Enwave
Encyclopedia
Enwave is a private corporation jointly owned by the City of Toronto
and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System
and is one of the largest district energy systems in North America. Enwave was formed after the restructuring of the Toronto District Heating Corporation.
system uses cold water from Lake Ontario
to cool buildings in downtown Toronto. Some customers include the Toronto-Dominion Centre
, Royal Bank Plaza
, RBC Centre
, Metro Toronto Convention Centre
, Air Canada Centre
and 151 Front Street, the most advanced data centre in Canada. The system has enough power to air condition 100 office buildings or 32 million square feet (3 million m²) of building space. It is the largest renewable lake source cooling system of its kind in North America
.
The cooling system is a clean, renewable, and reliable energy source. Compared to traditional air-conditioning, Deep Lake Water Cooling reduces electricity use by 75%, and will eliminate 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 8,000 cars off the streets.
Enwave draws icy-cold water (4°C/39°F) from a depth of 83 metres (272.3 ft) below the surface of Lake Ontario
. Through a heat transfer process at Toronto's John Street Pumping Station, heat from the air conditioning of major buildings in Toronto's downtown core is not returned directly to the lake, once it has been run through the heat exchange system. The Enwave system only uses water that is destined to meet the city's domestic water needs. Therefore, the Enwave system does not pollute the lake with a plume of waste heat.
This system was officially launched on August 17, 2004 at Steam Whistle Brewing, one of Enwave's customers. In support of Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC), the launch was attended by actor and renewable energy activist Alec Baldwin
, Ontario Minister of Energy Dwight Duncan
, Canadian Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Joe Volpe, and Toronto Deputy Mayor Sandra Bussin, among other business leaders and government officials. The launch was delayed as a publicity stunt by approximately one month to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 blackout
.
The Canadian Urban Institute (www.canurb.org), a Toronto-based non-profit organization engaged in applied urban research, spearheaded the original pre-feasibility study for Toronto's deep lake water cooling, as well as efforts to popularize the idea and move it into implementation.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System
OMERS
OMERS, officially the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is a pension fund created by statute in 1962 to handle the retirement benefits of local government employees in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has become one of the largest institutional investors in Canada. About 70% of...
and is one of the largest district energy systems in North America. Enwave was formed after the restructuring of the Toronto District Heating Corporation.
Deep Lake Water Cooling System
Enwave's Deep Lake Water CoolingDeep lake water cooling
Deep lake water cooling uses cold water pumped from the bottom of a lake as a heat sink for climate control systems. Because heat pump efficiency improves as the heat sink gets colder, deep lake water cooling can reduce the electrical demands of large cooling systems where it is available...
system uses cold water from Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
to cool buildings in downtown Toronto. Some customers include the Toronto-Dominion Centre
Toronto-Dominion Centre
The Toronto-Dominion Centre, or Centre, is a cluster of buildings in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of six towers and a pavilion covered in bronze-tinted glass and black painted steel. It serves as the global headquarters of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, as well as providing office and...
, Royal Bank Plaza
Royal Bank Plaza
Royal Bank Plaza in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is the de facto headquarters of the Royal Bank of Canada. The building shares with the Fairmont Royal York Hotel the block in Toronto's financial district bordered by Bay, Front, York, and Wellington streets....
, RBC Centre
RBC Centre
RBC Centre is a , 43-storey office tower completed on June 2009 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the outskirts of the traditionally defined financial district, owned and managed by Cadillac Fairview Corporation...
, Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre , located in Downtown Toronto, Ontario at 255 Front Street West, has of space. The convention centre was completed in October 1984 and is home to the 1330-seat John Bassett Theatre...
, Air Canada Centre
Air Canada Centre
The Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located on Bay Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The arena is popularly known as the ACC or the Hangar ....
and 151 Front Street, the most advanced data centre in Canada. The system has enough power to air condition 100 office buildings or 32 million square feet (3 million m²) of building space. It is the largest renewable lake source cooling system of its kind in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
The cooling system is a clean, renewable, and reliable energy source. Compared to traditional air-conditioning, Deep Lake Water Cooling reduces electricity use by 75%, and will eliminate 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 8,000 cars off the streets.
Enwave draws icy-cold water (4°C/39°F) from a depth of 83 metres (272.3 ft) below the surface of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. Through a heat transfer process at Toronto's John Street Pumping Station, heat from the air conditioning of major buildings in Toronto's downtown core is not returned directly to the lake, once it has been run through the heat exchange system. The Enwave system only uses water that is destined to meet the city's domestic water needs. Therefore, the Enwave system does not pollute the lake with a plume of waste heat.
This system was officially launched on August 17, 2004 at Steam Whistle Brewing, one of Enwave's customers. In support of Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC), the launch was attended by actor and renewable energy activist Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
, Ontario Minister of Energy Dwight Duncan
Dwight Duncan
Dwight Duncan, MPP is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1995, and is the Minister of Finance in the government of Dalton McGuinty...
, Canadian Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Joe Volpe, and Toronto Deputy Mayor Sandra Bussin, among other business leaders and government officials. The launch was delayed as a publicity stunt by approximately one month to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 blackout
Northeast Blackout of 2003
The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada on Thursday, August 14, 2003, just before 4:10 p.m....
.
The Canadian Urban Institute (www.canurb.org), a Toronto-based non-profit organization engaged in applied urban research, spearheaded the original pre-feasibility study for Toronto's deep lake water cooling, as well as efforts to popularize the idea and move it into implementation.