Canyon Falls Middle School
Kelowna, British Columbia
Canyon Falls Middle School was completed in 2019 to serve the Upper Mission area of Kelowna, providing 750 seats to students in grades 6 to 8. The school was designed based on 21st Century Learning concepts, with an emphasis on open and reconfigurable spaces. Falcon Engineering provided the energy modelling, mechanical, electrical and geoexchange design for this school which has been designed to LEED Gold equivalent.
The HVAC system is based on a four pipe fan coil system. The primary energy source is a vertical loop system that has roughly the capacity of 80 tons. Potentially difficult ground conditions led our geoexchange design team to an innovative concept where a smaller number of deeper boreholes were employed to increase capacity per unit of borehole length. The thermal plant includes a heat recovery chiller with custom control sequences designed jointly by Falcon and the equipment manufacturer. This measure dramatically reduced plant complexity and resulted in a system that operates efficiently and without surprises. Outdoor air systems are based on reversing flow heat recovery systems. Falcon’s design and planning efforts resulted in a system that was quick to start up and simple to operate effectively.
The electrical systems include a complete LED lighting design along with addressable lighting controls. The lighting design is greater than 35% below the Building Code requirements and with the control software there is potential for greater energy savings. The design of a solar photovoltaic array on the roof of the multipurpose atrium will further offset the building’s energy consumption.