November 18, 2005
GENIVAR and the Des Draveurs School Board in Gatineau have received an Énergia Award of Excellence in the Institutional Category, Educational Sector, from AQME, the Quebec Energy Efficiency Association. The Du Versant Secondary School project, for which GENIVAR did the mechanical, electrical, structural and civil engineering, was singled out because of its energy savings of 28.7% in dollars and 38% in megajoules. Besides lowering the energy bill and increasing users’ comfort and quality of life, the savings corresponds to a reduction of 452,333 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2). Congratulations to the Gatineau team that helped make this project such a success.
Du Versant Secondary School
Du Versant Secondary School Interior
The three-storey school has a surface area of 15,050 m2 and serves 1,500 students. It contains 40 classrooms, six laboratories, a library, double and single gymnasiums, a dance studio, a weight room, two kitchens and a food court. To achieve the most cost-effective results, GENIVAR proposed using distributed heat pump technology with a warm water loop and a 340,000-litre heat storage tank. The design made it possible to lower the building’s overall height by 1.5 metres, required much less pipe and fresh air duct insulation work and eliminated the need to construct the service rooms that a conventional heating and air-conditioning system would have required. The underground heat storage tank did not necessitate the construction of additional floor area, as the boiler room and part of the electrical room and storage rooms were built above it.
Technological innovation
The design features technology that is familiar and proven but not widely used. The school has seven small and medium-sized heat pumps, two of which have variable volume units, and a conventional fresh air supply system with variable speed and heat recovery. At a time when energy savings are a major concern for real estate managers and society at large, the Du Versant project is one of which GENIVAR is especially proud.
