Holland College campus in Charlottetown gets $4.6 million in upgrades

The aging Charlottetown campus of Holland College is getting a $4.6 million facelift this summer. The college expects to save about $50,000 a year, once more modern technology is installed in the buildings.

• Upgrades announced for aging Holland College campus
• Energy audits being conducted on Charlottetown buildings

The Prince of Wales Campus, as it's called, is made up of three buildings. One is from 1932, an other from 1945 and those two will be getting the bulk of the renovations.

Windows replaced

Work is underway to replace 400 windows and make them more energy efficient.

"They were very large windows and they were very, very heavy," said Justin Dunn, director of facilities management for Holland College.

"As years have gone by, the weight of the windows and the age of the windows, they've gone off kilter and not functioning."

Some of the windows would open very quickly, while others would be slow to move.

"So we're very much looking forward to having the students and the staff have better control of the temperature with these beautiful new windows and they're also more energy efficient as well."

Draftyand leaky

The windows were also drafty and some leaked.

"Once water enters our building through those weak areas, it presents a whole host of opportunities to take place, none of them positive," said Dunn.

"So we're thrilled that we have the funding available to correct those items."

Technology upgrades

There are also updates being done to the masonry, roof, foundation, mechanical and electrical systems.

"They are at the end of their useful lives and as technology has evolved, there are significant strides from an energy perspective that are going to make our buildings perform at a higher level, with far less resources," said Dunn.

"There is a significant cost saving that we are expecting, we're looking at a projected savings of about $50,000 per year, that will be realized through the introduction of these more modern technologies into our campus."

Student involvement

Students from the Energy Systems Engineering Technology program at the College helped plan the updates.

"Our students are going to be, or could become, energy auditors and part of that is being able to walk around and figure out what the building is currently doing and how it's operating," said Daryl Hardy, learning manager with the program.

"Then using those numbers as a benchmark and seeing how the energy efficiency measures that are being put in place are going to affect the overall costs of the operation of the building going forward."

The students will continue to be involved once the renovations are complete.

"Then you start to number crunch things and when they start to do that, they're going to see that energy saving measures that are put into use today are going to affect the bottom dollar tomorrow," said Hardy.

The cost of the $4.6 million dollar renovation is being split by the provincial and federal governments.

The goal is to have as much ofthe upgrade work completed as possible before students return to class in September.

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