Pioneering heat pump research by a University of Toronto professor in 1940 is now paving the way for a modernization that will dramatically reduce emissions on the school’s historic downtown campus.
Thanks, in part, to the innovative technology discovered by Prof. Frank Hooperuniversity plans to begin overhauling heating and cooling systems at its 200-year-old campus St. George Campus this summer.
Called Jump Project“We want to reduce our emissions in a materially significant way and do it quickly.” . Not for decades, but within a few years.”
Once completed, the project will halve carbon emissions (estimated at 91,000 tonnes last year) at the city center campus by 2027.
At a cost of $138 million, the retrofit will begin to phase out natural gas in favor of electricity at the campus’s central steam plant and in some of the most energy-intensive buildings, Saporta said.
A significant portion of the St. George campus’ emissions come from the central steam plant, where gas boilers heat most buildings, including the Royal Ontario Museum. Project Leap will convert a main boiler from gas to electric.
Thirty-five buildings will undergo lighting upgrades with energy-efficient LEDs. Another key feature will connect several buildings with the newly built geographic exchange system and active heat recovery technologies below the Front campus, which is flanked by heritage buildings such as Convocation Hall and University College. This active heat recovery process will capture and reuse heat that would otherwise be lost to the surrounding environment as exhaust, and reduce energy consumption by 40 percent. The system, which uses heat pump technology, will store excess heat generated in the summer underground for use in the colder months, thus improving energy efficiency.
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Following in Hooper’s footsteps, students will also have the opportunity to work on the project and learn about modernization, Saporta said. “Our energy partner has committed to hiring co-op students from our university so they can gain first-hand work experience.”
The St. George campus and its large number of historic buildings serve about 100,000 students, faculty and staff daily and account for more than 80 percent of the university’s operational carbon footprint.
Called Project Leap, it is believed to be the largest sustainability effort in the higher education sector in Canada. Once completed, the project will halve carbon emissions (estimated at 91,000 tonnes last year) at the St. George campus by 2027.
“The University of Toronto is stepping up its Climate Positive Campus plan, which is aligned with Canada’s emissions reduction plan for 2030“Steven Guilbeault, federal minister of the environment and climate change, said in a statement. “They are leading the pack in global sustainability and making smart investments in decarbonization. “The Government of Canada will continue to support the University of Toronto in pursuing and achieving its ambitious goals.”
With more than $50 million in financing from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), the project also secured grants from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the Independent Electricity System Operator of Ontario (IESO), and funding from the Royal Bank of Canada.
Saporta said this project will accelerate efforts to make the St. George campus climate positive, reducing more greenhouse gases before the original goal for 2050.
“With 2030 just around the corner, we must act immediately and decisively to address climate change,” Saporta said. “This schedule would not have been possible without the support of the Canada Infrastructure Bank. “We are grateful to them for recognizing U of T’s commitment to helping shape a more sustainable future for Canada.”
Saporta explains that in Ontario, electricity is five times cleaner than natural gas, which translates to an 80 per cent reduction in emissions when switching from natural gas to electricity. However, he points out that electricity is 10 times more expensive than natural gas in the province.
“How do you make that transition to a more expensive energy source? Save money? Yes, it saves money and helps us recover this huge capital investment for this project,” Saporta said. “By making buildings more efficient, we need less energy, so even though we buy more expensive energy, it costs less because we buy less.”
Two important investigations are also underway, Saporta said. The first examines how deep modernization affects the well-being of people in the building.
According to the University of Toronto, deep energy retrofits are extensive building improvements aimed at significantly reducing energy consumption by 40 to 50 percent and reducing carbon emissions by at least 80 percent. This involves improving the building envelope by modifying exterior walls, windows, roofs and doors, and upgrading mechanical systems such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) with more efficient technology such as heat pumps.
“We are focused on improving not only the environmental impact of the building, but also the impact on the well-being of the people who inhabit it,” he said. “The other research involves carbon capture, which we can harness in our central steam plant.”
Following its recent first place among more than 1,400 post-secondary institutions in 95 countries in the World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024U of T is working with the Toronto Region Board of Trade to develop a manual that will guide other organizations pursuing and funding similar strategies to reduce carbon emissions, Saporta said.