5 Real Energy Retrofit Success Stories From Ontario Buildings

Why Energy Retrofit Case Studies Matter

It's one thing to talk about potential savings — it's another to see verified results. These energy retrofit case studies from Mann Engineering show real Ontario buildings, real equipment upgrades, and real numbers, so owners and condo boards can see what a comparable project might mean for their own building.

Case Study 1: ASHP Retrofit — Grace Court Retirement Community

An air-source heat pump (ASHP) retrofit at Grace Court Retirement Community delivered a 50% reduction in electricity use, saving 82,926 kWh between February and March alone. On the incentive side, 97% of the project cost was incentivized — $819,000 in incentives against just $24,000 in net cost to the building. This is one of the clearest energy retrofit case studies for owners weighing an ASHP conversion: the combination of deep energy savings and near-total incentive coverage is exactly the outcome a well-run retrofit should produce.

Case Study 2: MUA Upgrade — Williams Square, Brampton

At 9 Lisa St in Brampton, an end-of-life make-up air unit was replaced through a turn-key MUA upgrade. The existing gas-fired MUA ran at constant speed on aging equipment; the engineered upgrade delivered a hydronic MUA connected to a high-efficiency boiler, VFD airflow modulation, and BAS scheduling with temperature reset. Total project cost was $150,000, with $35,000 in incentives from Enbridge Gas, and full delivery — MEP design, tender package, procurement and construction support — handled turn-key by Mann Engineering.

Case Study 3: Boiler Plant Upgrade — 95 Ridout St Apartment

This building's five atmospheric boilers dated from 1995, ran separate space-heating and DHW plants, and relied on aging DHW storage tanks with manual, local-only controls. The boiler plant upgrade delivered three high-efficiency Camus condensing boilers in an integrated space-heating and DHW plant, a four-connection configuration with DHW heat-recovery preheat, BAS scheduling with outdoor-air temperature reset, and lower return-water temperatures to maximize condensing efficiency.

Case Study 4: Chiller Plant Upgrade — Scotia Plaza

Scotia Plaza's aging central cooling plant included six electric boilers for building heating and nine 72,000-gallon thermal storage tanks running inefficient charging and discharging controls — driving high cooling energy use and high peak demand. The delivered chiller plant upgrade included a new 3,500-ton high-efficiency chilled-water plant, three 190-ton heat-recovery chillers rated at COP 6.0+, and optimized thermal-storage charging and discharging with VFDs on HVAC pumps, AHUs and supply fans. Heat recovery from the new chillers replaced the need to operate six electric boilers, and BACnet integration added a dashboard with alarms and power monitoring.

What These Energy Retrofit Case Studies Have in Common

Across all four energy retrofit case studies, the pattern is consistent: aging, single-function equipment is replaced with integrated, controls-driven systems, and incentives materially reduce net project cost. Whether the starting point is an ASHP conversion, an MUA replacement, a boiler plant or a chiller plant, a free building retrofit assessment is what identifies which of these paths applies to your building.

Start Your Own Energy Retrofit Case Study

If your building has aging boilers, an end-of-life MUA, or a cooling plant that's driving up peak demand, Mann Engineering can help you find out what a retrofit could look like — and what incentives could apply. Contact Mann Engineering to schedule a free building retrofit assessment.