Celebrating energy savings success at St Mary’s Hospital
St Mary’s Hospital expansion project was completed in early 2013 and was occupied in March 2013. The new facility in Sechelt is a three storey building and the first LEED Gold construction certified building for VCH.
It has been praised as a state-of-the-art building, which celebrates a connection to nature that promotes health and healing.
Energy Management
John Manougian, Energy Manager with Vancouver Coastal Health has spearheaded the energy efficiency and conservation plan. “We implemented energy savings and conservation savings measures, which are projected at annual savings of 360,501 kWh in electricity, 193 GJ in natural gas and GHG emissions reductions of 19 tCO2e (tonnes)”, explains Manougian. “The annual cost savings are substantial.”
Energy savings features include radiant heat piping in the ground slab to remove excess heat from the building during the summer months. This thermal energy is transferred to an underground water tank which acts like a capacitor, storing energy until the heating season begins. The main heating system uses heat pumps connected to the geothermal field. The double envelope construction system exploits the thermal properties of air to enhance the energy performance of the building.
Kudos: Savings Success Story – St Mary’s is using 26% less energy annually
A preliminary assessment of the St Mary’s energy performance of the 1 year LEED Measurement and Verification period has been conducted. For the period of August 1st through November 30th, 2013 and based on the energy data collected, it is estimated that the new addition will consume 26% less energy annually than a typical health care facility in British Columbia, based on surveyed energy data from Natural Resources Canada.
Savings explained
The estimated annual building energy-use intensity (EUI) for the new addition is 322 kwh/m2 while the NRCan target is 438 kwh/m2. The St Mary’s Hospital existing building has an energy-use intensity of approximately 686 kWh/m2. Comparisons with our Core VCH facilities average EUI for 2013 indicate a reduction of 44.5% from the average EUI for the 9 VCH Acute Care facilities, 25.6% from our 7 VCH Residential Care facilities, and 42.8% from our total combined Core facilities. When you crunch all these numbers, we know that we are using 26% less energy, which means that we are saving millions of dollars over the life of the hospital.
As well, the 78 solar panels installed on the roof of St Mary’s by Terratek Energy Solutions are estimated to save 21,450 kWh of energy a year, as much as three efficient homes would consume annually. The installation is a great source of supplemental power for the hospital, and even on cloudy days the solar modules have the capacity to turn light into electricity to offset consumption, helping the hospital meet LEED Gold certification and its goal of achieving net carbon reduction for the site. The integration of the solar system, as well as a focus on passive strategies like providing occupants access to natural daylight and ventilation, all work together to achieve a push-the-envelope hospital that we are all proud of.
GreenCare Community: Energy
GreenCare supports energy savings across the health authorities with various energy saving campaigns and initiatives. To learn more about GreenCare and the environmental programs that are taking place through the Health Authorities, please sign-up to the GreenCare Community and help to make our organization a leader in conservation and sustainability: https://bcgreencare.ca/user/login