VANCOUVER, B.C. -- In an effort to achieve sustainability across all of its city-owned buildings, Vancouver, B.C., has strict policies for upgrading existing facilities as well as for construction.
New LEED facilities include a community center that uses geothermal systems to provide 40 percent of heating and cooling, as well as radiant floor heating and dual-flush toilets. A second community center with a 69 percent energy cost savings versus a conventional structure gets 50 percent of its heat power comes from a recovery unit that extracts energy from sewage. This center also features rainwater collection, solar energy and 25 percent recycled materials.
At City Hall, new boilers, water conservation and automated lighting systems have all contributed to lowering carbon emissions by 22 percent. The building’s new automation system is projected to save up to 4,000 gigajoules of natural gas.
Across the city, sustainability initiatives at retrofitted, existing facilities are is projected to be above $300,000 annually.
Would you like to learn more about taking your municipal buildings from good to great? Join Gov1 and Facility Dude on July 21st at 1 pm EST/10 am PST for a live webcast. You will hear how three cities and counties improved their building operations.