INNOVATION March-April 2014

BUILDING BIG – AND ENERGY EFFICIENT – IN BURNABY

BEING POWER SMART MAKES BUSINESS SENSE Developer Jim Bosa is set to transform a major corner in Burnaby into a hub of residential, office and commercial activity – all of it built to very high standards of energy efficiency. While always interested in sustainability, Bosa has never before specifically targeted energy efficiency as a goal in his developments. But for the Solo District, located at the corner of Lougheed Highway and Willingdon, engineering firm Integral Group recommended he look at incorporating energy-saving measures from the ground up. The result for just the first building, revealed through an energy-modeling study funded by BC Hydro’s New Construction Program, is an estimated energy savings of 1.16 million kWh per year – which means it will use about 26 per cent less energy than a similar building built without those energy-saving measures. “The engineers pulled out elements I wouldn’t have thought of,” Bosa says. “I thought I knew quite a bit, but they found more savings than I would ever have on my own. I’ve recommended the New Construction Program to other developers. I’ve told them, you need energy efficiency for marketability, so you might as well take advantage of the incentives BC Hydro offers to do an energy study and install the energy- saving measures.” Are you looking for new ways to build better? Visit bchydro.com/construction or call 1 866 522 4713 .

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