to implement, facilities manclimate-induced seasonal wildfire smoke reinforce the agers are balancing the needs of students and staff with importance of properly ventilated indoor environments. the need for energy conservation and carbon reduction, all while trying to keep costs down. In the past it has At the same time, there is a need to respect and protect seemed at odds to reduce energy consumption while also the local ecosystem and take climate action to deliver on implementing systems to improve indoor air quality and carbon neutrality commitments. thermal comfort; however, clean indoor air and energy

School buildings are a foundation for student health efficiency doesn’t have to come at a cost to the environand success. With a large number of Canadian schools ment or your budget. built before 1980, concerns around poor ventilation, un- Having implemented climate resilient design strategies comfortable temperatures, exposure to environmental in institutions as well as other sectors over the last two toxins, and excessively noisy conditions have arisen. years, Integral Group’s approach has focused on implementing the BC Step Code for educational facilities, low

There have been numerous studies that relate facility carbon design, Passive House school design, energy design and environmental quality to student achieve- modelling for optimization, deep green retrofits, and climent. School studies conducted in North America have mate action planning. found the following links between green buildings and student performance: BC Step Code for Educational Facilities • Five per cent increase in student attendance after im- The BC Energy Step Code is a compliance path in provement of building air quality. the BC Building Code that achieves “better-than-build• Better school facilities add three to four per cent to a ing-code” levels of energy efficiency required for new construction. As part of the BC Energy Step Code deschool’s standardized test scores (after controlling for velopment process, Integral Group designed the overall demographics). process that assists in the determination of energy use • Green school buildings show a 15 per cent decrease in intensity targets, alternative compliance methodologies, absenteeism, and a five per cent rise in test scores. and possible regulatory reform. BC Energy Step Code

requirements for schools, libraries, and colleges were introduced in December 2019. Step 1 requirement, energy modelling conforming to Part 8 of the National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB) and air leakage testing, is required for all educational building types.

Passive House and Low Carbon School Design

The need for resilient, healthy, low carbon communities requires solutions that reduce emissions while improving building user comfort. Passive House, known as Passivhaus in Europe, is an international standard to guide energy efficiency in buildings. This standard was created to reduce the ecological footprint of buildings by ensuring ultra-low energy usage year-round for a building. Passive House design utilizes the surrounding environment of a building to reduce the reliance on system cooling, heating, and lighting. Complemented with high performance enclosures, insulation, and window specifications, superior levels of energy efficiency are realized without sacrificing indoor comfort, resulting in energy costs savings of approximately 60-80 per cent overall.

Integral DRIVE Energy Modelling

Integral DRIVE is an innovative energy modeling visualization service that helps clients achieve the delicate

Martha Currie Elementary School courtesy of Schubert Plumbing Mar Jok Elementary School Courtesy of Think Space & Sawchuck Rogers Elementary School

Sunnyside Elementary School courtesy of Grant + Sinclair Architects

Norma Rose Lynn Fripps Elementary

JL Crowe Secondary School Courtesy of Craven Huston Powers Architects Royal Bay Secondary

ME CHA NICAL C ONS UL TI NG ENGI NE ERS

Contact us today at one of our seven BC locations to learn more about how we can provide you with intelligent building engineering solutions for your school facilities or other buildings

VANCOUVER

102 – 211 E. Georgia Street Vancouver, BC V5T 4L6 Phone: 604-559-8809

LANGLEY

#208 - 20171 92A Avenue Langley, BC V1M 3A5 Phone: 604-888-7779

VICTORIA

202 -1701 Island Highway Victoria BC V9B 1J1 Phone: 250-704-4427

NANAIMO

#102 - 3721 Shenton Road Nanaimo, BC V9T 2H1 Phone: 250-585-0222

KELOWNA

#201 - 1420 St. Paul Street Kelowna, BC V1Y 2E6 Phone: 250-763-3759

KAMLOOPS

#202 - 1339 McGill Road Kamloops, BC V2C 6K7 Phone: 778-471-6472

NELSON

#2 – 373 Baker Street Nelson, BC V1L 4H6 Phone: 250-352-7933

For more information visit our website at www.rpeng.ca balance between efficient design and cost, and ultimately accomplish their sustainability goals. It provides rapid, interactive analysis of all possible combinations of envelope, lighting, and mechanical design options. The oneof-a-kind analysis assists owners, facilities managers, and design teams to optimize building design, identify costeffective solutions, and streamline the decision-making process during the schematic design phase.

Deep Green Retrofits

Deep green retrofits are upgrades made within an existing building to minimize energy and water use and emission of Green House Gases (GHG) through controls, mechanical systems, lighting, plumbing, and building envelope. In the City of Vancouver, for example, select building typologies will be required to meet greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) targets beginning in around 2025, with other municipalities following suit. With many B.C. schools holding heritage status, retrofits will be required to fit these aging facilities with deep green systems.

Climate Action Planning

Buildings play a key role in preventing the adverse effects of climate change by employing design strategies to both reduce GHG emissions and adapt to current and projected impacts. Designing for future climates involves design principles, strategies, and practices to reduce the risk of two significant climate-related issues: 1) overheating due to higher average temperature and increases in extreme temperature events (such as heat waves), and 2) indoor air quality issues due to an increase in wildfire events (as well as more localized sources of air pollutants). Strategies designed to reduce overheating and improve indoor air quality intersect with strategies for longterm cost and energy savings.

Integral Group has completed numerous K-12/educational facility projects throughout B.C. and North America. Our approach is to create healthy schools that lead in sustainable building design, construction, and operations. We understand the importance of high-performance green schools and the impact facilities have on the quality of the teaching and learning environment and student outcomes.

By investing in the health of school buildings, we invest in our collective future.

Let us share our knowledge and experience with you in creating healthy school environments. For more information on Integral Group and our service offerings, please visit www.integralgroup.com, or call us today at 604-687-1800. n