Energy Management

Building Tune-Ups While a building may perform as intended immediately after it has been built, the truth is that like anything else, a building’s systems degrade over time. By continuously monitoring a building’s performance and regularly making minor tweaks and…

The I.K. Barber Learning Centre is the main library on campus. It was built in 2007 and has a gross floor area of 27,000m². The building was a significant user of thermal energy from the District Energy System (DES) due to its…

Early in 2020, our Facilities teams had the opportunity to work together to enhance an existing maintenance project. While the maintenance work conducted by Building Operations was underway to replace the chiller at Chemistry E Block, North Wing, our team…

In the summer of 2021, Energy & Water Services successfully completed the installation of the heat recovery chiller in Chemistry D Block, and commissioned in October 2021. A server room in the basement of Chemistry D (Centre) Block currently holds…

In 2019, Energy & Water Services completed the first install of an Aircuity system in BC, in the Michael Smith Labs building. The system samples laboratory spaces for common air contaminants, and reduces the amount of outdoor air delivered to…

While UBC has participated in BC Hydro’s Continuous Optimization Program (C.Op) over the past decade, the approach to identifying energy conservation measures hasn’t changed in that time. UBC’s participation in the Real-Time Energy Management (RTEM) pilot program looked to change…

The Centre for Comparative Medicine is a 10,000m2 animal care facility. Not only is CCM one of the larger energy consumers on campus but it is most intensive user of natural gas resulting in a disproportionately high greenhouse gas emissions…

Chemistry North (Block E) was originally built in 1962 and was renewed in 2006 with all new HVAC systems, electrical systems, and fume hoods. It is one of the highest density lab buildings on campus with 53% lab space and…

The Forest Sciences Centre is a 27,000 m² lab building built in 1998. The building consists of lab space, office space and classrooms and lecture halls. The building is one of the top 10 thermal energy consumers on campus –…

MOA Heat Recovery Chiller The Museum of Anthropology is two-storey, 11 000 square meter facility renowned for its displays of world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nation band governments.  The Museum is one of UBC’s main tourist…

Based on research by a Ph.D candidate right here at UBC, Energy and Water Services is using the campus wireless system to find energy savings in buildings. The research found that the anonymized location data provided by the wifi system…

UBC Energy and Water Services in partnership with Custodial Services, BC Hydro, and the Province of British Columbia Carbon Neutral Program have begun a multi-phase T8 fluorescent to LED (Light Emitting Diode) retrofit project. The new LEDs will provide improved…

Variable Air Volume Exhaust Project Constructed in 2012, UBC’s Earth Sciences building is a state of the art research laboratory focusing on Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric sciences. In 2015 UBC’s Energy and Water Services partnered with CPP Wind and ESC…

The Life Sciences Centre (LSC) is the largest building on the UBC Point Grey campus. Completed in 2004, this $125 million, 52,165 square meter building was built to accommodate the Distributed Medical Educational Program—which has nearly doubled the number of…

The Institute for Computing, Information, and Cognitive Systems/Computer Science building (ICICS/CS) is a 60,000 square foot state-of-the-art, computer science technology research facility at UBC. The facility includes eight shared labs and 38 dedicated labs. A wide range of research is…

Condensate Heat Recovery Project UBC helped FortisBC to pilot its Commercial Custom Design Program – Retrofit Projects initiative in 2012. The program helps natural gas customers like UBC by providing funding for a detailed energy study, and for capital upgrades needed to reduce…

One of hundreds of Air Handling Units bringing air into UBC buildings UBC is in the process of replacing all the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system air filters on campus over the next three years. There are over 10,000 air…

Dirt may be in the form of pollen, fabric fibres, hair, rust, tobacco smoke or even mould. Whatever its form, all dirt has the same effect on Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system coils—it blocks the airflow, degrades heat transfer,…

Boiler Retrofit Project The UBC Centre for Comparative Medicine was completed in 2012. The centre provides animal care and is the most energy intensive building on campus. Shortly after the centre became operational, UBC’s Energy Planning and Innovation (EPI) group…

The Pharmaceutical Sciences building is one of UBC’s newest and most mechanically advanced buildings. Housing not only the Pharmaceutical Sciences program but also the campus’s main data centre, the building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system demands are high. The…

UBC’s Biological Sciences West Building UBC completed a major renovation on the Biological Sciences West building in 2012, which included replacing its mechanical system. Upon investigation in 2014, we found that the building’s highly advanced heating and cooling system wasn’t…

Completed between 2001 and 2008, ECOTrek involved retrofitting 288 UBC academic buildings to reduce energy and water consumption. At the time, ECOTrek was the largest energy and water retrofit project ever to have taken place on a Canadian campus. In…

Building Tune-Ups A few simple, low-cost changes can impact the energy consumption of UBC’s buildings significantly. In 2010, UBC first launched what was then called the Building Tune-Up program. The initiative was then led by UBC Facilities, in partnership with BC…