Net Zeroing In: Canada Green Building Council examines the logistics of conducting wide-scale deep retrofits.

NET ZEROING IN

Technology is On Target, Labour and Financing Less Certain

A new report from the Canada Green Building Council and the Delphi Group reiterates that technology is the easy part of hitting ambitious targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Building design and operations specialists typically know what to do and where to do it. The greater challenges lie in financing and workforce capacity. The following is an excerpt – Editor.

CANADA’S GREEN RETROFIT

economy is primed for significant growth over the next three decades and this growth can come with many benefits. These include: contributing to net-zero climate targets; making the built environment more resilient to climate change and extreme weather events; providing rewarding job opportunities across many occupations and skill levels; and strengthening domestic supply of low-carbon products and services.

In order to realize this growth and associated benefits, the existing approach to retrofit projects will need to level up and transform to a more systematic ecosystem of aggregated project and investment opportunities. Building owners and managers will need expert support in developing and implementing transition plans to leverage building renewal cycles and market opportunities.

The good news is that many of the required technologies are available today and innovation is already happening in communities large and small across the country. There are three main technical strategies that can serve as a starting point for transition planning and retrofit project development for most large building types in Canada: • reduce or replace fossil fuel use for space heating, mainly through electrification (including heat pumps); • implement measures to reduce energy demand; • incorporate on-site renewable energy systems.

DEEP RETROFIT PRIORITIES Large building retrofits represent significant

Given that the median age of commercial and residential building stock in Canada is about 40 to 50 years, there are significant opportunities to achieve GHG savings by focusing retrofits on the older building stock.

opportunities to meet Canada’s climate target. CaGBC estimates large building retrofits could potentially reduce building sector emissions by 51%, representing about 21.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

The building typologies in scope for this study include multi residential, office, retail, logistics and hospitality. These typologies were chosen because they represent a significant portion of Canada’s existing large building stock and associated emissions.

Office and low-rise multi-residential buildings represent the largest share of the commercial inventory available for retrofit across Canada. Offices provide the most compelling business case for green retrofitting, as upgrades to these buildings can result in greater electricity savings and higher net present value (NPV) compared to other archetypes.

Given higher baseline energy usage, as well as energy intensive systems such as dual-duct or constant volume with reheat, office archetypes provide significant opportunities to gain energy savings and a logical place to start when prioritizing retrofit programs. Quebec and Ontario offer up the highest share of available floor space for retrofitting in Canada, indicating significant low-carbon retrofit opportunities.

The technical solutions available and professionals required for retrofit pathways are similar across the various building types, despite differences in building operation and performance systems. Nevertheless, significant variation in priorities and sequences in retrofit measures arise with differences in electricity grid intensity and energy use.

Buildings with higher domestic hot water loads (e.g., multi-unit residential and hotels) or higher energy demand and plug loads (e.g., retail grocery and malls) will require different sequencing of retrofit measures than their less energy-intensive counterparts. For buildings in regions that have more carbon-intensive electricity grids, there may need to be a greater emphasis on achieving emissions reductions through electrical demand reductions as compared to regions with low-carbon grids, where greater emphasis will be needed on space heating electrification measures.

Given that the median age of commercial and residential building stock in Canada is about 40 to 50 years, there are significant opportunities to achieve GHG savings by focusing retrofits on the older building stock. The vintage of a building is a marker of the amount of thermal leakage and the associated cost of heating. The older the building, the less energy efficient it is likely to be.

Buildings built in 1970 and earlier are at the key stages of their renewal cycle for critical mechanical and enclosure systems, which enables a business case for wholebuilding retrofit projects. The replacement of HVAC distribution systems, windows and opaque enclosures typically yields best returns when buildings are at least 40 years old, making 1980 an expedient vintage threshold to capture the building stock at its prime renewal stage.

A breakdown of Canada’s inventory finds the vintages 1960-1980 and 19802000 account for about 60% of the commercial building stock. This pattern is seen in most provinces except Atlantic Canada and Quebec, where a greater share of existing buildings were built during the 1960 to 1980.

WORKFORCE REQUIREMENTS It’s expected electricians, contractors and HVAC trades (plumbers, gasfitters, steamfitters, pipefitters, and air-conditioning mechanics) will be in highest demand in a workforce of deep retrofitters. Several key occupations in the green retrofit workforce are already projected to face a significant supply deficit in the coming years. A scarcity of these occupations could be a substantial obstacle to meeting retrofit targets.

The following retrofit occupations are likely to see a supply shortage (at a national level) in the near term, even without factoring in a scale up of retrofit projects: carpenters; steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers; plasterers and drywall installers; refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics; and mechanical engineers and technicians.

Specific skills required to support green retrofits include hands-on skills, project approaches and procedures, familiarity with new products and technologies, and a general grasp of efficient building systems. While these abilities are obtained through a variety of training techniques and educational pathways, on-site practical experience and mentoring are particularly significant training mediums for tradespeople.

The current training landscape is based on established construction industry standards that equip professionals to fulfil market demands. As retrofit activity increases, training pathways will need to adapt to meet evolving standards for building performance in terms of carbon reduction and energy efficiency.

A review of relevant training initiatives indicated a shortage of green retrofit courses and programs, particularly outside of major urban centres. The majority of the programs are voluntary, with limited certification being awarded or established learning objectives.

Existing offerings are limited to subjects such as energy efficiency and renewable energy and are typically delivered by universities, industry and trade associations, non-profit organizations, and specialized training centres. Highperformance building product manufacturers also provide important training and guidance for designers and tradespeople, while labour unions provide green building skills to their members, many of which are applicable to large-scale building retrofit projects.

The current green building training options for designers, consultants and tradespeople vary greatly. Post-secondary green building courses and programs are generally designed for engineers, architects and other building professionals, with the exception of a few programs designed for tradespeople.

Most energy efficiency and green retrofitrelated training options do not receive continuing professional development (CPD) credits, which can reduce their value to professionals. Due to the periodic review and approval cycle of new apprentice curricula, many programs are slow to incorporate emerging green building practices.

SUPPORTING SCALE As the retrofit market grows, there are services needed to support low-carbon renovations at scale. These include models for aggregation and standardization, as well as monitoring and verification.

The investment thresholds, costcompression and climate imperative require the market to consider how it can identify and aggregate multiple projects for financing. For example, the minimum threshold for the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s Commercial Building Retrofit sector investors to secure retrofit projects and service them through a network of ESCO delivery partners. As a project aggregator, they also help overcome barriers to retrofits by launching calls for tenders on behalf of clients, supporting training activities for the industry and taking on financial as well as technical risks to eliminate financial barriers for ESCOs in the private sector.

Standardization, monitoring and verification services help owners to identify pathways to secure emissions and energy savings in alignment with financing requirements and climate targets. Canada Infrastructure Bank requires Investor Ready Energy Efficiency certification to standardize the retrofit planning process and verify the planned savings — setting up the project for monitoring and verification upon completion. These approaches are reliant on engineering services such as energy modeling, as well as data collection and reporting post-project completion. zz

Initiative is $25 million. An investment this size would be typical of at least 25 projects.

Models for aggregation are emerging and include portfolio-wide approaches by large commercial owners. They may undertake a horizontal aggregated approach whereby they bulk purchase a key technology such as lighting or heat pumps and apply it across their buildings.

A second aggregation approach could be brokered by turnkey providers such as: energy services companies (ESCOs); engineers and contractors; municipalities through C-PACE (commercial property assessed clean energy); utilities through on-bill repayment; third-party investment vehicles; or property management firms. In these scenarios, projects are identified and collected from multiple owners and on-boarded through a unified process.

For example, an ESCO mitigates the technical and performance risks by designing and implementing retrofit interventions that provide a financial guarantee to project lenders/owners that the energy savings generated will cover the debt service.

A super ESCO is an organization that is capitalized by government and private The complete text of the Canadian Green Retrofit Economy Study can be found at www.cagbc.org/news-resources/ research-and-reports/retrofit-economy/

KEEPING WATER AT BAY WITH

PROPTECH

Water damage is among the most common (and costly) issues in property management. From leaky pipes to foundation cracks, roofi ng tears to envelope holes, there are plenty of opportunities for water to wreak havoc. However, like many property management challenges, a mix of modern tech and proactive strategies can turn the tide.

“Water damage affects buildings on so many levels and can happen anytime,” says Brendan Murphy, Director of Client Solutions with First Onsite Property Restoration. “In fact, nearly 70 per cent of the emergencies we respond to are a result of property damage caused by water-related events.”

Those events can be large-scale weather events, such as fl oods, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. They can also be hidden or “easy to miss” leaks that cause extensive damage to properties over a period of time. Moreover, untreated water damage can trigger the growth of harmful mould that puts building occupants at risk. Tech to the rescue As with any property management risk, prevention is key. Herein, advances in water monitoring and leak detection systems give building management teams the ability to spot and respond to water damage risks the moment they begin to form. This proactive approach is critical for reducing losses and giving tenants a heads up.

“The sooner you can respond to water damage, the better,” says Murphy. “That’s why the best systems are those that alert the right people to problem areas quickly so that you can avoid costly remediation, longer disruption to services, and increased operational costs and efforts.”

For its part, First Onsite has formed partnerships in the tech community to offer solutions for 24/7, real-time water monitoring

Wand analytics. This includes devices that can be installed in strategic locations to detect leaks the moment they occur and send alerts via text, e-mail or phone call to the appropriate internal and external responders. Solutions also include smart sensor technologies that monitor when water consumption patterns or humidity levels fall outside of acceptable ranges.

The data collected from these technologies can also be used to generate automatic graphs and reports that can then be used to identify areas for improved effi ciency, spot abnormal trends, or even benchmark water consumption across an entire portfolio.

“The technology does more than bring attention to potential emergencies; it provides that continuous fl ow of real-time water usage data that enables building teams to see where they’re using the most water and take appropriate steps,” adds Murphy.

The conservation advantage Properties of all kinds are always prone to water damage. The good news is that property teams have access to the technologies and expertise to catch issues at their source and practice smarter consumption at the same time.

First Onsite Property Restoration is one of the largest and fastestgrowing emergency response planning, mitigation, and restoration service providers in North America. To learn more about water monitoring proptech, contact Brendan Murphy, Director of Client Solutions, at bmurphy@fi rstonsite.ca. For more, visit fi rstonsite.ca.

UNLOCK UNLOCK

FREE BUILDING ENERGY WITH AI FREE BUILDING ENERGY WITH AI

There’s free energy to be harnessed from every building. The trick is taking advantage of thermodynamics through artifi cial intelligence (AI).

It may sound like science fiction at first, but the idea has been around for decades. Since the 1970s, academic researchers have been fine-tuning the process of using a building’s natural thermal mass to influence internal temperatures. And today, one company out of Halifax is bringing the benefits of that research to help building operators achieve more efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective HVAC operations in the form of an AI solution.

That company is EcoPilot Canada | USA, a proud “carbon crusader” that uses AI-driven software of the same name to optimize HVAC systems in real-time to deliver the greatest energy efficiency possible.

“Think of it as a brain that can be added to any building automation system to unlock this free energy that’s always been there,” says Jennie King, Commercial Director with the Halifax-based company.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS Ecopilot®’s program constantly monitors a building’s static (e.g., thermal mass) and fluid elements, the latter of which include internal heat sources (e.g., people, computers, and lighting) or external weather (e.g., temperatures, wind speed, humidity, solar incident radiation, etc.). Every two minutes, the AI then analyzes these factors along with predictive data (e.g., weather forecasts) to calculate the variable balance point temperature of a building.

Pinpointing that specific balance point temperature is step one. Next, Ecopilot® shares that number with the building’s existing BMS system, where it is used to align prescribed HVAC set points so that they react with the real-time balance point temperature. Doing so reduces HVAC fluctuations and eliminates unnecessary system overlaps, such as heating and cooling an environment in the same day or at the same time.

“Essentially, Ecopilot® uses all this real-time data to continuously re-commission the HVAC system every two minutes,” explains King. “The result is that these systems start running far more efficiently, use less energy, and reduce their carbon emissions – all while keeping people a lot more comfortable.”

PROVEN IN THE FIELD Ecopilot® has spent over a decade bringing its AI tech to property stakeholders across Canada and the world. And while King admits there can be some upfront hesitation to bringing AI into building operations, those that make the upgrade are quick to reap the rewards.

In June 2018, for example, Crombie REIT’s Cogswell Tower, a 50-year-old concrete offi ce building in Halifax implemented Ecopilot® to help save energy across its 14-storey, 200,000 sq. ft. asset. Doing so reduced energy costs by 26.5%, generating a return on their investment under two years. Moreover, Pat Poirier, Manager of Engineering and Sustainability, reported they had reduced energy consumption by over one million kWh, exceeding their expectations for their entire campus of buildings.

More recently, MINTO PROPERTIES implemented the tech at a multi-unit residential property at 150 Roehampton Ave in Toronto. Speaking to early reservations, Joanna Jackson, Director of Sustainability & Innovation at MINTO PROPERTIES, recalls: “We were concerned about not achieving the expected energy savings. However, Ecopilot®’s minimum savings guarantee ensures that the project will be successful from a fi nancial perspective.”

Fast forward to now, and Jackson reports that the Ecopilot® system has succeeded in optimizing the building’s operations and reducing its electricity and natural gas consumption, noting, “The system also identifi es if the equipment is not operating properly. That allows us to react faster to maintenance issues and improve residence satisfaction by minimizing system down-times.”

Implementing AI into MINTO’s BAS seemed like a leap at first, she adds, but the outcomes have alleviated any doubt: “As we move towards low-carbon technology and attempting to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, it becomes more important to operate the equipment as efficiently as possible. Smart building technologies bridge the gap between design and actual operating efficiency.”

Success stories like MINTO’s are adding up. Over its 13plus years, Ecopilot® has seen its system installed in over 1,200 buildings worldwide, improving building effi ciencies by up to 40% annually with a three-year ROI.

UNLOCKING THE ENERGY WITHIN AI and smart machines are recoding virtually every facet of property management. Ecopilot® is among the innovations merging established building science with cutting-edge tech to create future-ready assets.

Learn more about Ecopilot. Visit www.ecopilotai.com.