There is another feather in the cap of the City of Cranbrook’s pool dehumidification project at Western Financial Place. The city has been awarded more than $133,000 in rebate funding through FortisBC’s commercial energy conservation rebate programs.

The pool dehumidification project is the city’s first heat recovery project. The project was a retrofit to the old dehumidification system at Western Financial Place. The city is upgrading to a heat recovery dehumidification system, which negates the need to use outdoor air as the primary form of dehumidification. By using a heat recovery dehumidification system, the ventilation heating load will be decreased, and heating for the pool will be more energy efficient and cost effective.

“It is nice to get recognized for our energy savings programs at Western Financial Place,” said Mayor Lee Pratt. “A big thank you to Fortis for their recognition and financial contribution to the project which will save thousands of dollars on the future operations of the pool.”

“We are always on the look-out and exploring option to reduce or energy consumption and carbon footprint in our city Facilities,” said Facility Manager Stacy Paulsen. “Without incentives like the ones being offered through FortisBC these energy saving projects sometimes do not become a reality due to budgetary constraints. I would like to thank FortisBC for their rebate funding and give recognition to Prism Engineering (Retrofit Designer) and Zirk Mechanical (Retrofit Contractor) for their contribution to the project.”

“FortisBC invests in initiatives such as the pool dehumidification project at Western Financial Place because we understand that this facility brings value to Cranbrook residents using the pool, to staff and to the community at large. These upgrades and improvements will help the city reduce costs, increase comfort for users and help conserve our resources. We are pleased to support this project, which will enhance one of Cranbrook’s favourite public spaces and reduce their overall energy consumption,” said Danielle Wensink, director of conservation and energy management at FortisBC.

This project was also granted $108,000 dollars in 2016 from the province’s Community Energy Leadership program and received a Climate & Energy Action Awards honourable mention from the Community Energy Association at the annual Union of BC Municipalities convention in September 2017.

The goal of the project is to have improved control of humidity levels, and reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. After completing the project in the last half of 2017, the city saw a 40% reduction in natural gas consumption at Western Financial Place which saved taxpayers nearly $26,000 in energy costs.

Pictured above: Chris New, Director of Community Services; Stacy Paulsen, Facility Operations Manager; Councillor Norma Blissett; Councillor Mike Peabody; and Juan Rincon, FortisBC Energy Solutions Manager. Photo submitted

City of Cranbrook

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