Langara College | Central Heating Plant Integration

Prism Engineering was the prime consultant for energy studies, concept development, and implementation of a full, detailed design of the new Central Heating Plant (CHP) interconnection across the Langara College campus.

Langara is an independent post-secondary institution in Vancouver, BC. Its main campus is located at 100 West 49^th Avenue and includes eight major buildings built between 1970 and 2016. The total occupied floor area is 646,329 square feet and is comprised of various facilities, including classrooms, labs, a library, a gymnasium, a daycare, food courts, and more.

Project background

For over 20 years, Langara has expanded its operations while decreasing energy usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Its buildings account for 97% of the campus’s emissions¹, which makes them an essential part of the plan to achieve long-term and sustained decarbonization.

The new Central Heating Plant was designed to optimize the current heating source efficiency. In addition, it provided a pathway for full campus decarbonization, transitioning away from natural gas and integrating future low-carbon sources.

Construction started in the fall of 2022 and continued until the spring of 2023. The implementation phase was undertaken from September 2023 to May 2024 while the buildings were fully occupied.

17% reduction in GHG emissions

The new CHP is expected to operate with a seasonal efficiency of over 85%, contributing to reduced campus emissions and paving the way for the adoption of renewable technologies in the future.

In addition, all retrofitted mechanical equipment is expected to provide a minimum of 25 years of service life before any additional upgrades are needed. The implemented energy conservation measures resulted in a 17% reduction in GHG emissions and fuel savings of approximately 4,600 GJ (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Fuel Consumption Cumulative Savings (CUSUM).

Award-winning project

The results achieved by this project earned Prism Engineering First Place in the ASHRAE BC Technology Awards for the 2023-24 year.

Long-term relationship

For more than 20 years, Prism has supported Langara College on its journey to meet its decarbonization goals. Over the course of our relationship, we have worked together on a wide range of projects, including GHG emissions reporting, energy and carbon audits, low-carbon electrification projects, Strategic Energy Management Plan (SEMP) development, and deep carbon retrofit projects.

^{1 “2022 Climate Change Accountability Report”, Langara College, May 2023}