LiveSmart BC Community Feature
VANOC Taps into Waste Heat
“Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are hot. That is, they generate a lot of heat,” said Ann Duffy.
Duffy is VANOC’s corporate sustainability officer, and she explains that waste heat is generated by refrigeration plants in the preparation of ice for curling, figure skating and speed skating venues.
The good news is that heat can be captured and reused.
The Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre is a prime example of VANOC’s heat recapture initiative. The new facility at Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park will be home to curling for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and wheelchair curling for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
Waste heat from the venue’s refrigeration plant is captured and reused to heat other building spaces, the swimming pool in the adjacent aquatics centre, and domestic hot water for the facility. Waste heat from the swimming pool area is also recovered through the aquatic centre’s ventilation system.
After the Games, the centre will be operated by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, which will enjoy the cost savings of reusing waste heat.
“This type of heat exchange is typical of our other venues, which use other sources of waste heat,” said Duffy.
The Olympic and Paralympic Villages in Vancouver and Whistler will tap waste heat from their municipal wastewater treatment systems and redirect it to provide space and domestic hot water heating.
The False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility was unveiled on January 14, 2010. As well as keeping 2,800 athletes warm in Vancouver during the Games, the utility will serve up to 16,000 residents and businesses when the area is built out.
While this type of heat recapture project is beyond the scope of most individuals, Duffy hopes that VANOC’s commitment to smart resource use serves as a positive example for small-scale climate action.
“We want to make energy efficiency solutions real,” she stated. “That said, we’re lucky to be in a part of Canada that has a real ethos around sustainability.”
For more information, visit VANOC.
