An office building on Cachet Woods Court, in Markham, considered by some a technology hub for Ontario, plans to be the first net positive energy office building in Canada, generating more energy than needed for annual operation. Though still a work in progress, the new structure anticipates going beyond building industry standards like LEED or even net zero energy — a concept where buildings incorporate renewables and energy efficiency to produce the same amount of energy they consume every year. A 420 kilowatt rooftop solar array is expected to produce about 515,000 kWh a year, compared to the building’s projected 430,000 kWh of demand. A storage system will store surplus power with lithium-ion batteries, as well as compressed air to drive exhaust fans and garage doors, for example.
Artistic rendering of the three-storey Howland Green Business Centre, under construction in Markham. Courtesy Howland Green Homes.
The three-storey Howland Green Business Centre, expected to be finished around March 2019, will feature office condos in 59,000 square feet of space.
Among other advances, the latest geothermal technology will heat and cool the building with automatic load sharing and individual office controls at a fraction of the cost of other buildings.
“The geothermal system changes almost every year or two and becomes so much more efficient,” says Dave De Sylva, president of Howland Green Homes. “You aren’t wasting energy on certain parts of the building; you’re moving it around the space in an efficient way.”
The entire outside of the area exposed to thermal transmission will be constructed not just of insulated concrete form, but new forms designed specifically for Howland Green, resulting in a combined thermal resistance value of at least R40, much higher than insulated formwork in standard buildings.
Excerpted, with permission, from a longer article March 6 by Rebecca Melnyk at REMI Network, reminetwork.com.
In related news, Sifton Properties Ltd. of London, Ont. has embarked on a 10-year project to build what is believed to be the province’s first sustainable, net-zero community. The 70-acre West 5 development is to encompass 2,000 apartments, condominiums and townhouses along with 400,000 square feet of commercial space and a 1.6-acre park. Located in west London, the community is being designed and built using SMART and net-zero technologies. The development is being designed to ultimately generate all of the electricity that it uses.
The development’s inaugural building is the Sifton Centre, home of Sifton Properties’ corporate office. It incorporates a number of technologies including a solar rooftop and facade; automated lighting, heating and cooling based on occupancy sensors, level of sunlight and solar gain; dynamic glass windows that automatically tint and adjust to sunlight; low-flow plumbing fixtures; and a green roof. Construction is currently underway on 87 townhouse units.