High Performing Buildings - Winter 2008 - (Page 49)

Design Process and System Selection Design work for the building started in May 2002 using the integrated building design (IBD) approach that had all the stakeholders (owner, architect, MEP engineers, structural engineers, landscape architect, project manager, etc.) sitting at the table before any line was drawn. The team had a target energy efﬁciency of at least 50% below the reference building of the Model National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings 1997 (MNECB). This roughly equals 45% below ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. However, it was clear from the beginning that the design team should not limit itself to 50% below MNECB, but aim as high as possible in energy efﬁciency while considering budget and technical constraints. The only real limitation was that the building was to operate without the use of any fossil fuel (including natural gas). Close to 100% of Quebec’s electricity comes from hydropower. The indirect emission factor for the electrical energy distributed in Quebec is 0.00122 kg of CO2 per kWh, according to ASHRAE Transactions QC-06-032, High-Performance Retail Store with Integrated HVAC Systems. The use of gas for heating generates a lot more CO2 per kWh equivalent, which the owner wanted to avoid since the available electricity is cleaner energy. The indoor design conditions were based on the cooperative’s philosophies and those of its members and from the requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-1992, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. Properly applied, controlled radiant environment with natural ventilation allows the designer to signiﬁcantly enlarge the indoor temperature comfort zone. Geoexchange Coupled with Radiant Slabs Montreal has a long and cold winter. As such, heating is one of the main uses of energy over a year. Consequently, for the building central plant, the design team chose a groundcoupled heat pump system with a vertical geoexchanger, one of the most efﬁcient heating systems available. The vertical geoexchanger is made of twelve 575 ft deep boreholes and is coupled to eight liquid-to-liquid HFC heat pumps (each 10-ton nominal). In most commercial buildings, fan power is another main energy use, usually used to distribute airconditioning and ventilation air, as Winter 2008 B U I L D I N G AT A G L A N C E Building Name Mountain Equipment Co-op Retail Store Location 8989 de l’Acadie Boulevard, Montreal Size 45,000 ft2 Started 2002 Completed 2003 Use Retail store with warehouse component Cost $2.8 million (Canadian) Distinctions Léonard 2005 in Building category from the Association des ingénieurs-conseils du Québec; Engineering Award of Excellence (ASHRAE 2005); Second most efficient building in Canada and first in Quebec in 2003 per CBIP BUILDING TEAM Owner Mountain Equipment Co-op Facilities Planner Corin Flood The building promotes sustainable construction while being critical of the typical “big box” architecture used for large-surface, single-story commercial stores. Mechanical and Electrical Engineering / Energy Pageau Morel and Associates Inc. Architect MTF Architects Consortium (Studio MMA, Atelier d’architecture, Lyse M. Tremblay, Architect, Duschenes & Fish Architects) Renewable Energy GPCo Inc. Structural Engineering Saia, Deslauriers, Kadanoff, Leconte, Brisebois, Blais Civil Engineering Vinci Consulting Landscape Architects Williams, Asselin, Ackaoui and Associates Inc. Waste Management Jacques Whitford Construction Manager Broccolini Construction Inc. HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS 49

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of High Performing Buildings - Winter 2008

High Performance Buildings - Winter 2008 Passing On the Gift: Heifer International Headquarters Head of the Class: University of Florida’s Rinker Hall How Far Can You Go? Pearl River Tower The Proof Is Performance: How Does 4 Times Square Measure Up? Lighting the Way: Two Guilford County Schools Montreal’s Retail Example: Mountain Equipment Co-op® (MEC)

High Performing Buildings - Winter 2008

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