Guest bio
Business Development Manager for Danfoss Heating, Jeff Flannery holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University and has been in the HVAC industry for more than 25 years. Past positions include Senior Engineer/Project Lead, Senior Project Manager, Senior Product Manager, and Global Product Manager.
Episode summary
Continuing their conversation from last episode, John and Jeff discuss district energy, this time with a focus on a practical example: Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. Listen how district energy was applied and what benefits were realized from its utilization.
Main points
- District energy is a heating or cooling system for multiple buildings. Rather than each building creating its own heating or cooling energy, thermal energy is generated centrally and distributed.
- Thermal energy is moved using steam or hot and chilled water through a series of interconnected pipes.
- Within each building, energy is transferred by an energy transfer station.
- District energy systems are far more energy efficient than traditional systems, but aging systems may still require upgrades to continue to be as efficient as possible. This was the challenge that Sheridan College faced with their district energy system.
- Despite using district energy, the six boiler plants were too large for the buildings they served, making them inefficient.
- The system was updated to use a single central Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, providing both electricity and heat to all buildings on campus.
- Electricity is produced by natural gas-fueled internal combustion engine. Waste heat from the engine is captured and concentrated by a pipe network, distributing water at temperatures around 212 °F.
- By using a single plant to produce both electricity and heat, Sheridan’s district energy system was now much more energy efficient. And thanks to the new, updated controls, the system can adjust to handle part-load conditions better than ever.
- Additionally, the new system provides substantially more date on usage and performance, enabling the college to ensure system efficiency for years to come.
- The market for district energy continues to grow here in the US. Being able to reuse waste heat not only increases efficiency, but also dramatically reduces a system’s environmental impact, making district energy attractive in more ways than one.
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Links
Learn more about district energy
Learn more about district heating and cooling in commercial buildings
Listen to the full podcast on Soundcloud here
Listen on YouTube
For more information and additional episodes of the Envisioneering Exchange podcast, visit https://www.danfoss.com/en-us/about-danfoss/insights-for-tomorrow/envisioneering-exchange/
