Proposed Construction of 9,900sq/ft Net Zero Energy Carbon Neutral Fire Hall in Coldstream, ON
Type of initiative
FCM Green Municipal Fund - Capital Project
Sector
Energy
Project value$3,768,400
Project Type
Capital Project
Sub Sector
Building – New – with Renewable energy
Grant amount$393,200
Program type
GMF
Municipality
Municipality of Middlesex Centre, ON
Loan amount$2,621,500
Status
Fully Disbursed
Population
18,928
Project timeline
2016 - 2020
Project number
15103
Description
The Municipality of Middlesex Centre will construct a Net Zero Energy (NZE) Carbon Neutral Fire Hall to promote energy conservation and innovation within the municipality. The Coldstream Fire Hall project will demonstrate the importance of constructing high-performance, energy efficient buildings, and will show citizens that this approach yields significant financial, social, and environmental benefits. The current Coldstream facility is no longer able to meet the size and service needs of the growing population and requires demolition due to its aging structure. In addition, one of the other regional fire halls has to be closed and the existing Coldstream Fire Hall site would not be adequate in order to ensure the entire geographical area can still be reached in a timely manner in case of an emergency.
An FCM funded feasibility study (GMF 15006 – Feasibility Study for Proposed Net Zero Fire Hall and Affordable Net Zero Energy Housing Project, Middlesex Centre) confirmed that high performance passive building design across all building components will result in an overall energy savings of 25%. This will be achieved through a combination of energy efficient building materials, sustainable construction practices, and equipment. Combined with a ground source heat pump, and rooftop photovoltaic system, enough green electricity will be produced to ensure the facility is NZE. Other features of the fire hall include:
- Efficient lighting and efficient HVAC system
- High efficiency appliances and low flow water fixtures
- Rainwater harvesting
- Landscaping to include drought resistant and native plants.
Circuit-meter software will be used to monitor the overall energy use and generation in the new fire hall. This monitoring system will verify if energy savings envisaged in the feasibility study is being met and if not, necessary materials adjustments will be made to ensure energy savings objectives are met. Monthly monitoring of data from Circuit-meter will be undertaken by the municipality's Embedded Energy Manager. If the solar PV system generates more energy than the fire hall consumes annually, the excess power will be used to offset energy consumption by other facilities that are located on the same micro-grid, eliminating the need to install a battery system to store excess energy.
The Strategic Plan of Middlesex Centre prioritizes environmental sustainability as a key focus area, and this initiative will educate citizens about the performance and the importance of NZE buildings, which will spur more high-performance buildings to be built in Middlesex Centre and throughout Ontario. In addition to the Middlesex Sustainability Alliance, other tools have been developed to promote green buildings in the municipality. The Middlesex Centre Sustainability Scorecard is an end product of the Land Use Planning & Sustainability Manual developed with a partnership of Western University. It is a matrix that evaluates the social, environmental and economic indicators of proposed development projects in the municipality. This initiative will serve as a practical example of the feasibility and financial viability of the relatively new concept of net zero buildings. Middlesex Sustainability Alliance will serve as a conduit for the replication of net zero buildings by other municipalities once the Coldstream project is successful. The Middlesex Sustainability Alliance, comprising of the seven municipalities that make up Middlesex County meets periodically to discuss environmental sustainability initiatives in the County.
(Project description from original funding application)
Project results
- 26 tonnes of GHG emissions avoided
- 598 GJ of energy savings per year
Environmental outcomes
- Renewable energy generation
- Reduced or avoided GHG emissions
Social outcomes
- Increased staff health and safety
- Greater civic pride and ownership
- Increased opportunities for community engagement
- Improved public education or awareness
- Development of local programs
Economic outcomes
- Reduced maintenance costs
- Increased service life
- Innovative financing
- Increased tourism
- Local business development or local economy stimulus
- Use of feasibility tools
Lessons learned
- Technical – Project specific