The Factor Four Energy Plan shows the pathway to reduce energy consumption within the Factor Four area by 30,000 GJ per year (75% reduction). A key element of the plan is associated to building NE1, the largest building within Factor Four. To meet the Factor Four energy reduction target, NE1 would have to perform at approximately 70 kWh/m2 per year (0.25 GJ/m2 per year) or 1,400,000 kWh (5,000 GJ) per year.
One avenue to do this would be to build a building meeting the energy intensity target set by the Passivhaus Standard for Commercial building.
What would be the implications for BCIT if the Institute was to commit to such a standard?
In the fall of 2014, the Factor Four team asked Chris Lum (BCIT student enrolled in the SEMAC program) to conduct an initial study to identify priority actions and recommendations to further develop the business case for the Passivhaus standard. In his report entitled “Building to the Passivhaus Standard for New Construction Institutional buildings”, Chris looked at:
- What is a Passivhaus building and why pursue the standard?
- What are the implications of committing to building a Passivhaus building at BCIT while meeting the LEED Gold requirement for all new construction and major renovation projects at BCIT?
- Are there real-world examples that can be used for comparison and evaluation?
The report, which will soon be available here, covers the following sections:
- Section 1: Introduction
- Section 2: Canadian Construction Industry: A Primer
- Section 3: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
- Section 4: Passivhaus Standard
- Section 5: Analysis and Assessment
- Section 6: Recommendations & Priority Actions
Read the abstract to learn more.
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