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February 1, 2006 Vol. X, No. 3

• Energy Waste? CIPEC will have Nunavut
• Solar wall turns up the heat in Yellowknife
• NAIMA Upgrades 3E Plus^® pipe insulation software
• New ENERGY STAR^® guide means brighter purchasing decisions
• Nominations open for shining ENERGY STAR^®s
• Technology Tip

Articles

Energy Waste? CIPEC will have Nunavut

The Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation's (CIPEC's) Industrial Energy Innovator (IEI) initiative is expanding north.

Kivalliq Arctic Foods Ltd. of Rankin Inlet, Pangnirtung Fisheries Ltd. of Pangnirtung and Kitikmeot Foods Ltd. of Cambridge Bay are Nunavut fish-packing companies that have signed on as Innovators with the intention of cutting energy bills and improving profitability.

Administered through Natural Resources Canada's (NRCan's) Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE), the Industrial Energy Innovators initiative focuses on transforming sector-level commitments made by task forces into company-level action, by helping to overcome obstacles to energy efficiency at the company level. As a part of the benefits package, Innovators qualify for NRCan's Industrial Energy Audit Incentive which covers up to 50 percent of the cost of an energy audit, to a maximum of $5,000; and customized Dollars to $ense energy efficiency workshops for specific plants and facilities. Innovators are also regularly updated on new technologies and operating practices, and can take part in an international technical information network.

There are now over 1000 Innovators taking advantage of the available products and services that help them achieve their energy efficiency objectives. Previously, the northernmost IEI was the BHP Billiton diamond mine at Ekati, Northwest Territories.

Solar wall turns up the heat in Yellowknife

A new Government of Canada Building (GOCB) in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, is an energy efficiency beacon for photovoltaic (PV) building design. PV devices are solar cells that convert sunlight directly to electricity.

PV technology emerged in the 1950s and was initially used to power satellites and space vehicles. In the past two decades, research and development have improved the efficiency and reliability of photovoltaics to the point where the technology can be used in standard building design.

The south-facing wall of Yellowknife's Greenstone Building is a curtain wall that consists of PV-integrated and clear glass glazing units. The solar cells are laminated between two sheets of glass and placed on the exterior side of the PV glazing units.

Edmonton's Visionwall, an industry leader in high-performance window and curtain wall systems, worked with Natural Resources Canada's CANMET Technology Centre in Ottawa (CETC-Ottawa) on the project.

The glazing systems supplied by Visionwall combine two optically clear films, internally suspended between two layers of glass, or laminated glass, for the PV units to create three insulating air spaces.

"This results in the highest glazing-unit thermal efficiency. The wall has an R-value of about eight. Using a non-PV wall would have meant an R-value of two or three," says Dan Torozan, an engineer at Visionwall.

R-value represents the thermal resistance of an insulator. It's an indicator of how much insulating capacity there is in preventing heat flow between the exterior and interior of the building. The overall R-value accounts for all exposed wall construction, including framing effects and air layers.

In the case of the Greenstone project, it all adds up to a very energy-efficient building.

"The wall will generate about 35.5 mWh of power a year. That's enough energy to run seven gas-fired homes for a year," says Mike Lubun, a building technology expert at CETC-Ottawa.

But generating this much power did require advanced engineering.

"Covering 300 m², of the 800 m² concave glass wall, in solar cells was a design challenge. But after the concept was developed, it turned out to be not much different than a standard curtain wall," says Torozan.

Typically, a PV system consists of one or more ready-made modules. One PV-module consists of about 40 solar cells. The PV modules, each of 50 or 100 watts, are connected in a PV field. The fields are extremely modular. This allows for easy expansion if power requirements increase. It also makes for easy installation.

"The installer [who had never worked with a PV curtain wall] said it took much less time than expected to install. It almost snapped together like LEGO®," says Lubun.

The Greenstone Building is scheduled to become the first building "North of 60" to earn a LEED^® Silver-certified project designation. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard, originally developed in the United States and recently adopted in Canada, is a framework for gauging sustainable design.

The Greenstone Building could also be at the leading edge of a whole new generation of energy-efficient buildings. In fact, according to the International Energy Agency Photovoltaics Power Systems Programme, there is no significant reason why PV should not, or could not, be more widely used. The most recent agency data from December 31, 2003, show Canada had the capacity to produce almost 12 000 kW of peak output power.

To learn more about PV applications, contact Mike Lubun. To investigate funding opportunities, visit the  Industrial Building Incentive Program at Natural Resources Canada.

NAIMA Upgrades 3E Plus® pipe insulation software

The North American Insulation Manufacturers Association of Canada (NAIMA Canada) has come out with an updated version of its pipe insulation software that helps companies improve energy efficiency.

3E Plus^® is an insulation thickness computer program that calculates the amount of insulation needed to use less energy, reduce air emissions and improve process efficiency. The 3E Plus program, available for free at www.PipeInsulation.org, quantifies energy, environmental and cost savings yielded by increasing pipe, duct and vessel insulation levels in commercial buildings and industrial facilities.

Steve Koch, Executive Director of NAIMA Canada, says the software is an ideal tool for companies to review their insulation levels.

"3E Plus appeals to companies and institutions that transfer heat or cold from one area of a plant to another," he says. "The software allows industrial managers to better understand their situation and helps them make a better decision."  

The new and improved Version 4.0 builds on its strengths by adding more usability and flexibility. On the technical side, one of the most significant improvements for Canadian users is that Version 4.0 operates in both metric and imperial units. As well, the list of insulation jacket options has been expanded, PVC pipes are now included in the program standard options, and users can take advantage of 3E Plus for all types of insulation covered by ASTM C 680 and can add data from any type of insulation outside ASTM C 680.

3E Plus is now easier to use. Version 4.0 provides users with more guidance and easier data labelling, and the capability to create and save new default entries, and to automatically calculate insulation thickness tables for multiple pipe sizes and temperatures. This was previously a manual process that involved thousands of calculations.

Koch says that you don't have to be an engineer to use the tool, but it does help if you have some expertise. "As long as users have some understanding of the process and factors that affect the process – like what the ambient air temperature is, for example – they should have little problem using the software," he says.

3E Plus has been used as a tool in several U.S. Department of Energy programs through its toolkit Decision Tools for Industry. The National Insulation Association (NIA) uses 3E Plus as a core element of its Industrial Energy Appraisal program course, and is launching a new seminar in October focused solely on 3E Plus. For information on the NIA training, visit www.insulation.org/training.

New ENERGY STAR® guide means brighter purchasing decisions

The ENERGY STAR® Purchasing Guide from the Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) at Natural Resources Canada is helping industry, and private and public sector organizations make energy-efficient purchasing decisions.

"The guide is designed to allow anyone in an organization involved in purchasing to be able to easily incorporate energy-efficient products into their purchasing decisions," says Gisèle Maillet, Account Manager, Public and Institutional Sectors at OEE. "With this information, it becomes easy to recognize and communicate the benefits of choosing energy-efficient products."

Many energy-efficient products carry the international ENERGY STAR symbol. It's a simple way to identify products that are among the most energy efficient on the market.

The new guide encourages people to take advantage of a wealth of on-line tools such as the Purchasing Toolkit. It includes information such as listings of products eligible for the ENERGY STAR symbol and examples of procurement language that can be used in contracts.

The new guide also outlines a six-step process to implement energy-efficient purchasing:

Step 1: Give clear direction
Instituting an effective plan to reduce energy use can be as easy as recommending that purchasing managers specify ENERGY STAR qualified products in their contracts and purchase orders.

Step 2: Make it possible
The guide lists product specifications and provides text that organizations can incorporate directly into their policies and purchasing documents.

Step 3: Make it easy
The guide offers simple purchasing rules.

Step 4: Make it rewarding
The guide shows how to highlight the benefits to an organization once energy efficiency is incorporated into purchasing decisions.

Step 5: Make it work
Installation, quality control and other after-purchase topics are explored.

Step 6: Make it count
Making the link between energy-efficient purchasing and public priorities such as clean air and water are discussed.

Making the business case for ENERGY STAR qualified products is also a key element in the new guide. The guide shows how with the interactive ENERGY STAR Simple Savings Calculator. It computes the annual cost, life cycle and payback period based on the initial cost of the product. The calculator also shows utility bill savings coming directly from reduced energy use. Estimated greenhouse gas emission reductions are another feature, along with the ability to help users make easy comparisons between ENERGY STAR qualified products and non-ENERGY STAR qualified products.

The guide's practical tone didn't happen by accident. The OEE made sure it was reviewed by stakeholders. This user-focused approach is still being used. Maillet encourages readers to contact her with their organization's success stories. These stories can then be added to the growing family of ENERGY STAR success stories on the OEE Web site.

"The ultimate goal is to have procurement officials across Canada incorporate ENERGY STAR and other high-energy-efficiency specifications in the purchasing decisions for all of their energy-using products," says Maillet.

Nominations open for shining ENERGY STAR^®s

Award nominations have opened up for companies and organizations that excel in promoting ENERGY STAR® – a program that helps consumers and businesses lower their energy bills by raising awareness of the most energy-efficient products on the market.

The ENERGY STAR Market Transformation Awards are handed out by Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) every year. The awards recognize businesses and organizations that excel at getting buyers to seriously consider energy-efficient products and technologies.

Awards are available in three broad categories – ENERGY STAR Manufacturer of the Year, ENERGY STAR Retailer of the Year (national and regional), and ENERGY STAR Advocate of the Year. Winners are selected based on their ability to demonstrate the benefits and savings of ENERGY STAR products; the effectiveness of their marketing and distribution channels; the affordability of their product; and proof of strong demand for their product or technology.

To be eligible, the company or organization must be a registered and active participant in the ENERGY STAR program in Canada and comply with ENERGY STAR labelling guidelines. As well, energy performance must be properly verified, and the technology must meet applicable standards, codes and industry guidelines.

Nominations for ENERGY STAR Market Transformation Awards close on March 6, 2006, and the winners will be announced at the next ENERGY STAR Participants' Recognition Awards Dinner in Ottawa on May 4, 2006.

For more information, contact Julie Doucet at (613) 947-2319.