Curé-Paquin elementary school

The innovative design of the Curé-Paquin elementary school at the Seigneurie-des-Mille-Îles Educational Services Centre (CSSSMI) in Saint-Eustache fosters academic success by implementing systems that prioritize quality of life, comfort, increased ventilation and local temperature and humidity control, allowing it to achieve zero net energy.

Markets

Building, Sustainable development

Submarkets

Education, Governmental projects, Smart Building, Sustainable development

Expertise

Engineering, Project design and supervision, Sustainable development

Services

Automation and control, Electricity, Energetic efficiency, LEED certification and others, Mechanic

Year

2020

Innovation

An inspirational model elementary school for all Quebec school service centres

In the design of this project, gbi acted as a leader in Building Mechanical and Electrical engineering and Sustainable Development. To meet the requirements of LEED® Gold environmental certification, our teams incorporated several technologies to reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts.

Technologies used:

Installation of a geothermal system for heating and air conditioning

Off-peak electricity via an electric thermal accumulator
Advanced building control system
Radiant floor for comfort and energy savings
LED lighting system controlled by presence detector sensors
Photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of the gymnasium

Engineering serving
the environment

At the Curé-Paquin Elementary School, no fossil fuels are used. All of the energy needs are provided by electricity.

Heating and cooling needs are met by 36 geothermal wells with a depth of 300 ft. This system is connected to a thermal accumulator, which allows energy to be stored. In addition, to preheat the supply of fresh air, a very high-efficiency energy recovery system captures the heat contained in the exhaust air. Finally, photovoltaic solar panels on the roof, with a capacity of 27 kilowatts, produce 10% of the building’s annual energy requirements.

Carbon Zero certification

The focus of the project was on efficiency and renewable energy.

The Zero Carbon certification requires top-level performance with regard to Thermal Energy Demand Intensity (IDÉT). To optimize passive heating, this performance indicator, not widely known in Quebec, requires close collaboration with the architectural team. gbi acted as a true leader in this project, working with the architects to take IDÉT specifics into consideration. About ten energy models made it possible to achieve a balance between architectural needs and engineering requirements, in order to reach the target of 34 kWh/m².

For the certification, a life-cycle analysis had to be carried out. The gbi team completed this study to establish the amount of CO² emitted by the manufacture, processing and installation of building materials. Approximately 100 hours of research and development were necessary to develop the calculation mechanisms required to perform this life- cycle analysis study.

Working together to envision tomorrow’s world.

We believe in our employee’s ability to help us create a world rooted in our values of continuous innovation, responsible management and sustainable development.

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