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When, on behalf of a client, GWL Realty Advisors purchased the 34-storey office tower at 650 West Georgia Street, in the heart of downtown Vancouver in 2001, this property manager recognized an opportunity to reduce operating costs by upgrading infrastructure. With a focus on improving energy efficiency in the 472,422 square foot facility, GWL Realty Advisors went ahead with innovative upgrades at the 25 year old complex, which resulted in savings of over $1,000,000 in electricity and steam costs after only 4 1/2 years! In addition to slashing operating costs, the retrofit was part of GWL Realty Advisors' commitment to the environment. During the process, a continuous improvement mindset was instilled in the building's operating engineers, which is expected to generate additional efficiencies and savings for years to come.
In 2002, Prism carried out a comprehensive energy audit of all systems in the building, and began implementation of our findings with an upgrade of the chilled water system. The upgrade of two new high-efficiency chillers included a new cooling tower, condenser and chilled water pumps, and a variable speed chilled water system operating with two way valves (one of the first of its kind in Vancouver).
In 2003, a network backbone was installed to allow high-speed network communication access between all floors and service areas. The backbone provided the opportunity for integration of building system controls and for additional automated control opportunities.
A lighting retrofit was undertaken to upgrade the building's lighting systems, including stairwell and storage room lighting, exit signs, incandescent down lights, and common area T12 lighting. By the spring of 2004, lighting controls for the majority of tenant areas were centralized, and nightly lighting off-sweeps were implemented. All previous generation DDC controls were updated to current technology and commissioned for improved performance. All floor fan flow control was converted to variable speed drive operation. Lighting and HVAC controls were then integrated into a common control system.
Finally, by mid-2004, heat recovery ("scavenger") systems were installed to recapture heat from the condensate before sending it to drain, reducing both heating and water costs.
650 West Georgia's electrical and steam savings have been monitored on a monthly basis by a monitoring and targeting tool developed by Prism using the CUSUM (Cumulative Sum of Savings) method.
By the end of 2007, GWL Realty Advisors had saved over 12.7 million kWh of electricity and almost 29 million pounds (43,000 GJ) of steam, for a total cost savings of 1.2 million dollars. They are currently benefiting from a 20% reduction in their electricity use and a 31% reduction in their steam use compared to the base period.
In addition to the electrical and steam savings, substantial water savings were realized for the project due the fact that, once the scavenger heat recovery system was installed, less cold water was required to temper the condensate before it could be drained into the municipal sewage system. In 2007, over $22,000 in water savings were realized through water conservation initiatives.
"Robert (Greenwald, President of Prism) has been instrumental in firing up our guys about energy reduction. He is probably the most passionate guy I know about energy management and reduction and it spills off of him. You put him in a room of 30 engineers and he gets pumped and they get pumped. And the engineering's there, it's not smoke and mirrors. Prism is by far the leading edge in energy reduction and, as a result, they are my "go to" guys for energy projects. They've called me in to talk to them about what was important to us and my answers filtered their way all the way down through their organization. You don't get that kind of responsiveness from the bigger outfits, which are more accustomed to selling you what they have instead of working to figure out what the client needs. I think that differentiates Prism from the rest."
- Peter Laforest – Manager of Technical Services, BC Region for GWL Realty Advisors
In December 2004, 650 West Georgia was awarded BOMA "Go Green" accreditation (a national environmental recognition and certification program for commercial buildings) for leadership in environmental practices. In 2006, the property received ASHRAE's BC Chapter Technology Award. GWL Realty Advisors' ongoing practice of "greening" the buildings they manage continues to raise their profile with prospective tenants and employees who are becoming increasingly interested in the ecological footprint of their landlords and employers.
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