University of British Columbia
IN-4: Innovation 4

The Academic District Energy System (ADES) steam to hot water conversion is one of UBC’s signature initiatives to substantively reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the UBC Vancouver Campus. Started in 2011, the five-year, $88-million project will replace UBC’s aging steam infrastructure with a more efficient hot water district energy system.

The project is an integral component of UBC’s Climate Action Plan and will enable us to achieve our ambitious target of reducing campus-wide GHG emissions of 33 per cent by 2015, compared to 2007 levels. The ADES will also provide an enabling platform to achieve our long-term target of eliminating the use of fossil fuels on campus by 2050 and advance clean energy research development and demonstration opportunities.

UBC’s steam to hot water conversion project demonstrates an innovative approach to infrastructure management and leveraging cyclical maintenance investment to achieve multiple sustainability objectives. The project will eliminate $190 million in deferred maintenance, reduce operating costs, improve operational safety and system resiliency on campus, and dramatically reduce energy and water consumption.

The new district energy system will require less energy to heat the campus, will significantly reduce distribution losses, and will allow for increased compatibility with clean energy supply technologies, enabling a more flexible platform to integrate current and future renewable and alternative energy sources into the UBC grid. The new system will also provide a platform for collaboration between researchers, students, staff and industry partners to explore and develop clean energy technologies and campus as a living laboratory demonstration projects.

Once complete in Fall 2015, the ADES will heat over 130 buildings, including over 8.6 million square feet (800,000 square meters) of floor space for hot air and domestic hot water. This project represents one of the largest hot water conversions in North America with 11 km of pre-insulated hot water distribution piping, over 100 energy transfer stations in building mechanical rooms, and a new state-of-the-art 60 -megawatt, natural gas-powered Campus Energy Centre Hot Water Plant.

The ADES will reduce UBC’s thermal energy use by 24 by per cent and GHG emissions by over 22 per cent, the equivalent of reducing 11,000 tonnes of GHG emissions, or taking 2,000 cars off the road. The project will also reduce annual campus water consumption by 136 million gallons (136,000 cubic metres) when completed, equivalent to saving 54 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water each year. The project will result in annualized cost savings and cost avoidance of over $5.5 million per year.