April 3, 2009

ENERMODAL ENGINEERING LTD.

The Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co. factory and retail outlet in Picton, Ontario has achieved LEED Platinum, the only industrial facility in Canada to do so.

Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co.

Cheese company builds Canada’s first LEED Platinum-certified industrial facility

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

The Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co. factory and retail outlet in Picton, Ont. has achieved LEED Platinum, the only industrial facility in Canada to do so.

“Fifth Town showed a commitment to its mission of making environmentally-responsible cheese by taking it the extra mile and creating a state-of-the-art green factory and retail outlet,” says Stephen Carpenter, president of Enermodal Engineering, the LEED, energy-efficiency, mechanical/electrical engineering and commissioning consultants on the project.

Lapointe Architects was responsible for the architectural design.

Constructed at a cost of $2 million by K. Knudsen Construction Ltd. of Belleville, the project last year won an Ontario Concrete Award in the architectural merit category as well as the Canadian Wood Council’s Green Design Award.

Enermodal said the project achieved energy cost savings of 15 per cent, compared to a similar building designed to conventional standards. The substantial energy savings are largely attributable to the innovative mechanical design, the company said.

The heart of this design for the 403-square-metre building is a 12-ton, water-to-water-to-ground heat pump system. A “slinky style” ground heat exchanger sits on limestone bedrock, considered an excellent heat-transfer medium, located two metres beneath the building site. The heat pump heats and cools the building and supplies hot and cold water for the cheese-making processes.

Refrigerated product storage is also water-cooled through the heat pump. The heat pump transfers heat within the building as much as possible to achieve even greater energy savings. For example, the system heats water with waste heat rejected from the refrigeration equipment and cheese-making process and then utilizes the ground loop for any additional heating that is required. A similar process is used to cool the building and cheese-making equipment.

ENERMODAL ENGINEERING LTD.

The subterranean location of Fifth Town’s cheese-aging facility reduces the use of energy to maintain a cool temperature year-round.

Additional energy conservation is achieved through the use of subterranean cheese-aging cave facilities that reduce the energy required to maintain a steady cool temperature year-round. This geothermal- and heat pump-cooled cheese curing cave is also visible through a window from the outside of the building.

Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co. makes use of local energy sources. The facility includes a 1.8 kW wind turbine and 9.4 square metres of photovoltaic panels. Computer simulations estimate the combined contribution of these systems equates to more than 10 per cent of the building’s annual electricity load.

Fifth Town owners Shawn and Petra Cooper made water conservation a consideration in every design and business decision. Indoors, water-conserving plumbing fixtures include low-flow faucets and dual-flush toilets. A 10-cubic-metre concrete cistern supplies rainwater for use in toilet flushing. Together, these measures result in a 62 per cent reduction in potable water use.

All wastewater generated in the building, including all cheese-making process whey wastewater, is treated to tertiary standards on-site using biofiltration and a constructed wetland. The physical, chemical and biological processes naturally occurring in wetlands remove contaminants from wastewater, such as phosphorous, aluminum, iron, and harmful bacteria and viruses.

Unlike many factories, employees at Fifth Town work in a building designed for abundant natural lighting and views to the outdoors. In addition, there is occupant control of temperature, lighting, and ventilation conditions.

“All of us at Fifth Town are extremely proud of this achievement and the work of all those involved,” says Petra Cooper. “It was a first for all involved in the construction and commissioning of the building.”

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