July 15th, 2010.  The Greater Toronto Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council partnered with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers to organize a Green Building Walking Tour downtown Toronto. 30 members of both organizations escaped the sweltering afternoon heat to attend the tour of 2 leading green building facilities: the Enwave plant and the Telus Tower. The tour  showcased the unique green building and energy conservation technologies in use at the world’s largest lake-source cooling system, the Enwave Deep Lake Cooling Plant (DLWC) and the newly constructed Telus Tower, which is currently pursuing the LEED Gold status for sustainability.

This exciting event started at the Enwave Deep Lake Cooling Plant with an in-depth presentation from Andrew Wilcox, Manager of Business Development, who walked the group through the process of deep lake water cooling. Deep lake water cooling helps reduce electricity use by up to 90% as compared to conventional air-conditioning and serves more than  30 prestigious clients in Downtown Toronto, including the Air Canada Centre. The tour continued with an exclusive look inside the inner workings of the facility,including a visit to the 18 pairs of Plate and Frame Heat Exchangers.

At the Telus Tower, guests were treated to refreshments provided by Honeywell Building Solutions. Jon Douglas, Green Building Project Manager at Enermodal Engineering, presented the innovative green features implemented in the Telus Tower. After the presentation, Building Operators led the group through some of the building’s highlights, including the individual fresh air control features, 11-foot floor to ceiling high performance windows, Dali automated lighting control and many more innovations  contributing to the building’s pursuit of LEED Gold NC status. After an insightful and enriching afternoon, the Tour wrapped up at Real Sports Bar and Grill for a casual networking session.

Special thanks to our event partner, the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers; to Enwave Energy Corporation, Menkes Development, Enermodal Engineering, Honeywell Building Solutions and the Greater Toronto Chapter Board Director Glenn MacMillan from TRCA and Subhi Alsayed for organizing the event.