Public Works East Yard Complex

Energy Simulation

Public Works East Yard Complex is a combination office and industrial garage facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that incorporates a variety of mechanical system configurations to meet the needs of each space use and achieve energy savings.

Service completion: Fall 2012
Scope of services: Minimum and Optimize Energy Performance Simulation (EAp2, EAc1) for CaGBC LEED: New Construction 1.0 with addenda
Size: $50,000,000 construction budget
Building systems: Waffle concrete panel envelope, combination of mechanical systems including variable refrigerant flow heat pump system, single zone roof-top units, and simple radiant heaters with make-up air units, high efficiency lighting.

Public Works East Yard Complex is exactly that — complex. With the different space uses and client requirements, the mechanical design was very creative. In the office areas, variable refrigerant flow heat pump systems were applied, where a bank of fan-coils are connected to an outdoor condensing unit such that a coefficient of performance is achieved when the fan-coils are heating and cooling. Further, heat can be pumped from hot to cold zones when there are differing needs (e.g. pump solar gains from south to cold north zones). Where electricity is cheap, this can be an efficient system.

The garages were more basic, using radiant heaters to meet minimal heating setpoints along with emergency exhaust fan and make-up air configurations; however, the use of heat recovery ventilators to provide minimum ventilation to these industrial spaces proved huge savings. Along with the variable refrigerant flow system and demand control ventilation in offices, an efficient boiler generating heating for ventilation air and hot water for the wash bays, the model was reviewed to be 53% better than MNECB with respect to cost, equivalent to 7 points for EAc1.

Thurston Engineering Services personnel’s work was “amazing and thorough….” – Project Coordinator, Public Works East Yards

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