Business owners can give their staff and pocketbooks a break with green retrofits for their buildings, says an Edmonton architect.
Architect Shafraaz Kaba will be at Grant MacEwan University tonight to give a free talk about green retrofits. The talk is part of the Solar Energy Society of Alberta's lecture series on renewable energy.
There's been a lot of attention paid to new, efficient buildings in Edmonton and St. Albert, says Rob Harlan, the group's executive director, but the real challenge is retrofitting old, inefficient ones. A retrofit can save owners money as energy costs rise, and give businesses a whole new public image.
Kaba, who works with Manasc Isaac Architects, cites the new Servus Credit Union headquarters in Edmonton as an example. "We did a complete exterior retrofit," he said, adding thicker, bigger windows, more insulation and a large opening in the roof to let light into its dark interior.
The result was a brighter, more efficient building with happier workers for about $15 million less than the cost of a new facility, he says. The renovations should pay for themselves in about seven years.
The building saves Servus about $100,000 a year on energy and maintenance, says company spokesperson Mike Dickinson, and shows off its green-friendly image. "Something like that just makes good business sense."
Room for improvement
Most commercial buildings are notorious energy hogs, says Leigh Bond, a renewable energy specialist with St. Albert's Threshold Energies.
It's a combination of low building code standards and motivation, he says. Most commercial buildings are rented, so owners pass on high utility costs to tenants. Current standards let builders skimp on wall and ceiling insulation — the main sources of heat loss from a building. Bond says he's seen places with as little as R10 insulation on the roof (compared to R40 on most homes), poor enough to let about 90 per cent of the building's heat escape.
Philip Starkman is one of the exceptions. Owner of the Bruin Centre in St. Albert, he added about an inch-and-a-half of insulation to the outside of the building this spring, substantially reducing its heat losses.
It was the right thing to do, he says of the renovation. "None of those savings will come back to me, but it helps the tenants." He also gets a nicer looking place to rent out.
A good renovation can cut a building's utility bills in half, Kaba says, which makes for a quick payback. "Many of our buildings were built in the boom times of the 1950s and 1960s," he notes, and need major repairs anyway.
One retrofit can have many different effects, Kaba says. Adding thicker, bigger, swing-open windows to the Servus building reduced heat loss, but also reduced the need for lighting and ventilation. It also gave workers more control over their environment, raising satisfaction and reducing headaches from glare.
It's often easier to retrofit a commercial building than a home, Bond says. Most are big metal or concrete boxes, so you can glue or bolt more insulation directly to them without stripping off paint or siding. They also have huge flat roofs that can hold solar or wind arrays.
Works for homes too
These same principles work in homes too, Kaba says. "Insulate your house as much as you can first," he says, and then ensure it's air-tight. After that, you move on to lights, appliances, windows and doors. Groups like Sustainable Works Edmonton can help you find the parts and contractors you need.
The talk starts at 7 p.m. this Wednesday in room 5-142. For details, visit solaralberta.ca.
