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ABOUT THE 2030 CHALLENGE

École Lawrence Grassi Middle School

GEC Architecture

OVERVIEW

Through its own Technical Review, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) recently certified the design for École Lawrence Grassi Middle School (ÉLGMS) in Canmore, AB as being just over 70% better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB) reference design. NRCan considers commercial building designs that achieve energy reductions in excess of 70% above the MNECB reference to be "net-zero ready". Of about 250 buildings across Canada reviewed under NRCan's Design Validation program, very few have achieved this. In 2010, ÉLGMS is the only one to do so without relying on-site renewable energy generation. The building also exceeds the 2030 Challenge timeline milestone (70% energy reduction by 2015) several years ahead of schedule.

The largest single source of indirect emissions for buildings in Alberta is electricity. This is because of all of the primary energy used to power buildings in Alberta, the greatest portion by far comes from coal-fired thermal-electric plants that together produce nearly 22% Alberta’s total GHG emissions. While also locally abundant and used to generate electricity in Alberta, natural gas is used mostly to directly heat the province’s homes, businesses, and institutions. It’s also worth noting that most schools in Alberta are not air conditioned. A relatively cooler climate combined with the length and timing of a typical school year means that, for these buildings, the main source of direct GHG emissions is the combustion of natural gas for space and water heating.

The Lawrence Grassi Middle School’s MNECB energy model reference design used 1375.5 MJ/m² ($18.94/m² annual energy cost). As designed, the school’s energy model yielded energy usage of just 410.7 MJ/m² ($7.10/m² annual energy cost), a reduction of 964.9 MJ/m² or $11.84/m² or a cost savings of more than 62%. In terms of its GHG footprint, when compared to the MNECB reference design, the Lawrence Grassi Middle School achieves a 56% reduction in CO2 emissions.

In achieving these high levels of energy efficiency, the School Division will not only realize cost savings on its monthly energy bills but, should conventional energy costs increase dramatically, it will be also be in a much better position to take advantage of renewable forms of energy, whether grid-supplied or produced on-site, thereby further reducing the school’s GHG footprint.