ASHRAE’s BEST

This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, March 2010. Copyright 2010 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
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FIRST PLACE: INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES OR PROCESSES, NEW

Photo Credit: Gleb Gomberg | Ovatio.ca

At the Sobeys warehouse in eastern Canada, heat rejection from the warehouse is used to heat offices and common space.

Green Warehouse
By Martin Roy, P.Eng., Associate Member ASHRAE

S
ustainability isn’t only for commercial, institutional and residential buildings. Warehouses need to be sustain-

able, too. Sobeys warehouse of Trois-Rivières is a refrigerated warehouse that demonstrates that a high level of

sustainability is possible even in the industrial sector.

The warehouse consists of three
distinct sections for an overall area of
147,000 ft² (13 657 m2). The main sec-
tion is the refrigerated warehouse with
120,000 ft² (11 148 m2). The second
section is the office space with 5,300 ft²
(492 m2). The last 20,700 ft² (1923 m2)
section includes common spaces such
as the cafeteria, multiuse space, locker
room, workshop and mechanical room.
The refrigerated warehouse is kept
at 39°F (4°C) with an ammonia central
chiller and glycol secondary distribution
fluid system. The warehouse has fresh air
supply control with CO2 sensors and has
an energy recovery ventilator. The chiller
can operate in free cooling mode by using
the thermosiphon principle.
Offices and common spaces are heated
by a hydronic radiant floor and cooled
by fan-coils. As with the refrigerated
warehouse, outdoor air intake is con-
trolled by CO2 sensors and variable air
volume (VAV) boxes. Energy recovery
ventilators are also installed. Gas boilers
are installed and sized to heat the entire
building. However, most of the heating
is provided by the heat recovery from
the chiller condensers. Daylighting and
occupancy detectors are installed in the
warehouse and office spaces to control
high-efficiency lighting fixtures.
In hot climates, this type of building
would have only heat rejection for space
conditioning. However, winter can be
About the Author
Martin Roy, P.Eng., is president of Martin Roy et
Associes in Deux-Montagnes, QC, Canada.

64 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org March 2010

technology award case studies
Dock warehouse has T5 HO lamps and natural light detectors.
very cold in Trois-Rivières, which lies
halfway between Montreal and Quebec
City, so heat rejection from the warehouse
chiller occurs simultaneously with space
heating of the office and common spaces.
This is the perfect scenario for heat re-
covery. Moreover, exterior temperatures,
colder than the refrigerated warehouse,
allowed the design of a free cooling re-
frigeration system.
Energy Efficiency
Building Envelope
The building’s insulation exceeds
Standard 90.1 requirements with R-30
walls and R-40 roof for the refrigerated
warehouse and R-20 walls and R-30 roof
for the two other sections. The warehouse
also has a reflective white roof. The office
space has a garden roof to minimize solar
heat gain through the roof (although the
Advanced Energy Design Guide: Small
Warehouses and Self-Storage Buildings
has no recommendation for Climate
Zone 7). Energy modeling showed a 2%
reduction in refrigeration load and close
to 3% in energy demand.
Lighting
As recommended in the Advanced
Energy Design Guide: Small Warehouses
and Self-Storage Buildings, the entire
warehouse has T5 HO lamps with mo-
tion detectors and natural light detector.
Natural lighting is possible near walls
where high insulated (R-7.5) translucent
windows are installed. Ultrasound mo-
March 2010
Building at a Glance
Name: Sobeys, Centre de distribu-
Photo Credit: Gleb Gomberg | Ovatio.ca
tion de Trois Rivieres
Location: 3000, rue Tebbutt, Trois-
Rivières, QC, Canada
Owner: Sobeys
Principal Use: Distribution center for
refrigerated product
Includes: Refrigerated ware-
house, offices
tion detectors were not appropriate since
the fan evaporators could create product Employees/Occupants: 200
movement (papers, etc.). To use infra- Gross Square Footage: 140,000 ft2
red detectors, special adjustments were
needed to detect only people and not air Conditioned Space: 140,000 ft2
turbulence. All office spaces and com- Substantial Completion/Occupancy
mon areas are equipped with fluorescent
(date): May 15, 2008
lamps, mainly T5. Where applicable, mo-
tion detectors have been installed. Occupancy %: 100
National Distinctions/Awards:
Heating
The main heating source for the offices AQME Honorable Mention, Green
and common spaces comes from the building category
heat recovery of the warehouse chillers.
Heat is then distributed by radiant floor.
Backup gas boilers sized for 100% of the ratio than refrigeration is used since the
heating loads are present also, in case cold water temperature need is higher
heating is needed when free-cooling oc- (36°F [2°C]) than the warehouse (12°F
curs. Radiant floor contributes to reduce [–11°C]). Because the chiller has been
heating load. According to the 2007 designed to be highly efficient for the
ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Applica- warehouse application, the efficiency is
tions: “a combination of elevated floor better for the other spaces.
temperature, higher mean radiant tem- The warehouse cooling system uses a
perature, and reduced ambient tempera- secondary fluid (glycol) for cooling dis-
ture results in lower thermostat settings, tribution and can operate in free cooling
reduced temperature differential across when the outdoor temperature is below
the building envelope, and lower heat 10°F (–12°C) by stopping the compres-
loss and heating load for the structure. sors. An ESP-r (open source modeling
In addition, peak load may be decreased tool) simulation was carried out, which
because of heat (cool) stored in the struc- led to energy and cost savings. Details
ture when embedded panels in the floor, are provided in the Innovation section.
walls, or ceiling are used.”
Control
Cooling The outdoor air is always minimized by
Offices and common spaces cooling modulating the flow rate with CO2 sensor
are provided by the warehouse chill- signals in all zones. Offices and common
ers. However, a different compression spaces fan-coils are also controlled by a
ASHRAE Journal 65
temperature schedule based on occupancy 0
schedule. A building control and energy
management system overlook the opera- –50
tion of the entire electromechanical system. –100
Battery Charger –150
Since an important heat gain is associ-
Cooling Load (kW)
–200
ated to battery charging, special care in
the selection of the charger was made. –250
The chosen battery charger has a charging
–300
efficiency of 92% instead of the typical
80% for a standard charger. –350
Energy Efficiency –400
Based on DOE-2 simulation and com- –450
pared to Standard 90.1-1989 (reference
for Canada Green Building Council –500
LEED Canada accreditation), the build-
ing energy consumption is 62% lower.
All details are provided in the Innovation Figure 1: ESP-r graph shows the impact of thermal mass on cooling load.
section.
IAQ and Thermal Comfort
Indoor air quality and maximum outdoor rate were deter-
mined using Standard 62.1-2004. To achieve high indoor air
quality at all times in conjunction with energy efficiency, CO2
sensors modulate the fresh outdoor airflow rate to always get
the correct amount while keeping the associated load low. The
ventilation system is a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS),
ensuring that every zone is getting the right amount of fresh air.
As stated by Standard 62.1-2007, when using CO2 sensors, the
design outdoor air intake flow (Vot) may be reset, so no minimum
airflow is needed when the CO2 concentration is below the limit.
Special care also was taken to get high ventilation effectiveness
in accordance with Standard 62.1-2007 by optimizing the type,
number and size of each diffuser. That special attention led to
an Ev higher than 0.9 in the entire building.
Unlike the five other Sobey’s refrigerated warehouses in
Quebec’s province, this warehouse has an energy recovery
unit and a fresh air supply control led by CO2 sensors. The
design outdoor airflow rate of the refrigerated warehouse was
calculated using the rationale for minimum physiological re-
quirements for respiration air based on CO2 concentration and
other contaminants in Appendix C of Standard 62.1-2004. The
use of this calculation method decreased the amount of fresh air
needed from 7,200 cfm (3398 L/s) to 1,800 cfm (849 L/s). This
is a significant energy saving and reduction in size of equipment.
The real supply airflow rate also is lower since it is controlled
by the CO2 sensor while providing enough outdoor air.
There have been no complaints from the occupants about
comfort and the building’s improvements have created a general
feeling of pride among employees. This feeling can be noted by
the care and respect they have towards the building.
To get the optimal thermal comfort of 60% thermal radiation
and 40% thermal convection (2007 ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC
66 ASHRAE Journal
Base Case
With Internal Gains
and Thermal Mass
With Internal Gains
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000
Time (h)
Applications) heating is provided by radiant floor. Control set-
points for temperature and relative humidity are always within
the acceptable range that provides thermal comfort according
to the Standard 55-2004 calculation method, which includes
metabolic rate, clothing insulation, air temperature, radiant
temperature, air speed and humidity. The ventilated warehouse
also contributes to increasing the environment quality of ware-
house workers as compared to a nonventilated one. Refrigerated
warehouses usually don’t have ventilation.
Startup commissioning has been done by the client assisted
by the engineer, and only minor condensation problems on the
ERV have been noted. In the process of LEED accreditation, a
monitoring plan based on International Performance Measure-
ment and Verification Protocol, Vol. III, has been developed. The
scope of this monitoring plan is to compare the performance
of the energy-efficiency measures with their initial predic-
tions. This plan is under application, but no conclusions are
available yet.
Innovation
Simulations
To avoid costly overdesign and an ineffective cooling system,
an ESP-r simulation was done. The 3-D thermal simulation
accounted for the stored products’ thermal mass. The thermal
mass of 44,092 lb (20 000 kg) of milk product has a major
effect on load as shown in Figure 1. This procedure led to a
50% decrease of the initial standard sizing made by the chiller
distributor. Their sizing doesn’t account for transient states or
thermal mass.
Another overall building simulation has been done with the
interface EE4 for DOE-2. This showed that almost all heating
load can be satisfied by heat recovery. EE4 is providing a refer-
ence building based on Standard 90.1-1989. The building with
all efficiency measures, excluding process loads (refrigeration),
ashrae.org March 2010
Advertisement formerly in this space.
 P 2 1 P

3 2
5 1
4 6
Natural
Ammonia Gas Ammonia
h Boilers Chiller h
Chiller
Evaporative Evaporative
Condenser Condenser
2 1 To 2 1
Radiant
Floor
High
Pressure
Tank
Flood
Tank 6
From
Radiant
5 Floor
2°C –11°C
Compressor Compressor

Electricity 2 1

Drive

3 4
Warehouse Warehouse
Fan Coil Fan Coil
Office
Fan Coil Thermosiphon
Cooling With Compressor Cooling Without Compressor

Figure 2: The normal operation cycle is shown at left with the thermosiphon cooling principle on the right.

gives an energy consumption 62% lower compared to that two different temperatures: 26°F (2°C) for the office area
reference building. and 12°F (–11°C) for the warehouse. The left half of Figure
2 shows the normal operation cycle. The right half shows the
Cooling System thermosiphon cooling principle.
Unlike typical refrigerated warehouses using direct expansion
evaporators, Sobey’s warehouse uses an ammonia central chiller. Lighting
Having one big system instead of several small ones allows for Natural light in a refrigerated warehouse is certainly in-
higher efficiency. Ammonia is one of the best refrigerants to get novative. Advanced glazing system with R-7.5 insulation is
high efficiency, and has no ozone deple- used. Lighting can be diminished by the
tion potential and zero global warming Energy at a Glance controls when there is enough natural
potential. The cooling distribution system lighting and with the use of motion
is also using secondary fluid (glycol) Energy Use Intensity (Site): detector in the alley. While providing
instead of direct expansion of ammonia, 32.29 kBtu/ft 2 energy savings, indoor environment
which is much safer for the employees. quality for workers is also increased.
Natural Gas: 8.49 kBtu/ft2
Chiller Free-Cooling Electricity: 23.8 kBtu/ft2 Warehouse Ventilation
The cooling system uses a thermo- It is not known if ventilated refriger-
siphon cycle to produce cooling with- Annual Source Energy: ated warehouses are a common practice,
out using compressors when outdoor 32.69 kBtu/ft2 but this feature is new to Sobey’s design
temperatures are under 10°F (–12°C). habits in the province of Quebec. As
This is a definite innovation for en- Savings vs. Standards 90.1-2004 stated in the section on indoor air qual-
ergy efficiency considering 844 hours Design Building: 62% ity, applying outdoor air requirement
occurring below 10°F (–12°C) on a by CO 2 concentration (0.015 cfm/ft²
normalized Quebec City weather file. [0.08 L/(s·m2)]) led to a huge reduc-
The warehouse chiller is also used to produce cooling for the tion compared to warehouse (0.06 cfm/ft² [0.30 L/(s·m2)])
office areas. To maximize energy efficiency in cooling the of- or shipping/receiving (0.12 cfm/ft² [0.61 L/(s·m2)]). As
fices, the chiller has two different pressure inputs to produce recommended by Advanced Energy Design Guide, an en-

68 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org March 2010

Advertisement formerly in this space.
ergy recovery ventilator with 70% efficiency is installed, so
ventilation doesn’t add a significant load to the building.
Chiller Heat Recovery
Heat recovery on the condenser side of the chiller for space
heating has not been seen very often. From what can be seen
in the standard practices of most refrigerated distributors and
designers, this is not common.
Operation and Maintenance
Since all refrigeration and heating systems are centralized
in a mechanical room, maintenance is greatly simplified. Cen-
tralization of all the ammonia from the refrigeration system is
much safer for employees. As the 2006 ASHRAE Handbook—
Refrigeration states, ammonia has no scheduled phaseout and
no increasing cost as with CFC and HCFC refrigerants. All
water and glycol loops are equipped with balancing valves,
which facilitate system optimization and maintenance. All
lighting control is also centralized, which allows easy operation
and automation.
Cost Effectiveness
From the DOE-2 energy simulation, the energy savings are
$144,896. All the energy efficiency measures, water manage-
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70 ASHRAE Journal
ment and improved indoor air quality cost $1 million more than
a standard building. Even with features with no payback (water
management and improved air quality), the simple payback is
less than seven years.
From economic studies on this project, the return on invest-
ment for the energy efficiency over costs is less than three years.
The budget overrun after construction was only 2.5%. Expected
subsidies from Hydro-Quebec are close to $500,000.
Environmental Impact
In addition to all energy efficiency measures contributing
to decrease greenhouse gas emission, substantial efforts were
made on water management. All plumbing fixtures are low flow,
urinals are water free and toilets are dual flush. Storm water
drainage is canalized towards a constructed wetland acting as
a retention reservoir. Overflow is pumped towards the same
constructed wetland. Sanitary drainage goes through a septic
tank before distribution to a field of reeds. With all these features
on water management, no wastewater is returned to the city.
HCFCs were not used. Ammonia has zero ozone depletion
potential and global warming potential, which is better than
R-410.
This project is aiming for the Canada Green Building Council
LEED-NC Gold certification.
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March 2010