Sustainable Technology
The development of McMaster Innovation Park is an exciting opportunity to further re-develop a brown-field site into a vibrant new neighbourhood built on the three pillars of sustainability:
Economic
Cultural
Environmental
This section focuses primarily on the environmental strategies that need to be held in balance with the other sections of this Master Plan.
McMaster Innovation Park’s commitment to sustainability has been exemplified by its design initiatives implemented in the design and construction of the research park. The Master Plan offers an opportunity to set specific targets to continue its leadership in sustainability and innovation. The District Energy System (DES) at MIP is one of these initiatives and has been very effective in reducing the park’s environmental impact. The DES provides a centralized heating and cooling plant for the park which generates, extracts, and shares thermal energy through the utilization of highly efficient mechanical equipment, geothermal, and combined heat and power engines. This thermal energy is transferred hydronically through a distribution network of under-ground pipes to buildings around campus where is it used to space and water heating.
Solar Thermal Panels
Solar Wall
Cooling Towers
Chillers
Boilers
Rain-Water Harvesting
Lighting Control
Air Handling Unit
Energy Recovering Units
In-floor Air Systems
Geo-Exchange
McMaster Innovation Park has received awards for the sustainability design initiatives in place. Beginning with the Atrium building, on November 12, 2009, MIP received the Award of Excellence Overall Design and Adaptive Reuse from the City of Hamilton. This prestigious award acknowledges and celebrates the extensive progress and innovative design of an organization in a variety of areas such as adaptive reuse, architecture, heritage conservation and landscape. MIP has seen other awards such as a 2013 Sustainable Hamilton award for the park and a 2014 Canadian Green Building Council award for CanmetMATERIALS.
McMaster Innovation Park has displayed its commitment to reducing the carbon footprint. From the design of multi-million-dollar LEED buildings down to the smallest recycling initiative, MIP desires to be a leader in sustainability. For this reason, MIP started the Fading Footprints Program- a series of sustainability initiatives designed to help MIP reduce its negative impact on the environment.
The Fading Footprint program has developed multiple initiatives including:
Plastic, paper, e-waste, and battery Recycling Station in the MIP Loading Dock
Monthly compilation of Energy Stat
Energy Kiosk
Community Garden at the Atrium@MIP
Energy – General
All new/renovated facilities will be designed to use minimum energy. These measures would include energy efficient lighting and lighting controls. The electrical design would compliment any mechanical design to reduce the total energy of the building. In order to achieve Net Zero the buildings would be designed to include green energy (i.e. solar panels) to offset the energy used in the facilities. The use of energy generation would be contingent on the upgrades to the Newton Transmission station and new capacity being available. The goal of all new buildings should be to target net zero energy by 2030.
Passive Conservation Strategies
In order to address the most significant loads on buildings, a focus on passive conversation should be considered because these measures are easiest to predict and help to reduce the overall load of the building which allows the engineers to optimize HVAC equipment size. The following strategies are used to improve the building performance:
Upgrade punched windows to triple glazed, argon filled, low e-coating, Assembly Performance USI -1.64 W/m2K (U-.029).
Upgrade curtain wall to triple-glazed, argon filled, low- e-coating, Assembly Performance USI -1.64 W/m2K (U-.029).
Reduce solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) to 0.35
Upgrade all opaque walls to 125mm (5 inches) of exterior continuous insulation, Assembly Performance RSI- 4.4m2K/W (R-24.2).
Occupant Behaviour and Internal Gains Strategies
Equipment and occupant load typically come from appliances, computers and other powered devises. These loads are difficult to influence as they are decentralized and vary widely depending on the behaviors of individual occupants. Reducing these loads requires the application of technologies (e.g. occupancy sensors), and behavioral nudges (e.g educational outreach).
Install, EnergyStar equipment (ie. Computer monitors, printers, kitchen appliances).
Install, low-flow domestic hot water fixtures in lavatory (1.9 LPM), kitchen sinks (5.7 LPM) and showers (1.9 LPM).
Promote, use of stairs over elevator through interior layout and quality of staircases.
Engage occupants on their energy usage through real-time energy use dashboard.
Install, ceiling fans to expand range of thermally comfortable condition.
Provide local thermostats in regularly occupied spaces; include BMS override for nighttime setback and control.
Active Conservation Strategies
Reducing the amount of energy used by active systems is accomplished through one of two broad strategies: increasing efficiency and reducing overall demand with the improvements to the building envelope, equipment and controls. Heating recovery allows the building to harvest waste heat from exhaust, allowing the focus to shift on how outside air is provided to the occupants rather than on conditioning spaces in general:
Upgrade air-side energy recovery to dual-core HRV for enhanced (90%) recovery effectiveness.
Improve ventilation distribution effectiveness using displacement ventilation (low-velocity, tempered air supply).
Specify electrically commuted (EC) motors for pumps and fans smaller than 8 HP.
Oversize ventilation ducts and limit turns to reduce static pressure on fans (e.g. by oversizing ducts and limiting turns).
Change heating and cooling plant to geo-exchange system with ground source heat pumps (GSHP).
Use GSHP to provide domestic hot water.