ASHRAE Journal - August 2011 - 46

Building at a Glance
Name: Louis-H. LaFontaine Hospital Location: Montreal Owner: Provincial Government of Quebec Principal Use: Hospital Includes: Administrative offices, cafeteria, warehouse, laundry facilities, research center Employees/Occupants: 120/1,200 Gross Square Footage: 1.5 million Conditioned Space: 225,000 Substantial Completion/Occupancy: Retrofit completed in 2006

Geothermal well digging equipment dug 36 vertical wells to produce domestic hot water. each in series with the condenser side circuit going to the cooling tower to heat the space, instead of using steam, and reuse this otherwise “lost” energy. The modifications performed to the building envelope greatly reduced the heating energy requirements and also improved the comfort conditions for the entire hospital’s population in winter. More than 4,300 windows or the equivalent of 150,000 linear ft (45 720 linear m) or 28 miles (45 km) in length, were sealed to reduce the heat loss in the winter and reduce cold air draft problems. Each winter patients, doctors and staff raised concerns about these problems to the hospital’s administration department over the past several years. Practically no HVAC-related mechanical improvement measures were implemented in this energy-efficiency project because of the minimal amount of existing space and air conditioning equipment in the hospital. Eighty-five percent of the spaces are handled by natural ventilation in conjunction with several original exhaust fans, which was the original design used to provide the minimal air changes required. Also, these same spaces are mainly heated by steam radiators in winter. Future building improvement and renovation
46 ASHRAE Journal

projects also include adding further space conditioning to improve the environment where patients, doctors and personnel reside. One building’s perimeter that was originally heated by a constant high temperature hot water loop provided from a steam/hot water heat exchanger, was improved by implementing an indooroutdoor temperature control strategy. Previously, the only way to adequately control room temperature (generally higher on the south facing side because of additional sun load) was to open windows when it was too hot in the room. This was common practice even when the outdoor temperature was well below freezing. In addition, the existing pneumatic controls for the heating were upgraded with state-of-the-art direct digital controls to improve energy efficiency, comfort conditions and to reduce energy, regular maintenance and major repair expenditures as well. Bi-metallic room thermostats used for the electric baseboards in the FernandSéguin Research building (an adjacent and more recent construction from 1991) were also replaced by electronic and programmable models to control the room temperature more accurately and also implement a night-setback strategy.
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This project also received substantial grants from both local energy providers, Gaz Métro and Hydro-Québec. The total amount attributed to the hospital was $185,000 ($108,000 by Gaz Métro and $77,000 by Hydro-Québec). The hospital administration understood from the beginning of this project that to decrease the annual operational expenditures and energy consumption for the hospital, new heat reclaim and more efficient equipment were necessary. Because of the minimal operations staff and personnel available on-site, the equipment for this project was selected with special care so that additional staff will not be required in the future. The geothermal system and new electric steam boiler are solely run during offpeak hours, permitting the more efficient use of electric energy and eliminating the need to construct further dams and hydroelectricity generating plants to supply the ever increasing electric energy demand and use. The 15% reduction of energy consumption will generate a yearly decrease in the production of 2,387 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or the equivalent of 682 cars.
August 2011

ASHRAE Journal - August 2011

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