As part of the University’s on-going commitment to campus renewal, the College has put in place a strategy for improvements to the campus’ energy performance, sustainability, and environmental impact.
King’s recently signed an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) with the Building Performance and Sustainability division of Siemens Canada. The contract addresses a wide range of new energy efficiency and conservation measures that will achieve a campus that uses 17% less energy and 50% less water by September 2017.
Currently, King’s energy use intensity (EUI) is .91 GJ/m2. This EUI is below the benchmark average for Atlantic universities/colleges and is reflective of our heritage facilities. We have identified inefficiencies which, when addressed, will result in achieving a better EUI of .75 GJ/m2. Energy savings are targeted to the following areas:
- HVAC retrofits to reduce outside air heating/cooling needs;
- campus-wide LED lighting retrofit;
- updated and expanded building automation and control;
- retrofit of washroom fixtures with low-flow alternatives; and
- repairs to steam distribution system.
These near-term measures will achieve annual greenhouse gas emission reductions of 405 tonnes CO2e/year and 2,027 tonnes CO2e over the next 5 years alone.
The estimated annual savings from this targeted work is presented in the table below.
| Electricity (kWh) | Electricity (kW) | Steam (GJ) | Water (m3) | Utility Savings ($) |
| 428,582 | 1,036 | 1,945 | 13,722 | $135,593 |
At its March meeting, the Board approved this project as part of the 2017-18 capital budget. It will be financed through a loan to be paid back over 15 years at a cost $1.375 million plus interest. This project will contribute to the long term sustainability of the University and the guaranteed annual energy savings of $136,000 will more than offset the debt servicing costs.
Through this investment, King’s will reduce its carbon footprint 15% while benefitting from reduced utility expenditures and renewed campus equipment. These conservation measures are an important first step as King’s acts to improve its energy performance.
Final engineering, design and pre-construction planning began in April to permit the various components of the construction and installations to be done from May through to the end of August.
In due course, the Facilities Management team will provide further details on the specifics of the project, its potential impacts to operations, measures that will be taken to avoid or minimize those impacts, and ways that members of the King’s community can contribute to our shared goals of reducing wasted energy, water and our carbon footprint.
