Case Study: Decarbonizing Vancity’s Head Office

The Vancity head office, located next to Vancouver’s iconic Science World,  is a 13-storey office building constructed in 1995.

By 2014, it was clear that the two gas-fired boilers used for space heating should be replaced. Given Vancity’s aspirations to be a leader in environmental sustainability, this project was viewed as a golden opportunity to decarbonize their head office in a very significant way. Vancity began discussions with Trane Canada on the possibility of reclaiming the waste heat from the building’s data centre (occupying half of a floor) and use it for space heating. They then engaged SES Consulting to further assess how their decarbonization goals could be combined with the capital project by using a heat recovery chiller (HRC). Together, Trane Canada and SES Consulting developed a design that involved the installation of a new HRC and two back-up, gas-fired boilers (used when the outdoor temperature is below 5 C). The results are impressive, with a 96% reduction in gas consumption, a 76% reduction in overall emissions and a payback period of less than five years (including incentives)! 

This case study focuses on the design considerations, the energy and emissions results, as well as a financial analysis of the project. View the case study here:

Vancity Head Office Case Study.pdf