INNOVATION November-December 2016

SES Consulting converted the data centre at Vancity headquarters into the equivalent of a boiler and cut energy costs and emissions. The SkyTrain line running through the building limited the window of time when the installation could occur. p hoto : k enny l ouie , CC by 2.0

Scott Sinclair, P.Eng., believes the answer to both questions is yes. Sinclair is president of SES Consulting, which recently completed a project with the Vancity credit union at its existing 12-storey, 115,000-square-foot headquarters on Terminal Avenue in downtown Vancouver. The result: a 97 percent reduction in natural gas consumption, and a 75 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions—with a return on investment

originally estimated at a respectable six years. But even that got better, says Wendy Worrall, Vancity manager of leasing, property and energy management. “An $85,000 incentive from Fortis BC brought the payback down to just 4.5 years.” The project, Sinclair says, began as a simple boiler plant replacement. Vancity had been operating a hydronic heating water system with aging, mid- efficiency boilers. “They asked us to evaluate them.

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