Glossary

Glossary of Energy & Water Terms

Acronym Definition
ADES Academic District Energy System: a five-year project to replace UBC’s aging steam distribution system with a more efficient hot water system
Biomass Cogeneration The cogeneration of electrical and thermal energy using biomass as its primary fuel source
BMS Building Management System: a network of computer-based controllers connected to various mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
BRDF Bioenergy Research Demonstration Facility: a cogeneration facility at UBC that produces steam, electricity, and hot water
CEC Campus Energy Centre: the name of the building that will house the boilers for UBC’s new hot water system
CHP Combined Heat and Power: A facility where the production of the primary unit produces both heat and electricity (power); Cogeneration is another term used to describe CHP
CLT Cross Laminated Timber: a new wood building material that can be used as a low carbon, renewable alternative to steel construction
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
Cogeneration A facility that produces two streams of energy from one input; typically, electricity and heat are produced from natural gas
C.Op BC Hydro’s Continuous Optimization initiative
CRDM Capital Renewal and Deferred Maintenance
EPI Energy Planning and Innovation group within UBC Energy and Water Services
EWS UBC’s Energy and Water Services unit
GJ Gigajoule: a unit to measure natural gas
GHG Greenhouse Gas
Green Labs An energy conservation initiative at UBC focused on optimizing air changes in teaching and research labs
GW Gigawatt: equal to one billion watts
GWh Gigawatt Hour: equal to 1,000 megawatts per hour
HDD Heating Degree Days: a measurement derived from air temperature and reflecting the energy needed to heat the UBC campus
HVAC Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning: refers to HVAC systems in buildings
kWh Kilowatt Hour: equal to 1,000 watts per hour
MW Megawatts: equal to one million watts
MVA Megavolt Ampere: a unit to measure electrical capacity
NDES Neighbourhood District Energy System: A proposed hot water system for the University Neighbourhood Association at UBC
NG Natural Gas
NG – Rate 22 Interruptible natural gas which can be curtailed if the outside temperature drops below -7 degrees Celsius
NG –Rate 25 Non-interruptible natural gas, which cannot be curtailed
NRCan Natural Resources Canada
Retrofit Adding a component or accessory that wasn’t present when something was originally built
RNG Renewable Natural Gas: a biogas typically produced from landfills, biodigesters or biomass which has the same methane value as natural gas
Syngas Cleanup Technology A process whereby raw syngas produced from biomass is refined and cleaned up to produce a clean syngas, which is usable as an engine fuel source
TEC Temporary Energy Centre: a temporary steam to hot water heat exchanger located on University Boulevard on the UBC campus
Wi-Fi Occupancy An energy conservation initiative at UBC that utilizes Cisco’s Wi-Fi technology to determine building occupancy and adjust building system operation in real time