Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 53.24
Liaison Alicia Gowan
Submission Date June 18, 2024

STARS v2.2

Kwantlen Polytechnic University
OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.81 / 6.00 Alicia Gowan
Sustainability Specialist
Campus and Community Planning
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Site energy use per unit of floor area

Performance year energy consumption

Electricity use, performance year (report kilowatt-hours):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 12,313,445 Kilowatt-hours 42,013.47 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 0 Kilowatt-hours 0 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, performance year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 47,779 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, performance year:
89,792.47 MMBtu

Performance year building space

Gross floor area of building space, performance year:
117,567.91 Gross square meters

Floor area of energy intensive space, performance year:
Floor area
Laboratory space 0 Square meters
Healthcare space 0 Square meters
Other energy intensive space 14,857.50 Square meters

EUI-adjusted floor area, performance year:
132,425.35 Gross square meters

Performance year heating and cooling degree days 

Degree days, performance year:
Degree days
Heating degree days 2,962 Degree-Days (°C)
Cooling degree days 79 Degree-Days (°C)

Total degree days, performance year:
3,041 Degree-Days (°C)

Performance period

Start and end dates of the performance year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Performance period Jan. 1, 2022 Dec. 31, 2022

Metric used in scoring for Part 1

Total site energy consumption per unit of EUI-adjusted floor area per degree day, performance year:
68.82 Btu / GSM / Degree-Day (°C)

Part 2. Reduction in source energy use per unit of floor area

Baseline year energy consumption

STARS 2.2 requires electricity data in kilowatt-hours (kWh). If a baseline has already been established in a previous version of STARS and the institution wishes to continue using it, the electricity data must be re-entered in kWh. To convert existing electricity figures from MMBtu to kWh, simply multiply by 293.07107 MMBtu/kWh.

Electricity use, baseline year (report kWh):
kWh MMBtu
Imported electricity 10,727,111 Kilowatt-hours 36,600.90 MMBtu
Electricity from on-site, non-combustion facilities/devices (e.g., renewable energy systems) 0 Kilowatt-hours 0 MMBtu

Stationary fuels and thermal energy, baseline year (report MMBtu):
MMBtu
Stationary fuels used on-site to generate electricity and/or thermal energy 46,747 MMBtu
Imported steam, hot water, and/or chilled water 0 MMBtu

Total site energy consumption, baseline year:
83,347.90 MMBtu

Baseline year building space

Gross floor area of building space, baseline year:
105,858.20 Gross square meters

Baseline period

Start and end dates of the baseline year (or 3-year period):
Start date End date
Baseline period Jan. 1, 2007 Dec. 31, 2007

A brief description of when and why the energy consumption baseline was adopted:
The baseline year of 2007 was selected as this was the first year which the provincial government of British Columbia required - under the Climate Change Accountability Act - that all public institutions report on their energy data in order to help meet provincial targets for climate action. The baseline set for this Act is 2007. Therefore, KPU began more rigorous data collection since this time period. The university has grown significantly since this time both in student and employee numbers and in physical campus size.

Source energy

Source-site ratio for imported electricity:
2

Total energy consumption per unit of floor area:
Site energy Source energy
Performance year 0.76 MMBtu per square meter 1.12 MMBtu per square meter
Baseline year 0.79 MMBtu per square meter 1.13 MMBtu per square meter

Metric used in scoring for Part 2

Percentage reduction in total source energy consumption per unit of floor area from baseline:
1.06

Optional Fields 

Documentation 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:
N/A

A brief description of energy use standards and controls employed by the institution:
N/A

A brief description of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting and other energy-efficient lighting strategies employed by the institution:
KPU’s facilities department has an Energy Management Priority List for the upcoming years. A key project will be to replace all of the T8 fluorescent lighting on the Surrey Campus to LED. A preliminary BETA testing was completed and these new LED light levels will improve lighting by around 18%. The estimated energy savings for this project will be 178,186kWh/year. Similarly, the Langley campus Horticulture greenhouses will undergo a lighting replacement process from the present high-pressure sodium lighting to LED lighting. Lighting for Greenhouse #6 was completed in 2021 and Greenhouse #2 took place in 2022.

From 2023 to 2024, a budget has been approved for the replacement of all exterior building, parking lot, and site lighting to LED at four of the five campuses – Surrey, Langley, Tech (Cloverdale), and Richmond.

There have been ongoing replacements to LED lighting at KPU since 2009 including in various sections of the Tech, Richmond, and Surrey Campuses (See Appendix of the SEMP attached below for specific projects).

A brief description of passive solar heating, geothermal systems, and related strategies employed by the institution:
Pre-feasability Study for Geothermal:
KPU commissioned consultants to complete an engineering pre-feasibility study to evaluate if it is practical to expand the existing geothermal field at the Surrey Campus or consider other technologies such as Air Source Heat Pumps. The study provided an analysis of the size of geothermal field that would be required to provide geothermal heating for Surrey Campus as well as high level costing. In addition, the study evaluated other possible technologies to fuel switch from natural gas to electricity. They examined geo-exchange systems as a potential method of GHG reductions on the Surrey Campus.

Outcomes of the Study:
It was determined that, presently, an increase to existing geo-exchange systems does not present itself as an effective method of delivering heating and cooling to the campus. Such a system would require a large footprint of over 7000m2 and would require a balanced heating and cooling load which is currently not present at the Surrey Campus. As an alternative, it was recommended to consider the application of a geo-exchange system on any new buildings at the Surrey Campus. In some cases, these new buildings can be built on top of a new geo-exchange field, thus mitigating the limiting factor of available space.

A brief description of co-generation employed by the institution:
---

A brief description of the institution's initiatives to replace energy-consuming appliances, equipment, and systems with high efficiency alternatives:
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s energy conservation and efficiency program is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Note: Building area for 2007 baseline year might be slightly off of actual size due to the renovations completed on Surrey Spruce building in 2018. Building floorspace data for the original building size could not be found.

Pre-feasibility Study for District Energy:
KPU commissioned a consultant to complete an engineering study focused on the Tech campus to evaluate District Energy system options and to forecast future energy needs. The study reviewed the availability and suitability of various district energy options, including the application of sewer-heat reclaim technology on an adjacent Metro Vancouver trunk main as a possible source of heating. The study also offered order-of-magnitude costing for district energy servicing.

Outcome of District Energy Study:
KPU was advised by the consultants to explore options to co-develop a District Energy System with the City of Surrey and the Fraser Health Authority. It was determined that this type of arrangement could enable KPU to benefit from lower-cost, low-carbon energy than self-owned alternatives, and would avoid KPU carrying risks of development and sole-ownership. However, the consultants noted that this would mean relinquishing some control over the services provided, and thought and consideration must go into how the DE service would be able to guarantee net-zero energy within KPU's time frame. The consultants also provided alternatives in case proposed projects for the land do not proceed as planned or if KPU's building timeline occurs earlier.

OTHER:

The most up-to-date data for energy efficiency is from the year 2022 (January 1st to December 31st, 2022).

The heating and cooling degree days were determined using Energy Star Portfolio Manager. As the university is spread across 5 campuses in 3 cities, the central and largest campus - Surrey Campus - was used as a reference point.

Note: Laboratory spaces are included within "all other energy intensive spaces"

KPU's Energy Conservation Policy & Procedure:
Energy Conservation Policy - https://www.kpu.ca/sites/default/files/Policies/BP6%20Energy%20Conservation%20Policy.pdf
Energy Conservation Procedure - https://www.kpu.ca/sites/default/files/Policies/BP6%20Energy%20Conservation%20Procedure.pdf

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.