BEIC Spring E-Newsletter 2022

Welcome to BEIC's Newest Members!
We are pleased to welcome CCSL Group Inc., Deloitte, Enkompass Power and Energy Group and Flynn Canada Inc. as new members. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Brad Moore at 647.467.7708 or bradm@beic.ca.

Building Canada's future: Maximizing clean-energy infrastructure to reach net-zero emissions by 2050

Canada is at a critical turning point. Our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—already above the G20 average per capita—are on the rise, and the deadline to meet our net-zero objective by 2050 is drawing closer. In fact, according to the International Energy Association (IEA), advanced economies need to achieve net-zero targets by 2045 in order to limit the longterm rise in average global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Full story

International Journal of Energy Management

Coquitlam School District (SD43) conducted a pilot study that was run at 4 elementary schools between September 2020 and March 2021 to review the performance of Endotherm^® on its heating plants. Endotherm^® is a surfactant additive for hydronic HVAC boiler systems which claims to improve heat transfer and lowers energy consumption. The sites were selected out of a sample of 45 schools based on their correlation between consumption and heating degree days (HDD) and the tightness of the heating loop. Full story

Can Nonionic Surfactant Treatment Improve Heat Transfer and Lower Energy Use in Water Systems?

As the consumer demand for energy increases, the impact on the environment and the need for energy conservation has increased efforts to develop new sources of energy as well as improve energy efficiency. Environmental experts have long identified commercial and residential buildings as a target for these conservation efforts. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), commercial and residential buildings account for 39% of all North American greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Full story

QEA Tech shines at the Shenzhen Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition-2021

QEA Tech – a Markham-based climate-tech & energy audit startup won a prize of USD 64,500 at the 5th Sci Innovation Competition and its global session Shenzhen Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition. QEA Tech was placed 3rd amongst 189 enterprises from Canada, the US, Australia, Japan, Israel, the UK, Germany, Spain, Netherland, and China. Sci Innovation Centre and Canada Confederation of Shenzhen Associations organized the Sci Innovation Competition for the 5th year in a row in Canada. The first three years of the roadshow were at Council Chamber of Toronto City Hall, and the 4th & 5th were held virtually due to COVID. Full story

Updated model green lease attuned to the 2020s

REALPAC’s newly updated model green lease for Canadian office buildings introduces measures aligned with the broadening demand for ESG (environmental, social, governance) reporting and performance outcomes in commercial real estate, and also responds to some arising pressures landlords are facing in general lease administration. In this fifth formal revision since the inaugural 2008 effort, the document’s defining centrepiece has been renamed the “sustainability management plan” to reflect some new considerations — such as accessibility and health and well-being — that aren’t expressly tied to the environment. Full story

Advancing Canadian-made retrofit solutions

Essentially, Hill’s statement summurizes findings from a two-year research project CHMC launched (prior to COVID-19) to determine the best path forward. The culminating report, published in November 2021, concludes that significant opportunities and a strategic business case for promoting made-in-Canada, high-performance retrofit products exist, and that several government bodies could play an important role in how the program would unfold. From executing codes and enforcement, to promoting and potentially funding new technologies specific to aging apartment towers, bringing a broader federal focus to homegrown retrofit solutions would benefit the industry, the economy, and our hard-hit communities now recovering from the pressures of the pandemic. Full story

IAQ combos arresting airborne spread of COVID

Commercial building operators could use a combination of air exchange, filtration and purification to comply with the industry-leading guidance for arresting airborne spread of pathogens and contaminants. However, since MERV 13 performance is the baseline requirement — meaning removal of 90 per cent of particles larger than 1 micron and up to 75 per cent of particles that are 0.3 to 1 micron in size — one of the chief drafters of the guidance suggests a MERV 13 filter is the most straightforward and cost-effective measure in many scenarios. Full story

Budgets offer contrasting energy cost measures

Neighbouring provinces have introduced contrasting energy cost measures in their 2022-23 budgets, but both promise potential relief for commercial and multi-residential building owners. British Columbia’s new temporary tax credit will refund 5 per cent of eligible expenditures made between February 23, 2022 and March 31, 2025 on upgrades that help buildings achieve prescribed reductions in energy-use intensity. Meanwhile, Alberta promises a natural gas rebate if prices rise above $6.50 per gigajoule (GJ) during the six months from October 2022 to March 2023. Full story