New Net Zero South Guelph High School?

The new South Guelph High School provides an excellent opportunity to build the city’s first Net Zero Energy (and carbon) school.

This approach reduces the energy demands of the building by well over 70% compared to the Ontario Building Code. The remaining low energy need then makes it easier  to achieve Net Zero Energy (and carbon) with a much smaller heating and solar power system on site.

Urge the UGDSB to slow down the process of planning for this building in order to give the Net Zero Energy (and carbon) a fulsome evaluation!

Send a letter to your Trustee. You can find their email address here

Our letter to the Board

Dear Board Chair Mesenbrink and Trustees of the Upper Grand School Board,

Net Zero Energy at the  South Guelph High School

eMERGE Guelph Sustainability is a not-for-profit that fights climate change. We do this in many ways: from helping people reduce their energy and water use to changing public policy.

A goal of 100% Renewable Energy (100RE) for our community is not only possible, but must be achieved long before 2050 to meet our climate targets. And a standard of Net Zero Energy (and carbon) institutional buildings are a crucial part of it.

The work of the UGDSB in recent years on environmental curriculum and projects in all of your schools has been inspirational and key to educating students on the importance of taking action on climate change.

The new South Guelph High School provides an excellent opportunity to utilize an integrated approach in which the building itself becomes; a teachable moment for our students, a leading example for our community and a long term financial benefit to significantly reduce operating costs.

But just focussing on one technology, like heat pumps, won’t get us what we need. 

There are now several schools across the country that have been built to Net Zero Energy standards. This approach reduces the energy demands of the building by well over 70% compared to the Ontario Building Code. The remaining low energy demand then makes it easier  to achieve Net Zero Energy with a much smaller heating and solar power system on site.

Imagine significant reduction in energy and water costs over the life of the building. While capital costs will likely be higher than Code, other schools across the country have been able to find the money to  build to this standard. There’s no reason why we can’t be creative and find ways of building the first of many Net Zero Schools at the UGDSB.

In contrast, constructing the new school to the Ontario Building Code will result in the worst possible standard that the board can legally build for; energy efficiency, climate change impacts and long term operational costs.

At the same time, by only focusing only on small parts of a Net Zero building – like heat pumps and renewable energy – we waste energy more efficiently. That is, the building will still need much more energy and we will have to build very large heating systems and solar systems to reach Net Zero.

Not taking a systems based Net Zero energy approach and just focussing on specific technologies – like renewables and heat pumps – would ignore the more cost effective and long-lasting efficiency and conservation components like super-insulated exterior wall & roof systems and many other design elements (see Background below).

Unlike solar panels and heat pumps, the majority of components that make up a net zero energy building are not evident and in fact invisible to the untrained eye. But ignoring them will  have a profound impact on the UGDSB budget and the environment.

We at eMERGE urge the UGDSB to consider slowing down the process of planning for this building in order to give the Net Zero Energy (and carbon) approach to new building construction a fulsome evaluation in comparison to building to the Ontario Building Code and cherry picking certain technologies.

Background: 

How do we get to Net Zero Energy in New Buildings?

These are just some of the systems, elements and planning criteria that are used in the Net Zero process:

Site Design & Building Orientation

  • North/south building orientation to provide active daylighting in academic spaces

  • Native, drought-resistant landscaping to reduce irrigation and promote species diversity

  • Permeable paving to reduce stormwater runoff

  • Rainwater harvesting for outdoor watering and 3 litre toilets (utilize waterless urinals)

Energy Efficient Systems

  • Compact building volume to reduce the area of exposed exterior surfaces

  • Super-insulated exterior wall & roof systems

  • Eliminate thermal bridging

  • Reduced external air infiltration

  • Occupancy sensors

  • Renewable energy

  • Energy efficient HVAC systems

  • heat pumps and distributive pumping system to reduce energy demand

  • Energy Recovery Ventilation

  • Waste water heat recovery

Daylight Harvesting

  • Reflecting natural light back into classrooms

  • Reduced glare at work surfaces

  • Automated dimming to reduce artificial lighting requirements

  • Interior solar tubes to supplement daylight

  • Sloped ceilings to project natural light into the classroom

  • Aerogel insulated glazing and low e-coating to reduce solar heat gain

Healthy Kitchen Design

  • Energy Star Appliances

  • Elimination of Type I hoods & Type II hoods

  • Healthy, locally-grown food choices

  • Eliminate the use of fossil fuels in cooking

IT Revamp

  • Replacing computer labs with laptop carts and wireless technology reducing power consumption by 50%.

Living Building Strategies & Life Cycle Evaluation

With a focus on reducing life-cycle maintenance costs, strategies include:

  • 24/7 building operation plan

  • User-friendly automated building control system

  • Security lighting with motion detection

  • Life cycle cost evaluations on materials, finishes, and equipment

The benefits of a Net Zero Energy Building Approach include:

  • Improvements to the long-term durability of the buildings,

  • A healthier and more comfortable indoor environment,

  • Lower energy demands over the life of the building.

  • Right-sized efficient, heating and cooling equipment can be used which can lead to lower equipment costs, and

  • The building will be less likely to require costly retrofits in the future.