Capstone Problem Statements
The district heating system uses a great deal of energy and natural gas when it operates in summertime to provide heating for a small number of applications. Natural gas used primarily for space conditioning is the single largest source of campus emissions, accounting for 92% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The gas-fired steam-based district heating system on campus operates year-round, supplying steam for dehumidification, hot water, autoclaves, institutional dishwashing, cooking and other uses in the summertime.
The power used on campus during five peak demand days has an overly large impact on the cost of electricity throughout the year. The University of Waterloo is looking for a technical and economic assessment of programs or technologies that would allow it to reduce its contribution to the top peak electricity use times and/or participate in IESO conservation or congestion management programs.
The University of Waterloo has a large untapped potential for renewable energy production that can reduce peak electricity demand and greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy systems are an important solution to the climate crisis and can also reduce the power draw during the five peak demand days that impact electricity costs throughout the year.
Campus buildings that are not part of the district heating systems must shift to decarbonized forms of heating if we are to reduce campus energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The University of Waterloo is looking for a technical and economic feasibility analysis of options for decarbonizing existing buildings that are not part of the district heating system.
Existing buildings on campus are poorly insulated and leaky. Many of our campus buildings were built at a time when insulation, air sealing, and thermal bridging were not major concerns. As a consequence, these buildings waste a lot of energy through the building envelope, and buildings are the single largest source of campus greenhouse gas emissions.
Some of the QNC air handling units have a poor design which results in excessive stratification of inlet air. The units cannot operate as needed in the winter because the inlet air is stratified sufficiently that cold outdoor air will trip the freezestat. The mechanical contractor and design consultants have tried to improve the situation using internal baffles, but it has not worked. A need exists to mix incoming and outlet air more effectively. The project could deal with one or more of the units. The approach to solution could be computational or experimental (within financial limits).
Many rooms on campus waste energy because they are not performing as well as they were designed to. Recommissioning some of the worst performing rooms can be a cost-effective way to achieve quick and easy wins for energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. In fact, 62.3% of the University’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 came from the natural gas and electricity used to operate our buildings.
The University of Waterloo is not capitalizing on the potential for waste-water heat recovery. For the University of Waterloo, wastewater heat recovery has the potential to significantly reduce the energy and fuel needed to operate the district heating system and the system can be reversed to provide cooling in the summer months. Natural gas used primarily for space conditioning is the single largest source of campus emissions, accounting for 92% of total emissions (scope 1 and 2).