Sustainable Biz
Summary
District energy systems are an economical option for heating fast-growing Canadian cities and quickly helping municipalities to decarbonize, a report by the RBC Climate Action Institute states.
Already used in cities such as Toronto (Enwave), Vancouver (Creative Energy) and London, a district energy system employs networks of pipes connected to a heat-generating node which distributes heating for buildings. University campuses, commercial buildings, government facilities and urban neighbourhoods with aging infrastructure have been linked to district energy systems.
Traditionally powered by steam generated from natural gas, modern solutions offer an alternative which can eliminate the need for fossil fuels. District energy can tap into heat from warm sewer water or biomass, and use heat pumps or heat exchangers powered by electricity to transit the energy through the pipe network.
Citing an analysis by the Climate Action Institute of a study by engineering consultants RWDI, building emissions in Canada’s largest cities could be cut 36 per cent annually by 2030 if 27 per cent of all new building floor space is connected to a district heating system powered by low or zero-carbon energy sources.
“You have high capex costs, but overall, you’ll have lower operating costs and less demand on your grid as well, because a lot of the district energy systems are designed to be very energy efficient,” Myha Truong-Regan, head of climate research at the RBC Climate Action Institute, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.
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