Project Address

Toronto Catholic District School Board
80 Sheppard Avenue East
Toronto, ON M2N 6E8

Key Contact

Mary Walker,
Communications Supervisor

Main Building Contacts:
Rose MacDonald, Supervisor
TCDSB Central Services

Project Background

Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) governs 208 schools in the Toronto area including 30 secondary and 178 elementary schools. In total there are 15,365 full-time equivalent teachers and 94,936 students enrolled in TCDSB schools.

TCDSB wanted to reduce operating costs and become a more energy efficient school board by making environmental changes in various schools. And with many of the schools dating back to the 1950’s, many of the existing technologies and infrastructures were old and out of date.

In 2007, a lighting audit was conducted by ALD Architectural Lighting Design who designed an implementation plan to upgrade the existing lighting. TCDSB reached out to the City of Toronto’s Better Buildings Partnership to access information and resources to support their energy efficient lighting retrofits.

Challenges

With all schools fully operational, TCDSB wanted to ensure students’ schedules and environments were not disturbed. With these challenges in mind, TCDSB sought to reduce the carbon footprint of its combined campuses and minimize energy operating costs by upgrading their lighting systems.

“By working together with the BBP to upgrade parts of our lighting systems in multiple schools and portables, we expect to see savings of about 25% annually, lowering the payback period to just 3.5 years.” Rose MacDonald, Supervisor TCDSB Central Services

Solution

Toronto’s Better Buildings Partnership was involved in supporting the TCDSB to access the energy savings incentives that the program offers, enabling the school board to do more with its budget and improve the lighting in more schools. The existing lighting consisted of T12 linear fluorescents, incandescent and halogen lamps. The aim of the retrofit plan was to upgrade to an energy efficient lighting system including T8 linear fluorescents lamps complete with electronic ballasts, compact fluorescents and high pressure sodium lighting. The projects implemented include:

• Replacement of T12 with T8, and incandescent with CFL in seven schools
• Replacement of T12 with T8 in one school and 139 portable classrooms
• Replacement of T12 with T8, incandescent with CFL, and Halogen with HPS in one additional school

“By working together with the BBP to upgrade parts of our lighting systems in multiple schools and portables, we expect to see savings of about 25% annually, lowering he payback period to just 3.5 years”, said Rose MacDonald, Supervisor, TCDSB Central Services. “Not to mention, we’ve reduced our environmental footprint by 750,000Kg of CO2 annually – equivalent to taking 150 cars off the road.”

Results

The energy efficient upgrades to 264,536 Sqft of TCDSB facilities resulted in 84,535 kWh of annual electricity savings and an annual greenhouse gas savings of 562,323 kg of CO2. These reductions are expected to provide an annual cost savings of $58,453 with a payback period of 3.86 years. These savings were accomplished with the support of a $68,927.00 incentive payment from the Better Buildings Partnership.

All measures were accomplished without any disruption to classes by ensuring all work was conducted in the evenings.

Project Snapshot

• Project cost:$294,500
• Annual electricity savings:584,535 kWh
• Annual cost savings:$58,453
• Annual CO2 savings:562,323 kg of CO2
• BBP Incentives received:$68,927

About the City of Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and livability for all its residents.

For more information please contact:

Better Buildings Partnership
Tel: 416-392-1500
bbp@toronto.ca

Click here to download this case study in a PDF format

Project Address

Tyndale University College & Seminary
25 Ballyconnor Court
Toronto, ON M2M 4B3

Key Contact

Scott Rough
Manager Campus Operations

Project Background

Tyndale University College & Seminary is a trans-denominational, evangelical university college offering certificates and bachelor’s degrees in humanities, social sciences and business; while the seminary offers master’s and doctoral degrees in divinity and theology. With much of the campus comprising of older buildings built in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Tyndale wanted to reduce operation costs and become a more energy efficient campus.

After a lighting audit was conducted by Trace Electric, it was clear that there were opportunities for improvement. Tyndale College contacted the City of Toronto’s Better Buildings Partnership to access information and resources for their lighting retrofit projects.

Challenges

Tyndale College sought to undertake projects to reduce the carbon footprint of its buildings and minimize energy operating costs by upgrading their outdated lighting system without disrupting classes and student life.

Solution

The Better Buildings Partnership played an important role in helping Tyndale University College access energy savings incentives, enabling it to do more with its budget. The existing lighting consisted of T12 linear fluorescents, incandescent and metal halide lamps. The College’s plan included switching to an energy efficient lighting system including T8 linear fluorescents lamps complete with electronic ballasts, compact fluorescents and LED exit signs. The project implemented include:

• Gymnasium lighting upgrade – light retrofit: metal halide to T8 Fluorescent High Bay Lighting
• Lighting upgrade – light retrofit: T12 Fluorescent, incandescent to T8 Fluorescent, Compact lorescent , LED Exit Signs

“The upgrades that we implemented to our lighting system are expected to deliver a savings of about 34% annually, lowering the payback period to just 5.63 years”, said Scott Rough, Manager of Campus Operations at Tyndale College.” Not to mention, we’ve reduced our environmental footprint by about 185,884 kg of CO2 annually – that’s the equivalent of taking 41 cars off the road. These projects were made possible with the help of the Better Buildings Partnership.”

Results

The energy efficient upgrades to Tyndale University College facilities resulted in 213,214 kWh of annual electricity savings and an annual greenhouse gas savings of 205112 kg of CO2. These reductions provide an annual cost savings of $21,321. The payback period of 5.63 years was accomplished with the support of a $36,592.00 incentive received from the Better Buildings Partnership.

“The upgrades that we implemented to our lighting system are expected to deliver a savings of about 34% annually, lowering the payback period to just 5.63 years.” Scott Rough, Manager of Campus Operations at Tyndale College.

Project Snapshot

• Project cost:$156,628
• Annual electricity savings:213,214 kWh
• Annual cost savings:$21,321
• Annual CO2 savings:205,112 kg of CO2
• BBP Incentives received:$46,592

Project results have been verified by a third party project evaluator according to industry references and the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP).

About the City of Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and livability for all its residents.

For more information please contact:

Better Buildings Partnership
Tel: 416-392-1500
bbp@toronto.ca

Click here to download this case study in a PDF format

Project Address

Victoria University (main building)
91 Charles Street West
Toronto, ON       

Key Contacts

David Prediger,
Manager of Maintenance and Grounds 

Project Background

Victoria University was founded in 1836, and in 1890 federated with the  University of Toronto. In 1892, Victoria University moved from Cobourg to its  current campus in Toronto. Victoria University is home to approximately 3,500  undergraduate students. The campus consists of 14 buildings, some dating  back to the 19th century, with the most recent building completed in 2001.      

Challenges

Due to the age of most of the buildings, inefficiencies were growing and Victoria University was looking for ways to increase the energy efficiency of the buildings and reduce energy costs.

“Incentives from the BBP will enable the university to plan and implement valuable projects which would not have been possible before this program was available”, David Prediger, Manager of Maintenance and Grounds, Victoria University.  

Solution and Results

A detailed energy audit was conducted on all 14 buildings, which will result in a major lighting retrofit project for the Victoria University campus. The project includes retrofitting existing T12 Linear Fluorescent fixtures with 25 Watt T8 Linear florescent lamps and electronic ballasts, replacing 32 Watt T8 linear fluorescents fixtures with 25 Watt T8 Linear fluorescent lamps and replacing metal halide fixtures with induction lamp fixtures. The university will also install motion sensors in classrooms, washrooms, garbage chute rooms and in some common areas.

The retrofits will assist in reducing energy consumption and expenses. The new lights will be brighter and more efficient than the old lights; and greatly enhance the aesthetics of the buildings and rooms.

“Incentives from the BBP will enable the university to plan and implement valuable projects which would not have been possible before this program was available,” said David Prediger, Manager of Maintenance and Grounds, Victoria University. “The university appreciates all of the services offered by the BBP and has found them to be a valuable resource in our attempts to reduce our energy consumption.”

The university is currently in the process of implementing some lighting retrofits as well as completing new heating and cooling systems which incorporate variable drives for pumps and air handling units.

Project Snapshot

• Project cost:$529,935
• Annual electricity savings: 876,533 kWh
• Annual cost savings:$87,653
• Annual CO2 savings:843 tonnes CO2
• BBP Incentives :$ 70,981.35 (estimated)

About the City of Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and livability for all its residents.  

For more information please contact:

Better Buildings Partnership
Tel: 416-392-1500
bbp@toronto.ca
toronto.ca/bbp

Click here to download this case study in a PDF format

Project Address

Saint-Jean-De-Lalande School
500 Sandhurst Circle
Scarborough, ON M1S 3Y7      

Key Contacts

Bjarne Pedersen,
Project consultant/engineer 
ALD Architectural Lighting Design     

Project Background

Saint-Jean-De-Lalande, built in 1973, is a three storey elementary school, with a student population of 116 students. The school is part of the Roman Catholic separate French language school board for the south-central region of Ontario(CSDCCS). The school board is made up of 41 elementary and eight secondary schools.      

Challenges

Many of the school’s buildings are aging and becoming increasingly inefficient. The school board began to look for ways to increase the school’s energy efficiency to reduce energy costs. Motivated by incentives from the BBP program, the chool board undertook an energy efficiency project at Saint-Jean-De-Lalande elementary school.    

“The school board is very satisfied with the lighting project completed at Saint-Jean-de-Lalande. This retrofit improved the school’s energy consumption and the quality of learning in the classrooms. The incentives from BBP for this project were very helpful and the school board is now motivated to undertake additional projects with BBP in the future.”  Nzola Mbaki, Services and Planning Administrator, CSDCCS.

Solution and Results

ALD Architectural Lighting Design conducted a lighting audit, and based on the audit results developed a plan to retrofit the school’s current lighting system. T12 Linear Fluorescent, Incandescent and Metal Halide lamps were retrofitted to a more energy efficient lighting system, including T8 Linear lamps, High Bay T5 Linear lamps and Compact Fluorescent lamps, all complete with electronic ballasts. The retrofit helped to improve the school’s energy consumption, and created a safer and better quality learning environment. In the future, Saint-Jean-De-Lalande plans to install variable frequency drives, photocell lighting and lighting sensors, with the help of BBP incentives.    

Project Snapshot

• Project cost:$134,319
• Annual electricity savings: 46,008 kWh
• Annual cost savings:$46,00
• Annual CO2 savings:44,260 tonnes CO2
• BBP Incentives received:$ 6,652

About the City of Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and livability for all its residents.  

For more information please contact:

Better Buildings Partnership
Tel: 416-392-1500
bbp@toronto.ca
toronto.ca/bbp

Click here to download this case study in a PDF format

Project Address

200 Lonsdale Rd, Toronto, ON

Key Contacts

Stephen Thuringer, Director of Facilities, Upper Canada College
Peter Colasante, Operations Manager, Upper Canada College

Project Background

Located in the heart of Toronto, Upper Canada College (UCC) is a 181 year-old independent boys school. The UCC campus is set on 38.5 acres, comprising more than 500,000 sq feet of mixed-use space in 16 buildings, built between 1898 and 2008. The campus includes a twin-pad arena, swimming pool, three gyms and seven sports fields. UCC has a student population of 1,156 with 86 boarders and 16 families living on-campus. The 16 buildings are a challenge to upgrade and retrofit for increased energy efficiency due to the wide range in age and various construction types.

Challenges

 To assist in addressing these challenges, UCC launched its Green School Master Plan in 2001, to renew its facilities while improving energy performance and reducing its environmental footprint as well as integrating sustainability and environmental stewardship into the school’s culture and curriculum.

During the first two years of UCC’s Green School program, many small energy efficiency projects were completed, but it became necessary to focus on larger projects requiring outside sources of funding.

Solution and Results

UCC sought the assistance of the Better Buildings Partnership’s (BBP) MASH program for its larger projects. BBP was a valuable resource for UCC in both quantifying a project’s immediate impact on energy consumption and providing financial support to enable the various projects.

UCC has worked with BBP to complete numerous energy efficiency projects, to assist with its commitment to its Green School Master Plan. UCC’s hockey arena and sports complex was designed to be sustainable, and is working towards gold-level LEED certification. To reduce energy consumption from heating in the arena and sports complex, UCC installed geothermal heating beneath a nearby playing field, which provides the heat supply for the arena and sports complex. Geothermal heating assists in reducing the complex’s energy use by 35 to 40 per cent annually.

BBP also assisted UCC in completing a number of energy efficiency projects, including the replacement of the 1000-watt metal halide lights with 400-watt metal halide lights for three of the school’s gymnasiums. This resulted in reducing energy use by more than 50 per cent. UCC has also undertaken other energy efficient projects, such as the installation of compact fluorescents, LED Lighting, occupancy sensors, and has converted its electric hot wat er heaters to natural gas hot water heaters. As well, the school installed variable frequency drives and implemented energy efficient rooftop heating and cooling units.

“The BBP helps identify potential projects, clarifies the scope of the work, assists in filing the applications,verifies the outcome and provides resources to offset costs,” said Stephen Thuringer, Director of Facilities, UCC. “They are truly a unique enabler for environmental projects that benefit our entire community and beyond.”

With its ongoing commitment to the Green School Master Plan, UCC looks forward to completing further green projects with BBP. 

Project snapshot

New Construction & Geothermal heating

• Project cost: $300,000
• Annual electricity savings: 946,809 kWh
• Annual cost savings: $123,241
• Annual CO₂ savings:  555.13 tonnes CO₂
• Estimated BBP Ground Source Heat Pump Incentive: $50,560
• Estimated BBP New Construction Incentive: $44,040.50
• Total Estimated New Construction Incentives: $94,600.50

Domestic Hot Water Conversion (Electric to Gas), Variable Frequency Drives, Occupancy Sensors, Energy Efficient Roof Top Replacement and Lighting Retrofit

• Project cost: $306,600
• Annual electricity savings: 1,322,999 kWh
• Annual cost savings: $132,299
• Annual CO₂ savings:  1,273 tonnes CO₂
• Estimated BBP Incentives: $ 113,542

About the City of Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s largest city, with the sixth largest government and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and livability for all its residents.

For more information please contact:

Better Buildings Partnership
Tel: 416-392-1500
bbp@toronto.ca

Click here to download this case study in a PDF format

Project Address

Humber College – North Campus
205 Humber College Blvd., Toronto, Ontario

Key Contacts

Carol Anderson, Director of Facilities, Humber College Spencer Wood, Manager, Maintenance & Operations, Humber College

Consultant: S.A. Armstrong Ltd

Project Background

Established in 1967, Humber College encompasses three campus locations, representing approximately 2 million square feet. Home to approximately 20,000 full-time, 55,000 part-time and 2,000 apprenticeship students, the college operates 14 hours a day, 6 days per week, for most of the year.

With its facilities continually expanding over the last forty years, Humber College has been a leader in Canada in making long-term commitments to reducing energy for the last decade. Since 2001, Humber College has acted on several opportunities to help reduce the school’s energy consumption, including upgrading to a lighting system that uses motion sensor technology, variable speed drives for fan and pump systems.

In 2006, S.A. Armstrong Ltd. presented the College with an opportunity that would result in substantial cost savings and reductions in energy consumption at the North Campus, and reinforce Humber College’s status as one of Canada’s greenest schools.

Desired Outcomes

With current energy prices trending higher and the possibility of significant increases at any time, Humber College must manage its resources carefully to ensure that facilities are operating as efficiently and as environmentally responsible as possible.

As a proponent against climate change, there is an increased pressure for Humber College to invest in infrastructure upgrades that will reduce its carbon footprint with lower greenhouse gas emissions. According to Peter Love, Chief Energy Conservation Officer with the Ontario Power Authority, “In Canada, 82 per cent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions results from the production and use of energy.”

With the help of S.A. Armstrong Ltd., Humber College sought to reduce the carbon footprint of its North Campus and minimize energy operating costs through an innovative energy efficiency upgrade.

Solution and Results

Humber College developed a $2.8 million program that would see the replacement of the 35-year old chiller system in the North Campus with an innovative system called the Hartman Loop.  They consulted Toronto’s Better Buildings Partnership to access the energy savings incentives that the program offers, enabling the College to do more with its budget.

The installation of the Hartman Loop at North Campus is the first of its kind in Canada. The System uses three new 550-ton chillers in conjunction with integrated plant control technology that is 50 per cent more efficient than the College’s two former chillers that ran on harmful chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).  The installation of the Hartman Loop will reduce energy consumption during periods of decreased College occupancy, and enable cooling earlier and later in the spring and fall.

The installation of the Hartman Loop chiller system resulted in a drastic reduction of the annual electricity consumption at Humber College’s North Campus by 670,000 kWh. Furthermore, the program is expected to trim utility bills by $104,000 per year. Utilizing $157,600 in financial incentives from the Better Buildings Partnership, Humber College has succeeded in reaching a new standard in fiscal and environmental responsibility with the installation of the Hartman Loop technology.

“The existing chiller system was a drain on the environment and our facilities were in serious need of an upgrade,” said Carol Anderson, Humber College’s Director of Facilities. “By replacing the two existing chiller units with the Hartman Loop chiller system, we will reduce our environmental footprint by 645 tonnes of CO² annually – that’s the equivalent of taking 129 cars off the road, or taking 195 homes off the grid.”

Project Snapshot

• Project cost: $3 Million
• Annual electricity savings: 670,000 kWh
• Annual cost savings: $104,000
• Annual greenhouse gas savings: 645 tonnes of CO²
• Incentives received: BBP ($157,600). Includes some lighting retrofits.

About the City of Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and livability for all its residents.

For more information please contact:

Better Buildings Partnership
Tel: 416-392-1500
bbp@toronto.ca

Click here to download this case study in a PDF format

Project Addresses

Centre for Creative Communications
951 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, ON

Astonbee Campus
75 Astonbee Rd. Toronto, ON

Progress Campus
941 Progress Avenue, Toronto, ON

HP Science and Technology Centre
755 Morningside Avenue, Toronto, ON

Key Contacts

Property Manager: Tyrone Gangoo, Manager, Plant Services, Facilities & Services, Centennial College

Project Background

Toronto’s Centennial College encompasses four campuses and five satellite locations, representing approximately 1.082 million square feet. Home to some 12,500 full-time and 25,000 part-time students, the college operates 14 hours a day, 6 days per week, for most of the year.

With the majority of its facilities built in the 1970’s and 1980’s, Centennial College was well positioned to reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint through energy efficient retrofits.

Following an energy audit conducted in 2004 by Toronto Hydro Energy Services Inc, several opportunities for improvement were presented that would result in substantial cost savings, including power factor correction and an energy efficient lighting retrofit.

Desired Outcomes

As a publicly funded institution, Centennial College must manage its resources carefully to ensure that facilities are operating as efficiently and as environmentally responsible as possible. With energy prices trending higher and the possibility of significant increases at any time, there is an increased pressure on institutions to reduce the risk of unanticipated future costs. With these things in mind, and a need to not disrupt classes in the process, Centennial College sought to reduce the carbon footprint of its sites and minimize energy operating costs, through energy efficiency upgrades.

Solution and Results

Centennial College evaluated several energy efficiency projects on four campuses, including the cost involved and the time it would take to achieve payback on investment. Toronto’s Better Buildings Partnership was consulted to potentially access the energy savings incentives that the program offers, enabling the college to do more with its budget. The projects implemented included:

• Retrofitting existing T-12 lighting to more energy efficient T-8 technology without sacrificing lighting levels, replacing 4,278 fixtures (mostly HID and incandescent) with higher efficiency alternative fixtures in three campuses and one residence.
• Introduced ultrasonic occupancy sensors at three sites.
• At 941 Progress Avenue Campus, converted the fan system to variable frequency drives to better match fan operation to air quality and comfort needs, and replaced the electric hot water heater with a high-efficiency natural gas boiler.
• Fine-tuned existing Building Automation Systems to optimize efficiency of new measures.
• Installed capacitor banks to improve power factor at all buildings.

As Tyrone Gangoo, Manager, Plant Services, Facilities & Services, Centennial College points out, “We have an annual energy budget of approximately $2 million and we expect to see savings of about 10% annually from all the implemented improvements – lowering the payback period to just 3.1 years. In addition, we’ve reduced our environmental footprint by 1,420 tonnes of CO2 annually – that’s the equivalent of taking 284 cars off the road.”

The energy efficient upgrades to Centennial College’s facilities resulted in 1,433,608 kWh of annual electricity savings, 19,598 m3 of annual natural gas savings, and an annual greenhouse gas savings of 1,420 tonnes of CO2. These reductions translate into an annual cost savings of $196,055. The payback period of 3.1 years was accomplished with the assistance of a $129,201 incentive received from the Better Buildings Partnership and a $11,951 incentive from Enbridge.

All measures were accomplished without any disruption in classes, mainly by taking advantage of summer break. Already the retrofit to newer, more efficient T-8 technology and the introduction of occupancy sensors to better manage lighting use are delivering cost savings as promised.

Project Snapshot

• Project cost: $748,594
• Annual electricity savings: 1,433,608 kWh
• Annual cost savings: $196,055
• Annual natural gas savings: 19,598 m³
• Annual CO2 savings: 1,420 tonnes
• Incentives received: BBP ($129,201) and Enbridge ($11,951)
• Payback period: 3.1 years

About the City of Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and livability for all its residents.

For more information please contact:

Better Buildings Partnership
Tel: 416-392-1500
bbp@toronto.ca

Click here to download this case study in a PDF format