| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.59 |
| Liaison | Chris Adam |
| Submission Date | Sept. 7, 2020 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Dawson College
OP-5: Building Energy Consumption
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.16 / 6.00 |
Chris
Adam Coordinator Sustainability Office |
Figures needed to determine total building energy consumption:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Grid-purchased electricity | 47,415.12 MMBtu | 54,006.70 MMBtu |
| Electricity from on-site renewables | 0 MMBtu | 0 MMBtu |
| District steam/hot water (sourced from offsite) | 0 MMBtu | 0 MMBtu |
| Energy from all other sources (e.g., natural gas, fuel oil, propane/LPG, district chilled water, coal/coke, biomass) | 6,247.84 MMBtu | 17,753.10 MMBtu |
| Total | 53,662.96 MMBtu | 71,759.80 MMBtu |
Start and end dates of the performance year and baseline year (or 3-year periods):
| Start Date | End Date | |
| Performance Year | Oct. 1, 2018 | Sept. 30, 2019 |
| Baseline Year | July 1, 2002 | June 30, 2003 |
A brief description of when and why the building energy consumption baseline was adopted (e.g. in sustainability plans and policies or in the context of other reporting obligations):
An energy reduction campaign was initiated in 2002 with outside energy service providers engaged in documenting college energy expenditures. This became the benchmark for future reduction tracking. The entire Facilities Management related sustainability indicators were reviewed from 2006 onwards, including previous energy reduction data, and the Dawson Sustainability Policy was adopted by the board of Governors in 2008. AASHE STARS indicators were also adopted at that time. For all of these reasons, documentation and planning was adopted.
Gross floor area of building space:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Gross floor area of building space | 78,949 Gross square meters | 78,949 Gross square meters |
Source-site ratio for grid-purchased electricity:
Total building energy consumption per unit of floor area:
| Performance Year | Baseline Year | |
| Site energy | 0 MMBtu per square meter | 0 MMBtu per square meter |
| Source energy | 0 MMBtu per square meter | 0 MMBtu per square meter |
Percentage reduction in total building energy consumption (source energy) per unit of floor area from baseline:
Degree days, performance year (base 65 °F / 18 °C):
| Degree days (see help icon above) | |
| Heating degree days | 4,325 Degree-Days (°C) |
| Cooling degree days | 323 Degree-Days (°C) |
Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
| Floor Area | |
| Laboratory space | 3,234 Square meters |
| Healthcare space | 1,650 Square meters |
| Other energy intensive space |
EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
Building energy consumption (site energy) per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
Documentation (e.g. spreadsheet or utility records) to support the performance year energy consumption figures reported above:
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to shift individual attitudes and practices in regard to energy efficiency (e.g. outreach and education efforts):
Dawson College Climate Action - Measure, reduce, offset & educate
February 2020
Goals
• Reduce the consumption of fossil fuels used by the institution, community members and suppliers
• Purchase energy efficient equipment
• Find, use and encouragelocal sources of energy, if possible
• Seek best-practice refrigeration gases and air-cooling equipment
• Encourage modes of transport that are less energy intensive for Dawson-related travel, for commuting and by our suppliers
• Offset the greenhouse gas emissions related to College-related business travel
Measuring
As we develop our metrics and deepen our commitment to carbon responsibility, the emission sources we consider to reduce will become more challenging and will require increased collaboration with external partners: the drive to become further carbon responsible should lead us to working with our suppliers to help them improve their procedures as well. As this gets done, we can expect to develop procedures to track emissions with them.
Dawson will be working with other institutes of higher education to explore what methods can be used by institutions and what targets are realistic within the college network.
Energy systems: Dawson College receives most of its energy from Hydro-Quebec, a state-owned electrical utility which produces about 99% of its energy from its network of hydro-electric dams. With this in mind, Dawson has undertaken to transfer some systems towards electricity. Dawson also started a vast energy efficiency renovation project in 2009. We signed a performance contract with Johnson Controls Inc. and were able to reduce our energy consumption by 26% since 2007-2008.
Our natural gas expenditures have gone from over 200,000$/year (before 2008) to about 90,000$/year (since 2015).
Electricity consumption has gone from about 17,000,000 Kw/h per year (1999 and before) to beneath 14,000,000 Kw/h per year (since 2014).
Further decreases might be difficult and expensive to gain but will be reviewed with our energy service provider and our energy efficiency partners.
For the moment, the best value is in educating the staff on how their habits at Dawson, as regards to energy, can be improved. A climate action awareness campaign that is presented to new cohorts of students and for staff should be part of an action plan. This plan could highlight improvements that Dawson has made and be open to staff suggestions for behavioral changes.
Dawson should keep open to the idea of becoming energy producers for our own needs. Having a local source of clean energy (i.e. geothermal, solar or wind) would help reduce our emissions but also showcase alternative energy producing methods for students who may be studying energy systems or become house or building owners. The age of our building and its heritage status make this particularly difficult to address. Yet, if we manage to set up a viable project, we would be well placed to help others who are in similar situations (many Cegeps are housed in older buildings or heritage status buildings). How to reduce the carbon footprint of these buildings while maintaining their heritage value is an important lesson.
A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution (e.g. building temperature standards, occupancy and vacancy sensors):
A centralised control system, METASYS, was installed featuring thousands of temperature, CO2 and humidity meters which relay the information to automatic controls meant to anticipate daily changes in occupation and ensure a consistence of temperature through the building. These controls ensure significant energy savings as adjustments are programmed to be automated.
Motion sensors were installed in all classrooms in 2015.
The College uses ASHRAE indoor air quality standards: https://ashrae.iwrapper.com/ViewOnline/Standard_62.1-2016
A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
Motion sensors were installed in all classrooms in 2015 and all 7239 lighting fixtures were changed to LEDs in 2018/19.
A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
A large rooftop air duct is painted black and absorbs heat as air passes into the College.
A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution, e.g. combined heat and power (CHP):
N/A
A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment and systems with high efficiency alternatives (e.g. building re-commissioning or retrofit programs):
Major equipment was changed. Four new boilers were added in 2010 and the old ones retired, two chillers were replaced in 2010 and 2018 respectively.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Benchmarks and reduction achievement documents were obtained from Dawson Facilities Management and external energy service provider consultants from Jonson Controls Inc. https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/global-capabilities/buildings/canada_french
Energy efficiency regulations Quebec: (pages 5238-5247) http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=13&file=1850-A.PDF
Energy efficiency regulations Canada:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Regulations/SOR-2016-311/index.html
Benchmarks and reduction achievement documents were obtained from Dawson Facilities Management and external energy service provider consultants from Jonson Controls Inc. https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/global-capabilities/buildings/canada_french
Energy efficiency regulations Quebec: (pages 5238-5247) http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=13&file=1850-A.PDF
Energy efficiency regulations Canada:
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Regulations/SOR-2016-311/index.html
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.