cubicles transform into incubators

Get ready for a hot time at work

BC Hydro asks managers of 400 downtown buildings to ease up on power after transformer blowout

The Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
By Scott Simpson, Glenn Bohn and Linda Nguyen

Office workers and tourists in downtown Vancouver may feel the heat this summer after a major transformer blew out last week at one of BC Hydro's main substations.

Hydro spokeswoman Gillian Robinson said Tuesday the electricity utility is urging the managers of 400 buildings in the province's main business district to keep a lid on electricity consumption to avoid overtaxing the area's only other transformer.

The managers are being asked to allow interior temperatures to reach as high as 26 C on exceptionally hot days, rather maintaining them at the usual 22 C.

For today, Environment Canada is forecasting another hot and sunny day in the Vancouver area, with highs of 37 in the Fraser Valley and 28 near the water.

The area affected by the Hydro warning is from Robson Street to the Vancouver waterfront, between Beatty and Jervis -- in effect, the boundaries of the city's core business district that includes most major downtown hotels and office buildings, as well as many condominiums.

A failure of the remaining unit is a "remote possibility," Robinson said.

"We just don't want to push it too hard. We want to handle it with kid gloves and be very kind to it.

"We are being proactive to let customers know what's going on, and how they can help."

Hydro engineers say it might take as long as six weeks to restore full service to the transformer.

Thoren Hudyma, spokeswoman for B.C. Transmission Corporation, which is in charge of operating and maintaining the transformers, said there is a "contingency plan" in case the second one breaks down.

"There are a number of different options that could take place," she said. "We could look at using backup generators or we would revive the [first] damaged transformer to very basic or limited service."

Charles Gauthier, executive director of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, said an estimated 72,000 people work in the affected area -- many in office towers with sealed windows.

His prediction for the summer: "A lot of sweating people."

"I'm glad I'm going on vacation," Gauthier said. "A lot of people will be taking vacation time in August, but I don't think we'll see all 72,000 going."

Gauthier suggested managers could relax dress codes for office workers.

"We don't need to dress up in suits and ties and our Sunday best if we can avoid it," he said.

An expert who studies indoor air quality and temperatures said the increase in indoor temperatures suggested by BC Hydro is "reasonable."

"It will seem warmer but if we are aiming at sustainability, we'll be looking at 26 C as being the new norm during some days in Vancouver anyway," University of B.C. associate professor Karen Bartlett said.

This temperature is within the range universally promoted by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, a society that studies acceptable indoor temperatures.

Bartlett said Vancouverites are lucky because it's not as humid here as in other sweltering cities like Toronto.

And if the humidity remains at around 40 per cent, office workers should be fine.

"For most people, this isn't going to be a huge issue but if it makes some uncomfortable then they're not going to be efficient," she said. "People are going to be sweating more, which will mean most people will be emitting more body odour, too."

She said along with relaxing dress codes, employers should ensure their ventilation systems are adequate and windows are opened.

"If the ventilation system is not delivering fresh air to these offices then people will start complaining about headaches and feeling tired," Bartlett said. "People can also run their hands under cold water every half an hour or so to stay cool."

Mike Bishop, a director of the Building Owners and Managers Association of B.C., said Hydro has asked building owners to conserve electricity between the peak hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., turn off all non-essential lighting and turn down the setting in their air conditioning systems.

"People are going to be inconvenienced for a short period of time, because they're going to be experiencing higher than normal building temperatures," he said.

Bishop, general manager of the new energy-efficient Shaw Tower, said the temperature in that office and residential tower is going up by just one degree, to 24 degrees on average. Managers are also asking tenants to conserve power by turning off computers and office lights when they're not in use.

"If everybody in the downtown core does it, it could make a substantial difference," he said, especially in older buildings that are less energy-efficient.

Robinson said electricity demand on the sole operating transformer is not normally an issue in Vancouver's temperate summer climate, and the second unit is usually reserved for backup duty.

The broken unit failed just a few weeks after a routine inspection, and Hydro engineers are still trying to determine what happened, Robinson said.

The broken unit is a two-storey structure installed 20 metres underground at Cathedral Square at Dunsmuir and Richards.

Robinson said building managers were informed last week about the situation.