Meeting Schedule

• Technical Session: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
• Network Hour: 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
• Dinner: 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm
• Speaker: 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm

Technical session: Fuel-Switching Hydronic Systems with Air-to-Water Heat Pumps

As decarbonization targets accelerate across Canada, hybrid hydronic systems that combine air-to-water heat pumps with auxiliary boilers are emerging as a practical and cost-effective pathway to lower emissions—without compromising reliability.

This session explores partial fuel-switching strategies for large-scale commercial central heating plants, demonstrating how air-to-water heat pumps can be optimized to deliver substantial energy and GHG reductions without being sized for peak winter loads. Rather than designing for extreme conditions, attendees will learn how strategic sizing—paired with electric or gas-fired auxiliary boilers—can maximize carbon reduction while maintaining resilience, redundancy, and budget control.

Multiple auxiliary heating approaches will be examined, including supplemental and substitution strategies, and compare their advantages and trade-offs based on climate, project objectives, and owner priorities. The presentation will also explore practical integration methods within 2-pipe and 4-pipe hydronic systems, heat recovery applications, and domestic hot water production.

Detailed piping schematics and plant configurations will illustrate key design considerations, including:

• Boiler control strategies
• Variable primary flow vs. primary-secondary pumping
• System staging logic
• Central plant optimization for hybrid operation

Engineers, designers, and energy modelers will gain insight into how hybrid heat pump systems support low-carbon-ready and electrification roadmaps. Contractors and suppliers will better understand how partial fuel-switching systems create opportunities to transition traditional chiller plants into heat pump solutions—offering clients a resilient, forward-looking alternative that balances first cost, operating savings, and long-term sustainability.

Speaker: Chris DesRoches

Chris is a Professional Engineer with 15 years of experience in the HVAC industry in all aspects from Product Development and Testing to Sales & Service. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As Business Development Manager – Heating & Cooling, Chris is a subject matter expert on Hydronic Heat Pump solutions and is an ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer on the topic. Chris has a passion for efficient and environmentally responsible HVAC solutions which will be imperative in the preparation for the future of the built environment, as the industry strategizes to meet local and global targets to mitigate the effects of climate change. He has been an active ASHRAE member since 2012 providing numerous presentations at the chapter level across Canada and the US, as well as presenting through other industry associations such as ASHRAE, HRAI, CIPH and the CHC on Air-to-Water Technologies as a solution for electrification and decarbonization of hydronic systems.

Main Meeting: How to Get More Accomplished in Less Time—WITHOUT Complicated Systems or Stress

Does your typical workday seem to fly by, but the pace of progress feels like you’re slogging through molasses?
Are you bogged down with an increasing number of tasks, emails, and information while time evaporates just when you need it the most?
No matter how hard you try—and no matter how many hours you put in—does it feel like you’ll never catch up? In this interactive presentation, Leslie Shreve shines a light on why workdays aren’t working and what you can do to take control. You’ll learn...
• The two essential parts of your workday and why a lack of attention to one will cripple the other.
• The three MAJOR ways time is leaking out of your workday and why
• The REAL problem causing lost time, productivity, and daily progress (it’s not what you think!)
• How to regain time in your workday so you can use it more effectively
• The Fast-Action Formula for Tasks so you can take control of projects, tasks, and follow-ups
Get the secrets to how productive workdays REALLY work so can get more accomplished faster and easier, make more progress with less stress, and enjoy more personal time with peace of mind.

Speaker: Leslie Shreve, Founder & CEO, Productive Day

Leslie Shreve is a workload management and productivity expert, and the Founder and CEO of Productive Day®. Leslie is also the creator of Taskology® The Science of Getting Things Done, an all-encompassing system for managing tasks, time, email, information, and more. For more than 20 years, Leslie has worked corporate leaders and professionals from more than 30 different industries to show them how to increase efficiency and productivity by 4X, gain 1-2 hours back in their workday, spend up to 50% less time in their email Inbox, and make more powerful progress on projects—WITHOUT giving up all of their personal time to do it.