Ledvance, Variablegrid, Cence Power recognized in Energy Manager Canada’s 2024 awards program

November 1, 2024 – The results are in for Energy Manager Canada’s 2024 EM Honours awards program, which celebrates excellence in energy efficiency, proactive energy management, and decarbonization. Nominations were accepted from anyone involved in a project or solution.

“Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination. Your participation in the EM Honours awards program helps us highlight top-notch efforts from across Canada, which serve as an inspiration for others to follow in your footsteps,” said Energy Manager Canada editor Anthony Capkun.

Congratulations to our 2024 Honorees!

Best New-Build Project

• WINNER – Operational Net-Zero Building (Belleville, Ont.), Carmichael Engineering
• Honourable Mention – Co-operators Head Office (Guelph, Ont.), H.H. Angus Consulting Engineers
• Honourable Mention – The Stack (Vancouver, B.C.), Introba

Best Retrofit Project

• WINNER – Metro Toronto Convention Centre lighting retrofit (Toronto), Ledvance

Best Building Envelope Solution

• WINNER – D-Max Wall Assembly with Heatlok Soya HP, Huntsman Building Solutions
• Honourable Mention – SunGuard SNX 70+, Guardian Glass

Best Electrical Solution

• WINNER – Electric Vehicle Energy Management System (EVEMS), Variablegrid
• Honourable Mention – Low-voltage hub, Cence Power

Best HVACR/Plumbing Solution

• WINNER – AquaPort Heat-Interface Unit, GF Building Flow Solutions (formerly Uponor)

Most Innovative Solution
(This award is selected from among all of the Building Envelope, Electrical, HVACR/Plumbing entries)

• WINNER – AquaPort Heat-Interface Unit, GF Building Flow Solutions (formerly Uponor)

Energy Manager of the Year
(Our flagship award recognizes individuals or teams)

• WINNER – Sumit Khatri and Tugrul Kodaz, Dream Office REIT
• Honourable Mention – Energy Management Team, Thompson Rivers University

Our 2024 honorees will be further profiled, publicized through our newsletters and social channels, and receive a certificate noting their achievement.

The Call for Nominations for the next edition of EM Honours will open Spring 2025.

Become a Sponsor! Help us celebrate energy efficiency, proactive energy management, and decarbonization. Contact us about sponsoring the 2025 edition of EM Honours.

About Energy Manager Canada
Energy is a controllable cost! Since 2008, Energy Manager Canada’s mandate has been to provide those responsible for energy management in their organizations with news and information that helps them proactively manage both their energy use and utility bills. We keep our audience of facility owners and managers, building engineers and energy managers, and related stakeholders informed through bi-weekly newsletters, website, videos, webinars, and social posts. Visit energy-manager.ca.

* Backgrounder follows

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Carmichael Engineering, Operational Net-Zero Building

To achieve operational net-zero, building’s energy systems were reverse-engineered to align with generation capacity to meet or exceed total load. The entire team—Engineering and Design, Energy, Project Management, and Installers—saw to the project’s success. There is a strong focus on continuous, proactive energy management through remote monitoring and control that helps optimize system performance in real time. The use of the automation system for comprehensive monitoring shows how technology can enhance energy efficiency and building performance.

H.H. Angus Consulting Engineers, Co-operators Head Office

The fully electric Co-operators HQ in Guelph is a certified Zero-Carbon Building, incorporating high-performance insulation and automatic tinting windows; natural lighting, passive solar heating, and smart HVAC systems. Construction prioritized low-carbon materials, while the all-electric design eliminates onsite carbon emissions.

Introba, The Stack

The Stack was designed to save 7 million litres of potable water annually, and sourced local materials to reduce construction-related emissions. The building was designed with triple-glazed and thermally broken windows, and central demand-controlled heat recovery ventilators. It has achieved Zero-Carbon certification.

Ledvance, MTCC lighting retrofit

The Metro Toronto Convention Centre project shows just how impactful a lighting retrofit can be. The project involved switching out over 1,400 350W to 450W metal halides for 200-W UFO high-bays from Ledvance to deliver savings on energy and and maintenance, with a payback expected in just three years.

Huntsman Building Solutions, D-Max Wall Assembly with Heatlok Soya HP

D-Max with upgraded Heatlok Soya HP presents an all-in-one solution—insulation, air barrier system, vapour barrier—plus allows for spray foam insulation installation from the interior, thereby avoiding possible weather delays and reducing the need for things like external scaffolding. It is adaptable, being suitable for residential, commercial, and industrial projects.

Guardian Glass, SunGuard SNX 70+

SunGuard SNX 70+ coated glass from Guardian Glass transmits 68% visible light while offering a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.28. This reduces reliance on artificial heating and cooling, leading to lower operational energy costs and reducing overall emissions.

Variablegrid, Electric vehicle energy management system (EVEMS)

Variablegrid’s EVEMS dynamically allocates power to electric vehicle chargers based on real-time building load monitoring, and can be used across sectors. It manages power distribution, optimizes energy use, reducing peak demand charges. The EVEMS reduces infrastructure costs by eliminating the need for electrical upgrades.

Cence Power, Low-voltage hub

The Cence LV distribution hub for LED lighting addresses inefficiencies in traditional power systems relying on individual AC to DC conversions within each fixture. It centralizes power conversion to distribute DC directly to fixtures, reducing losses and improving energy efficiency (~20%).

GF Building Flow Solutions (form. Uponor), AquaPort heat-interface unit

AquaPort is a self-contained unit that converts a building’s hydronic heating supply to provide on-demand DHW (domestic hot water). It reduces hot-water energy use by up to 35%, eliminates up to 40% of piping, and removes more than 50% of the total DHW volume in a building. The technology uses a proportional control valve (PCV) in conjunction with a double-wall heat exchanger, enabling boiler systems to reach their maximum-rated efficiency.

Dream Office REIT, Sumit Khatri and Tugrul Kodaz

Senior energy managers Sumit Khatri and Tugrul Kodaz have been instrumental in driving Dream’s energy management initiatives, engaging everyone from C-Suite to building operations teams. On top of smart building systems and real-time metering initiatives, they foster a culture of energy efficiency by organizing internal competitions, motivating teams to adopt best practices and reduce energy usage. They collaborate with external experts to achieve success; their department created an Operational Efficiency Playbook to help reduce energy consumption over the next decade and reach net-zero emissions target by 2035. They also participate in the IESO SEM (strategic energy management) program, attending monthly meetings and providing peer support and insight to other energy managers.

Thompson Rivers University, Energy Management Team

This team achieved a 45% energy consumption reduction for the university, which is on its way to becoming a zero-carbon campus by 2023. When they realized they needed for a more structured and systematic approach for sustaining and enhancing energy performance, the team turned to NRCan’s ISO 50001 program to develop a comprehensive Energy Management System (EnMS). The team conducts regular energy audits and recommissioning to ensure ongoing improvements, and their documented processes, training materials, and success stories serve as resources for other organizations.