Building Sustainability - The “Smart” Way

For businesses across Ontario electricity costs continue to climb, dramatically increasing operating costs every year. According to Missisauga's Dial One Wolfedale Electric, an industry leader in commercial electrical contracting and energy efficient technology, some businesses are taking action - from the ground up. By integrating innovative, energy saving technologies into their planning and design processes, they are creating "smart buildings" that operate more cost effectively and with less impact on the environment.

One such organization is Ontario Power Generation, (OPG), in Pickering, where Dial One Wolfedale Electric installed a computer-based building automation system. This advanced technology was used for the 6-floor, 178,000 square-foot building to manage heating and lighting from desktop PC's. "Every fixture has an address, and through that address every person controls heating and lighting from his/her own computer", says Sergio Cappuccitti, Project Manager of Dial One Wolfedale Electric. "The Encilium lighting control system allows individual workstation control to ensure the most efficient use of available ambient light. It also enables the Building Manager to slightly dim the entire building during peak energy usage periods."

The OPG building was awarded the 2005 Canadian design-build award of excellence presented by the Canadian Design-Build Institute. As part of its electrical system design, motion and daylight harvesting sensors were installed to adjust electrical consumption requirements based on daylight absorbed into the building. Each floor is a zone, with sensors on the ceiling that adjust the level of lighting as required. There are also motion sensors on the floor, so lights are automatically turned off when space is not occupied.

Another example is F&P Manufacturing, a Tier 1 Automotive Parts Manufacturer located in Tottenham. The Company needed to increase overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in its stamping, welding, hydro forming, laser cutting, paint, and modular assembly operations. To achieve this, Dial One Wolfedale Electric used ElectroFlow technology to improve power quality. This system improves voltage stability, fluctuations, phase imbalances, voltage transients, harmonics, kVA capacity, and power factor correction. As a result, equipment operates more efficiently and helps to reduce overall consumption. By improving power quality, ElectroFlow can reduce electrical consumption in kW, kWh & kVA from 2% to 30%, depending on electrical rates and conditions.

"F&P was projected to reduce its 170,000 kWh average monthly consumption by 5.8%," said Andy Garbas, Dial One Wolfedale's Electrical and Control Specialist. "In fact, over 1 year of operation the system actually proved to reduce consumption by 6.2%, by reducing peak demand (kVA) and overall consumption (kWh).

"Making the most of new, energy efficient technology is critical to future competitiveness and sustainability," says Jackie Strachan, Vice-President of Construction at Dial One Wolfedale Electric. She adds, "Not only does it benefit the bottom line, it helps to protect the environment, and that is truly a win-win."

To learn more about energy conservation visit www.dialonewolfedale.com