City of Chilliwack’s new energy-recovery system is piping waste energy from its ice rinks to heat the pools and hot tubs next door.
The recently completed $945,000 retrofitting project at the Chilliwack Coliseum and the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre received $700,000 in funding, from FortisBC ($500,000) and BC Hydro ($200,000).
The new system has earned the city the title of “Clean Energy Champion” from BC Hydro for making energy efficient upgrades to its major civic facilities and cutting greenhouse gases.
The project is expected to reduce emissions by 55 per cent, and save more than $72,000 per year in energy costs, according to BC Hydro spokesperson Mora Scott.
Is the Chilliwack project unique in B.C.?
“It looks like the City of Chilliwack drew inspiration from a heat-recovery project at the Aldergrove Credit Union Community Centre, which features a large pool – Metro Vancouver’s only year-round outdoor pool – heated in part by recovered heat from the adjacent ice rink,” said Mora in an email. “That said, the city’s project is an excellent example of reducing wasted energy to cut emissions and save money.”
It’s not just the Leisure Centre pools that will be heated that way but also hot tubs, dehumidifiers, and hot water tanks.
“One goal in our corporate climate action plan is to accelerate facility retrofits,” said Mayor Ken Popove, adding he’s thankful for support from FortisBC and BC Hydro, through the CleanBC program.
It was due to the funding, as well as the close proximity of the Coliseum to the Landing Leisure Centre, “that we were able to take a step in the right direction with this project,” the mayor added.
The system extracts waste heat from the Coliseum’s refrigeration system and sends it through 200 metres of underground piping to a heat pump in the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre.
Coun. Jason Lum commented on Chilliwack being named a “champion” of clean energy in a post:
“Nice for the City of Chilliwack to get some recognition for this project! I’m excited to see us move forward on our next climate action initiatives,” Lum enthused.
FortisBC official Amit Aujla had high praise for the project: “Heating pools, hot tubs and other amenities with heat that would otherwise be wasted is just smart thinking.
“It’s impressive to see the City of Chilliwack lead by example through this energy efficiency project which is reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.”
For details on the city’s climate action plans, chilliwack.com/ClimatePlan.
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