Wednesday, 30/10/2024 | 15:49 GMT+7
To heat the high-rise buildings, their new inhabitants need
only pull the plug in the bathtub or the kitchen sink and send their warm
wastewater spiraling down the drain.
The Southeast False Creek Neighborhood Energy Utility, or
N.E.U., supplies space heating and domestic hot water to local buildings using
heat recovered from wastewater and raw sewage. “This is a test case for
The central plant, which initially served the 2,800 athletes
and officials housed in the Olympic Village, is already supplying heat to
several buildings beyond the site. Ultimately, it will meet the energy
requirements of 100 acres of waterfront real estate in central
Buildings constructed for the Games have been converted since February into more than 1,000 private and public housing units. “It’s going to become a neighborhood like any other, just a lot greener than most,” said Kieran McConnell, an N.E.U. systems engineer. The mixed-use residential community was recently awarded platinum certification — the highest level — under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or Leed, green-building rating system.
For the Olympics, almost 70 percent of the village’s heating came from waste heat recovery, topped up mainly by traditional natural gas boilers during exceptionally cold spells.
The process extracts heat from previously strained sewage, which is typically at 18 to 20 degrees Celsius (64 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit), using an industrial heat pump, a refrigeration unit which draws thermal energy from the waste and feeds it into a hot water distribution network. A high-efficiency, insulated piping system, buried underground, distributes the water at 65 degrees Celsius to neighboring buildings. After circulating through the buildings the water returns to the energy center, some 15 degrees Celsius cooler, to be heated again.
Relative to conventional combined electricity and natural
gas systems, the sewage heat recovery process has reduced greenhouse gas
emissions by 65 percent, an immense source of pride for a city attempting to
become a world leader in green energy. Of the N.E.U.’s construction cost, 30
million Canadian dollars, or $29 million,
Consumers pay a flat fee and a variable energy charge based
on metered usage. The charges are expected to rise more slowly than those of
other utilities in
Individual buildings, moreover, can pump excess heat that they do not use back into the system to earn a credit on their utility bills.
The N.E.U. plant is at the south end of the
So Pechet & Robb, a
“One of our intentions was to relay to residents how much energy they’re using, the idea being that if they’re aware of what they consume, they’ll be more inclined to turn down their thermostats or stop the water from running,” said Mr. McConnell, the N.E.U. engineer.
The facility was also designed with an educational component in mind. The walls of the boiler room are built of glass so that passers by can peer inside. And portholes make it possible to see the sewage pumping station at work underground. Onlookers can even take a guided cellphone tour of the building: call the designated number and information about the system is provided as you wander around outside.
Although district energy is relatively new to North America,
Hong Nhung source: nytimes