Discussions

With the movement on the school happening....I started thinking. It is all fantastic that we are getting a much needed school but what I didn't see is any mention of green energy. You would think that with all this pressure of carbon footprints, global warming, etc. that buildings would be built greener. Was there any mention of solar panels going in for electricity? Any geothermal heating/cooling? With large surface areas of roofs I have seen buildings growing gardens to help prevent rain water from flowing to the sewers. Was there any mention of that in the plans? I don't understand the government wants us to reduce our carbon footprint yet it doesn't want to mandate to use green energy.

They can barely afford to build what they've already drawn up, and are already looking at what they can remove from the project. "Going Green" is not always about solar panels, grassy roofs, and water reclamation. Higher grade thermal windows, maximized insulation, ventilation, and energy efficient appliances and mechanical systems are the realistic "green initiatives" here in our climate. Geo-thermal is not cost efficient enough to return any sort of investment, and rainwater in Brandon does not actually run to the sewers, it is mostly overland drainage or if it does go down a drain, these are separate from our sewers and go down to natural drainage areas (mostly Assiniboine river).  
You should locate a copy of the most recent energy code: you might be surprised at all the massive changes over the last decade which greatly maximizes the efficiency of buildings. Adding solar panels and green roof technology would be more of a PR stunt and not effective enough to be useful. Build the school, please, and leave the PR stuff to private developers.  
 
Edited by Cageman, 2019-02-27 14:28:53

You have said it well. Automation also plays a big role in energy savings when it comes to building infrastructure.  
 
The thing to keep in mind too with these types of projects is what's "green" today is sometimes silly down the road. Case in point: Riverheights School. It was built underground to be "efficient" and reduce heating and cooling costs, etc, but it's come with a host of other problems, including an inability to add on to the school if need be.  
 
I would rather see them build an energy-efficient school like how you describe (insulation etc) with proven technologies that will serve us reliably for decades instead of fadish technologies and PR moves.