The Centre for Comparative Medicine is a 10,000m2 animal care facility. Not only is CCM one of the larger energy consumers on campus but it is most intensive user of natural gas resulting in a disproportionately high greenhouse gas emissions intensity. The primary driver of energy use in the facility is the ventilation requirements to maintain a high quality research environment. The animal care spaces were designed to allow for ~20 air changes per hour of outdoor.
In 2019, Energy and Water Services began the process of a complete review of the building heating and cooling system operation. Modifications to the controls sequences were implemented to improve heat recovery, reduce fan energy, and improve reliability and coordination of heating sources.
Alongside the controls revisions, a new centralized demand control ventilation system was installed to allow for real-time pollutant monitoring in 39 spaces within the building. This monitoring allowed for reduction of the ventilation provided to the spaces without compromising indoor air quality and improving data availability for regulatory compliance.
The project saves 30 MWh/yr of electricity and 7,500 GJ/yr of natural gas resulting in an annual energy cost savings of ~$100,000.