Net Zero Ready Mechanical/Electrical Design

The quality of the mechanical/electrical design of a building is by far the most important indicator as to its ultimate energy and water efficiency. While many M/E firms can produce good conventional designs or LEED compliant buildings, Enermodal is one of the few firms with has the skills and experience to deliver buildings at the next level: Net Zero Ready.

Net Zero Ready buildings have energy demands so low that all of their remaining energy use can be feasibly supplied by renewable energy either at the building or community level. These buildings are compliant with the 2030 Challenge of 60% measured energy savings today, 70% by 2015 and net zero by 2030. For existing Canadian office buildings that means monitored energy use of under 150 kWh/m² and new buildings targeting under 115 kWh/m². Only a handful of buildings in Canada meet these targets – and Enermodal were the designers for most of them. Enermodal offers its Net Zero Ready design service to those clients who truly want a sustainable building.

Delivering Net Zero Ready buildings requires a new method of design, a new approach to building technologies, and a new set of services.

A New Method of Design

You can’t design 2030 buildings using design practices from the 1980s. The engineer’s role is not a passive one of reacting to the architectural form by bolting on mechanical/electrical systems. Rather, the engineer must be an active part of the design process. At Enermodal, we hold concept design workshops where we discuss the impacts of building layout, orientation, and indoor requirements on the eventual energy use. We develop a building energy model at the concept stage and continuously update it as the design evolves. We use this model to set energy and water targets and ensure the building stays on track throughout the design process.

Enermodal has over 15 years of experience in the design of green buildings and helped create some of Canada’s most ground-breaking and efficient projects. Each Enermodal M/E system design is unique and tailored to meet the needs of the owner while ensuring optimum sustainability and occupant comfort.

A New Approach to Technologies

Enermodal is an industry leader, pioneering some of the most cutting-edge yet practical green building technologies, including rainwater cisterns, onsite biofiltration, radiant cooling, building renewable energy systems, and variable flow refrigerant systems. Enermodal’s success in creating buildings that push the envelope is rooted in a hands-on and technical understanding of building systems and energy use.

In many cases, it is not new technologies that are needed but simply good design. Most engineering design practices were developed years ago without regard to energy costs. At Enermodal, we design systems for optimum performance: lowest pressure drop, best efficiency pumps and fans, and modulation of all equipment to meet dynamic loads. Our role is to design systems to eliminate equipment: using gravity instead of pumps, controlling on occupancy sensors instead of complex BAS.

A New Set of Services

Designing Net Zero Ready buildings requires new engineering services to ensure the actual building performance meets the design intent. As Canada’s leading green building specialist, Enermodal’s M/E Design team offers these unique services.

Advanced Energy Modelling
Designing extremely low energy consuming buildings requires specialized energy analysis of daylighting (and daylighting control systems), natural ventilation/cooling strategies, and renewable energy systems including ground source heat pumps. Enermodal has extensive experience in analyzing these types of systems and in fact were contributing authors to many software tools including RETScreen, FRAMEplus, and NRCan solar heating software tools.

Enhanced Commissioning
Commissioning is quality control for buildings. A high performance building requires that all building systems are operating properly and efficiently. Given the complex nature of buildings, new technologies and the pressures of meeting budgets and schedules, it is unrealistic to expect a new building will perform well without a comprehensive commissioning program. Enermodal is one of the largest commissioning firms in Canada with particular expertise in getting buildings to perform efficiently.

Ongoing Building Measurement and Verification
You manage what you measure. Our experience is that building energy use can be reduced by 15 to 25% over the first year of operation by measuring building energy end uses, comparing to values predicted by the energy model and using commissioning to correct any discrepancies found. Enermodal has successfully used this approach on dozens of high performance buildings.

Contact Enermodal's Mechanical and Electrical Design Experts today, and get our experience working for you.

	Restoration Services Centre LEED NC Platinum Certified Vaughan, Ontario The Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) received Ontario’s first LEED Platinum designation for its Restoration Services Centre, a 1,095 m2 combined office space and works garage. Exemplary energy performance—the project received all 10 LEED energy credits—is based on radiant heating, ...