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DECEMBER GAZETTE | Our 91st year!
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December 2012 - Vol 60, Issue 3
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| Board of Governors |
President
ESC Automation
President-Elect
Secretary
Honeywell Building Solutions
Past President
Michael Khaw P. Eng.
Isotherm Engineering
David Underwood P. Eng.,
Chapter Past President
FASHRAE CPMP
ASHRAE Society VP
Johnson Paterson
Chapter Past President
Carrier Enterprise Canada
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Do You Use Social Media?
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If yes - that's great!If not - we'd love to know why?
Tell us - Let us know what kind of news and insights you would like to see more of on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
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| President's Message | |
Season's Greetings to everyone!
Yes it seems early... however the smell of winter is in the air.
Great meeting in November, the tour of the Earth Rangers and the presentation that followed was excellent. The information presented was interesting. The vision of the centre and the way it wants to change how they use their energy sources should change things for all of us.
I hope that all of you will take time out of your busy schedule to join us down at Toronto's Landmark Hotel, The Fairmont Royal York for a fabulous dinner on Monday December 3rd.
The theme of the night will be Research Promotion! There will be many prizes up for grabs during the night for those that wish to participate. If any of the member companies have anything they would like to donate to the raffle please contact Michael Khaw.
As we will not be in touch until the New Year 2013...... unless you come to the ASHRAE Decemberfest!
Wishing you and your families a very Safe and Wonderful Holiday Season!
If there is anything that I can assist you with as your President, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Thanks,
David BenedettiPresident - ASHRAE Toronto Chapter 416-571-0046 dbenedetti@deltacontrols.com
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| 2013 CRC Conference | |
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Ashrae Toronto Chapter is hosting proud to be hosting next summer's annual CRC (Chapters Regional Conference). Please save the date and stay tuned for more information.
TIME: Friday August 23rd (AM) to Noon Sunday August 25th, 2013
LOCATION: Fairmont Royal York
HELP WANTED: We are looking for Chapter Members support in helping us run a successful CRC!
Volunteers are needed for help with: - Registration
- Entertainment
- Hospitality Suite
- Publicity
- Technical Session
- Companion Program
- Secretary
- Sponsorships
PLEASE EMAIL ANYONE ON THE TEAM BELOW TO LEND A HAND:
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Gazette Sponsors |
ASHRAE Toronto Chapter thanks the following
companies for their support of the Gazette
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| Notice of Meeting |
Decemberfest 2012
Please join us for a celebration of the season!
Let us raise a glass to the coming New Year
We'll toast to the holidays With family and friends
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Date:
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Monday December 3rd, 2012
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Venue:
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Fairmont Royal York - Upper Canada Room | |
Cocktails:
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5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
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Dinner:
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6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
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Preregistration required!
Theme: Research Promotion & Donor Recognition Night
Come celebrate as the ASHRAE Toronto Chapter hosts our 2012 Decemberfest. As the nature of this meeting is non-technical, it is an ideal venue for our members and affiliated guests to bring along their spouses, significant others, family and friends. This will remain an unforgettable experience and we'd love for you to join us.
Menu:
Slow Roasted Peppercorn Crusted Alberta Prime Rib
Red Wine & Caramelized Shallot Pan Jus
Vegetarian Option:
Fire Roasted Eggplant Stuffed Tomato, Black Rice
Sweet Pea Emulsion, Seasonal Vegetables
Entertainment:
Friendly Sports Video Game Tournament
Research Promotion Raffle Prize Draw
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November 2012 Meeting Summary
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November 2012 Dinner Presentation, ASHRAE Toronto Chapter
Earth Rangers Centre for Sustainable TechnologyThe November 2012 dinner meeting featured a tour and presentation about the Earth Rangers Centre for Sustainable Technology in Woodbridge, Ontario. The presenters were Andy Schonberger, P.Eng, LEED AP, CEM, MBA, Director, Earth Rangers Centre; and James Raven, B.Sc. M.E., Associate with MCW Custom Energy Solutions Ltd. Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization which educates children about animals and their habitats, and practices what they preach with their state-of-the-art renewable technology and sustainably designed headquarters. The experience is engaging, with live animals, six dual axis tracking photovoltaic panels in the parking lot, and LCD panels showing real time energy usage.
The Earth Rangers building houses a visitor centre, offices, and animal husbandry spaces. It is 66,000 sq. ft, with a 10,000 sq. ft. vegetated roof. Since it was built in 2004, the Earth Rangers Centre, certified LEED EB Gold, has remained one of the most energy efficient buildings in North America. Andy Schonberger and the Earth Rangers team; and James Raven and the MCW Custom Energy Solutions group have collaborated on recent energy upgrades which have earned the Earth Rangers Centre LEED EB O&M Platinum certification, with the highest score in Canada of 92 out of a possible 110 points.
The Earth Rangers Centre is constructed of thick concrete slabs to provide thermal mass to counteract thermal fluctuations. Radiant tubes containing glycol are embedded in the concrete. Heat from the radiant system is rejected to a ground source system, comprised of 44 wells more than 120 meters deep under the parking lot. Free cooling was used for almost the whole summer. In the winter, the ground source heat pump, and the six solar thermal panels used for the domestic hot water, warm the glycol in the radiant tubing.
Ventilation air is brought in through nine concrete "earth tubes" which are 1 meter in diameter, 20 meters long, and buried 3 meters below ground level. The earth does an amazing job of tempering the air in both the winter and summer, raising the temperature of the air by up to 15 degrees Celsius. This air is then brought through an air handler with a heat recovery enthalpy wheel. Ultra violet light in the air handler destroys any possible mould spores, as well as pathogens.
Thirty percent of the total building electricity is provided by six 4 by 6 meter tracking photovoltaic solar panels, which generate 58 kW; and a fixed photovoltaic array, which generates 28 kW. The Earth Rangers Centre earns approximately $70,000 per year selling power back to the grid, through the FIT program.
The Earth Ranger Centre's building automation system is sophisticated and optimizes the various power, thermal, lighting, water, and security systems. Andy Schonberger's background in industrial operations management certainly helps. Occupancy is tracked by access card, and the building's systems are adjusted accordingly. Real time power usage of the different systems is available on the web.
The project goals of this recent energy upgrade were to improve energy performance, enhance operational efficiency, and to maximize renewable energy generation. An extensive energy audit James Raven and the MCW team performed, revealed the following: building usage and thus the HVAC load, had changed from initial design; more integration of the controls was required; and re-commissioning of all the heating and cooling equipment should be done.
The HVAC redesign involved the following:
- installing a ground source heat exchanger, before the new parking lot was put in
- converting a chiller into a heat pump
- reconfiguring the hydronic heating and cooling system including adding thermal storage for waste heat recovery
- installing six dual axis solar tracking PV arrays on top of the parking lot
- automating ventilation based on CO2 levels within the zones
- optimizing sequences of operation
As a result of the upgrades, the Earth Rangers Centre's energy footprint has been reduced by around 40%. The use of natural gas has been reduced to 5% of the building's energy use. Almost one third of the building's present annual building electrical requirements comes from renewables; whereas, two thirds comes from the grid. The plan is to obtain all the electricity from renewables in the future. Naturally, plug and IT loads are now a larger proportion of buildings' energy consumption, approaching the percentage of energy required for heating and cooling. An energy manager program is being configured to actively manage IT related plug loads and cut energy consumption of these devices when they are not needed.
The Earth Rangers team and MCW Custom Energy Solutions have succeeded in substantially improving the energy performance of a building, which was already one of the most sustainable in North America. The Earth Rangers Centre, LEED EB O&M Platinum certified, with the highest score in Canada, has proven that there is always room for improvement when it comes to energy efficiency.
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Tour Photos
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November Tour Photos
Earth Rangers Centre Toronto, Ontario
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| Viewpoint |
Getting the Word Out
Before the internet and email, sharing ideas among a large group of people usually required face to face interactions at a physical location. Today we have many new ways to collaborate that go beyond emails including social media sites, blogs, forums, and instant messaging services. Many experts have been predicting the end of email for some time now. Adam Sherwin, of the UK based The Independent, wrote of information technology services company Atos; "Internal email will be phased out inside 18 months at Atos. The 75,000 staff will instead use instant messaging and chat-style collaborative services inspired by social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter." The Toronto Chapter has itself evolved over the past ten to fifteen years in an effort to embrace some of the new technologies available to us. We have seen a transition from a physical newsletter to a PDF, to the web-based online Gazette we receive today. Our website, www.torontoashrae.com, has also gone through many changes, and today allows the chapter to manage membership, events and some chapter communications in one location. Even editing our website is now a collaborative online process giving multiple people the ability to add content to web pages, create and manage events, and moderate forums. Our members saw quite a transition from a static website with a manual meeting registration process. Members now are required to create their own profile on www.torontoashrae.com and sign up to receive the Gazette. Even registering for our dinner meetings, technical tours, breakfast technical sessions, pub crawls and ASHRAE learning courses now take a little bit of web savvy. (Hint: Login first before registering). Currently, the Chapter's website is hosted by WildApricot, our Gazette is hosted by Constant Contact and we manage Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn services. I urge any of our members with an interest in social media, programming, creative writing or technology to volunteer and help keep us up to date. Glenn KilmerKilmer Environmental Inc. ASHRAE Toronto Chapter President-Elect Adam Sherwin's full article can be found here
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| International Society News |
- Winter Conference is at end of January 2013 in Dallas, Texas
- Leadership University
- New Faces of Engineering competition announced
- New scholarship announced to honour the late Lynn Bellenger
- Educational Session with credit designations
- Upcoming seminars in our area
Please visit: www.ashrae.org if you would like to get more details on any of these topics.
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Membership Promotion
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Last month was a membership promotion themed meeting in Vaughan. Again it was a great program with an interested topic. Michael Khaw (Regional vice Chair for region II membership - and past president of our Toronto Chapter) was there to deliver the message on the importance of our ASHRAE membership. Mike Genin and Mike McEvenue also spoke on YEA and student activities. Another great turn out from our members!
I was asked once to explain why being a member of ASHRAE (both society and local chapter) is worthwhile and what I have gotten out of it. I can truly say that I have made many lasting friendships both professional and personal. In my years of ASHRAE involvement, I have been a member of Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto Chapters respectively. My fellow ASHRAE members that I have met along the way have ended up being co-workers, social friends, customers, industry resources and of course sources of knowledge from all facets of our industry.
I'm sure many have similar stories to mine. What we all have in common is a bond through this organization. Lasting friendships with our co-members that allow us to stay connected to industry news, happenings and ASHRAE advancements in design, energy conservation and comfort - that affect the way we design and see buildings.
We all help to make ASHRAE what it is. Thank you for your continued support of our local Toronto Chapter. I would ask that you promote membership in ASHRAE with your associates both for ASHRAE Society and Chapter levels. The more ideas we share and involvement in our association there is, the more we all benefit.
With all of our Toronto members, we continue to support ASHRAE on a local, regional and global scale. We all help achieve ASHRAE's mission to advance the arts and sciences of heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigerating to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.
Marc Bertolin
Toronto ASHRAE Membership Co-Chair
marc.f.bertolin@jci.com
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Research Promotion
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I am pleased to announce that the theme for this year's DecemberFest on December 3, 2012 at the Fairmount Royal York Hotel is Research Promotion Donor Recognition Night.
Without generous research donors, ASHRAE Society will not be one of the few non for profit organizations in the world with a strong and viable Research Programs. The Research Projects defines ASHRAE as the leader in HVAC&R with our Handbooks, Standards and Guidelines. The world is looking at ASHRAE Society as the leader in HVAC&R. ASHRAE Society needs research for the future.
On behalf of the entire ASHRAE Research community, I would like to take this special opportunity to thank all the past Donors for their support for ASHRAE Research. The ASHRAE Donation Coins and Certificates of Appreciations will be presented to these Donors during the meeting.
The RP committee will be contacting all last year's donor's to confirm their attendance at Decemberfest.
As for our "fun" Research Promotion Fund Raising Campaign, instead of the usual 50/50 draw, we are planning a Research Promotion Raffle Gifts Draw for the night, and as such, we are asking all members to participate by donating a Raffle Gift for the for the draw.
The meeting is only days away, please e mail me back right at m.khaw@isothermengineering.com and let me know what you are bringing to the meeting so I can plan for the table top for the gifts donations.
Place your company card on the gift so we can thank you properly and announce you names
If you are interested to know more about Research, please check out www.ashrae.org/rp.
Thank you all.
Toronto ASHRAE Research Promotion Chair
Past President - ASHRAE Toronto Chapter |
Young Engineers in ASHRAE
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  We had an extremely successful pub night earlier this month- thanks to everyone who decided to stop by the Loose Moose after work! I think over 40 people came. I certainly stayed up a little past my bed time. It ended up being an excellent opportunity for YEA members to meet each other. We plan on having a second one in the spring.
I was very impressed by the amount of individuals who are now interested in attending the leadership weekend. This is an opportunity to get involved with ASHRAE starting with a leadership training experience. The weekend will take place in Vancouver sometime in April. We will be sending a few lucky YEA members from the Toronto chapter. The application process will start in late January / February.
We are getting closer to kicking off the mentorship program in early 2013. All YEA members have the opportunity to be paired up with a more senior mentor. You can send your application to one of us, or email me if you are having trouble finding the forms on the website.
2012-2013 YEA Committee Chair
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| Student Activities |
November was another busy month! We had an action packed week with the "Earth Rangers" on November dinner meeting and finished it off with super social YEASA (patent pending) night! YEASA night was a huge success! We took over the restaurant with sophisticated conversations and smiles and laughs all around. I had the chance to meet more of the students and YEA members. It was a great opportunity to meet young people in the industry! A special thanks goes to our RVC Michael Khaw for making an appearance; you know it is going to be a good night when The Khaw is in town! After our amazing success (thank you for all who joined us!!) we are planning another YEASA night for next semester in Winter 2013, might need a bigger venue... NEWS FLASH! Applications for sponsorship to go to the Winter Conference in Dallas 2013 have been sent out to all Faculty Advisers. If you are interested in attending - please fill out a form and submit to me by December 10, 2012. Later days! Toronto ASHRAE Student Activities Chair
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