City staff is considering a proposal that could put Centretown’s snow to work in the summer.
Gloucester-Southgate city Coun. Diane Deans says she wants Ottawa too look into the possibility of using snow stored during the winter to replace some air conditioning in the spring and summer.
This form of snow storage is being used in Sundsvall, Sweden, to air-condition a hospital, but it would be a new energy source for Ottawa, says Frederick Michel, director of earth and environmental sciences at Carleton University. Michel has studied this and other forms of thermal energy storage for 20 years.
“We need to be looking at ways of getting away from high cost fuels and non-renewable fuels and looking at new technologies,” he says.
Deans’ proposal directs city staff and Energy Ottawa to explore cold energy in the hopes of reducing the city’s operating costs.
Energy Ottawa representative Yvonne Brohm says they have to wait for the city staff’s approval before they can work out details for such a project.
The main concern to consider before any plan is adopted, says Michel, is cost.
“How can we update old technologies so that they become feasible economically?” asks Michel. The main goal of cold energy for Ottawa would be to shift away from the high-energy costs involved with air conditioning at peak periods, during the middle of the day in summer, towards off-peak periods.
Other considerations are more technical, he says. Ottawa’s cooling period is a factor, which is the number of months that buildings require air conditioning. Other issues include transportation costs of moving snow from different areas into specified snow dumps, such as the Bayview dump.
Michel says he believes cold energy is feasible in Ottawa. But he says he is waiting for more details from this preliminary study to determine how much snow would be needed and which buildings could be used.
A demonstration project might be the next step once the staff decides if the idea is worth consideration.
“This could be something that would help put Ottawa on the map in terms of energy projects, new technologies and new ideas for the country as a whole,” Michel says. “The potential is tremendous.”
Last year, Ottawa received more than 400 cm of snow, almost breaking the record of 441 cm.
Although last year was exceptional, Ottawa definitely has enough snow, says Michel. “I know in the past I’ve heard people often having little wagers in the offices as to when the snow would finally disappear.”
Deans requested a report from city staff by the spring. If they like the idea of cold energy, residents could start to see snow 12 months of the year.