Achieving net zero energy on an institutional build requires discipline, teamwork, relentless focus on the energy budget, dedicated staffing and significant technological wizardry, a new lessons-learned report that analyzed Mohawk College’s Joyce Centre build in Hamilton, Ont. has concluded.
And if these and a few other key strategies are followed, the net zero goal is definitely within reach in the right circumstances and can be attained at a much lower cost than is generally expected, the report author said.
Andrew Bowerbank is the global director of sustainable building services for EllisDon and the driving force behind the firm’s Carbon Impact Initiative that partners with other green-building leaders. His report, released May 16 and titled The Journey to Net-Zero, offers 10 recommendations based on the Joyce Centre experience.
Estimators figured before the project started the premium for the higher cost of the technological supports required to reach the net zero target would be about 12 per cent, Bowerbank reported in a recent interview, but the final figure looks to be only about four per cent.
“This is not just a green-building, right-thing-to-do story, this is an economic story,” Bowerbank said. “That becomes a powerful message for the market.”
“Because if you are generating as much energy onsite as you use, technically if everything goes well, we are into a zero utility bill each year. And with a cost premium of four per cent, that payback will happen so fast.”
The drop in costs, he said, is similar to what happened with the LEED program, and results from project participants becoming more familiar with the new processes involved.
Much attention has been focused on the $54-million, five-storey, 96,000-square-foot Joyce Centre project since the build was announced as both a pilot project of the Carbon Impact Initiative as well as one of 16 pilots selected to test the Canada Green Building Council’s new Zero Carbon Building Standard.
Federal purseholders are interested as well, and gave Mohawk a $20-million Strategic Infrastructure Fund grant to enable the owner to focus on the net zero goal.
Besides EllisDon, the design and construction team tasked with the net zero challenge includes B+H Architects and mcCallumSather. Mohawk’s chief building and facilities officer Tony Cupido is also cited in the Journey report as an especially keen owner and collaborator.
Groundbreaking was in September 2016 and the project is due to be completed in time for the start of school this September.
Energy systems at the Joyce Centre include 5,000 square metres of photovoltaic panels and a geothermal system featuring 28 vertical bore holes dug 183 metres deep along with four slinky loop circuits.
Technical solutions to optimize other systems include variable refrigerant flow heat pumps and a high-performing precast insulated curtain wall.
But all that technology was not the most the important component of the build, said Bowerbank.
“The big thing for me is, it wasn’t a technical answer, it was a people skills answer,” he said. “It wasn’t just architectural and engineering practices as usual.
“One thing we realized very quickly, it is one thing to collaborate, it is another thing to really make sure everybody is on the same page, everyone knows what their roles and responsibilities are, and the whole notion of integrated design, for the first time was really put into motion.”
To ensure everyone is working in synch, the report calls for a dedicated staff person to track all systems related to the net zero goal. Bowerbank said discipline is ultra-important, right down to ensuring insulators installing spray foam insulation don’t take coffee breaks at critical moments. Intensity is required at all levels, he said.
“You really had to up the game and make sure there is no air leakage. That the spray foam is done just right, that all barriers were watched properly for all processes with the trades,” he said. “Everyone knew everything had to be done right, that was the big thing here.”
The report’s top-10 list of essential principles suggests: communication is key; create a net zero team; apply integrated design; prioritize the wish list; incorporate building automation systems; manage procurement; engage contractors and trades in the development process; focus on the energy budget; engage tenants in operational targets; and knowledge sharing from cradle to grave.
Bowerbank denied the report might be premature, given the build is not quite finished yet and the systems have to be tested by 4,500 students plugging in their electrical devices. He said that was one reason the energy target was over-sized by four or five per cent.
“The team is confident,” he said about reaching the net zero goal. “We are well over what we need.”
A follow-up operational report will be written after the school has been running for a year or two, he added.
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