Brentwood has made a commitment to sustainable construction and building maintenance. Every one of our buildings has incorporated green measures to varying degrees.

Our energy efficient building program was initiated by Bill Ross (Headmaster 1974-2000) during the planning for the T. Gil Bunch Centre. In 2000, Andrea Pennells was appointed as the Head of School and took up the sustainability torch. This was the same period of time that a new Facilities Manager and a new Energy Manager began their careers at Brentwood.

The first project undertaken by the new facilities team was the installation of a heat pump based air conditioning system for the former computer labs in the Ross Center. Recycling of hardware from that project, along with an agreement with a local controls contractor, allowed automated building controls to be installed in the Sportsplex for the first time. The success of this project was immediately evident in a substantial reduction in heating and hot water costs.

The decision to proceed with building the T. Gil Bunch Centre for Performing Arts came shortly after the completion of the Sportsplex project. This included Bill Ross’ plan to incorporate an ocean source geo-exchange heating and cooling system. Using the ocean as a heat source for commercial buildings was in its infancy and Brentwood’s decision to design and build such a system was the first of its kind in Canada. The geo-exchange system turned out to be extremely environmentally friendly, efficient, and reliable and is still in use today.

The construction of Allard House, a new girls’ dormitory, began after the completion of T. Gil Bunch Centre. Every effort was once again made to create a comfortable and energy efficient building using low temperature, natural gas fired, condensing boilers both as a heating source and for the production of hot water. This dorm continues to be Brentwood’s most efficient building on a cost per square foot basis.

Brentwood’s next big project was the design and construction of Crooks Hall, a dining hall, kitchen and student services centre. In an effort to consolidate Brentwood’s two largest energy consumers in one building, the campus laundry facility was co-located here as well.

The Brentwood Board of Governors expressed an interest in pursuing LEED (Leadership in Environmental Engineering Design) certification for this building. A design team was assembled consisting of professional engineers, local contractors, and members of the Brentwood Facilities department. The proposal that was ultimately produced included the expansion of the existing geo-exchange system, installation of a number of very sophisticated heat recovery systems, and a state of the art building control system to operate everything at peak efficiencies.

Once again this project proved to be very successful. LEED Gold accreditation was attained and the building continues to operate very effectively using the geo-exchange system as the sole source of heating, cooling, and domestic hot water production.

On the heels of the Crooks Hall project came the building of the Centre for Art and Humanities. The decision was made to incorporate this building into the existing geo-exchange system, forming a community loop in which heat rejected from one building could be transferred and used in another building. The Arts Centre also includes the use of solar sources for both domestic hot water pre-heating and the generation of electricity. This building has proven to be Brentwood’s most efficient non-residential building on a cost per square foot basis.

Amongst all of these major projects, Brentwood’s dorms and public buildings have also been upgraded to the low temperature natural gas heating systems. Brentwood’s satellite houses have also all been converted from oil burners to heat pumps.

Brentwood College is considered a leader in both environmentally friendly building design and efficient energy management.

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