ASHRAE Journal - July 2020 - 45

2020 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES

* Overall window conduction 53% lower than the
baseline case.
* Air-to-air heat recovery system to recover waste
heat from the exhaust air to reduce the energy required
to condition the outdoor air.
* Demand-controlled ventilation prevents overventilating unoccupied or lightly occupied spaces and reduces the energy required to condition the outdoor air.
* Air-side economizer to utilize the outdoor air to
provide free cooling in the building when the outdoor
air condition is favorable.
* Building is heated by heating water generated by a
central heating plant consisting of high-efﬁciency airsource heat recovery heat pump at 2.5 COP seasonal efﬁciency and backup high-efﬁciency gas-ﬁred condensing
boilers with 94% efﬁciency.
* Building is cooled by chilled water generated by
high-efﬁciency air-source heat recovery heat pump at 4
COP seasonal efﬁciency.
* Domestic hot water is generated by electric hotwater tanks to avoid any thermal losses for this lowdemand building.
* Occupancy sensors in ofﬁces, meeting room, and
workshops to turn off lights and reduce supply air volume when the space is unoccupied.

Operation and Maintenance
Mechanical systems typically have a life expectancy of
30 to 40 years, if well maintained. As the building will
have a life of 50 to 100 years, this means that the systems
will fail at some point during the life of the building. It is
therefore critical that the failure does not result in damage to the art collection. The damage could come from
leaking pipes, a faulty humidiﬁer, or accidental damage
to a sprinkler head. While some pipe joining methods are
stronger and more reliable than others, it is necessary
to ensure that water services are located away from the
gallery so that if leakage does occur, water does not drip
or migrate to the gallery or other spaces containing the
art collection. All mechanical rooms and equipment that
require access, such as air valves and fan-coil units, are
located away from the exhibit space for ease of access and
maintenance. Leak detectors are also placed in the washrooms and under sinks for early leak detection, even if the
ﬁxtures are not located directly above the exhibit space.
Commissioning of the gallery mechanical system
began long before the arrival of artwork to ensure the

system is capable of maintaining a stable temperature
and humidity set point. Once the gallery mechanical
system was tested and commissioned, the temperature
and humidity readings in the gallery were logged on the
DDC for 14 days prior to setting up the exhibits.

Cost-Effectiveness
Cost of electricity is slightly lower than the cost
of natural gas in Whistler. The marginal electricity
rate is $0.0462/kWh, and the gas rate is $15.629/GJ
($0.056/kWh). The cost difference is not large, so the
annual energy savings of using a combination of heat
pumps and supplemental boilers compared to boilers
only is estimated at $2,837. The cost of the heat pumps is
approximately $155,000 more than a boiler-only system.
The payback period is longer than the equipment's life
expectancy; however, the project is strongly committed
to sustainability, and the carbon emission reduction is a
higher priority than economic payback.

Environmental Impact
Based on the energy model, the building
uses 1,730,575 kWh (5,904,900 kBtu), or 40% less
energy, than the baseline building. British Columbia
has hydroelectric power generation, with carbon emissions almost ten times lower than natural gas (0.09 kg
CO2e/kWh vs. 0.185 kg CO2e /kWh). Of the 368,833 kWh
(1,258,500 kBtu) of modeled heating energy consumption, 281,450 kWh (960,000 kBtu) is consumed by electrically driven heat pumps, and the rest is consumed
by the supplemental gas-ﬁred boilers. The modeled
proposed building saves 216 529 kg (476,364 lb) CO2e
compared to the baseline building with only gas-ﬁred
boilers, which is equivalent to the average annual emission of 47 passenger vehicles. The actual emission is less,
given the actual measured energy consumption is less
than the modeled result.
The museum site is located next to a forest and near
Fitzsimmons Creek. The site utilizes natural surroundings and has dedicated open space for the life of the
building, as well as encouraging planting of native species. The construction of the building was careful not to
disturb and pollute the natural environment. Seventy-ﬁve percent of the total
weight of construction waste generated
onsite was recycled and diverted from
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the landﬁll.
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ASHRAE Journal - July 2020

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