The Pearl Street Energy Centre project has been honoured with an Award of Distinction at the Ontario Engineering Project Awards by the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC).

Buildings in Toronto generate more than half of the city's greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies, like Enwave's expanded heat delivery system, will play a critical role in reducing our cumulative carbon footprint.

This project exemplifies cutting-edge engineering and design, integrating robust energy solutions that challenge traditional methods.  Our focus on sustainable and efficient energy use through advanced engineering practices not only supports but advances the environmental goals of urban energy systems. HH Angus was the Prime Consultant and Mechanical and Electrical Design Engineers for the Pearl Street Energy Centre (PSEC) project. We also acted as the design team project managers.

When fully utilized, Enwave's low carbon heating facility will provide enough low-carbon heating to reduce emissions in Toronto by approximately 11,600 tCO2e, the equivalent of converting over 10 million square feet of office space to net zero.

As part of the TransformTO Climate Action Plan, which outlines ways to improve the city’s health, grow the economy and improve social equity, district energy was identified as a key strategy. In 2017, Enwave was selected as a partner by Toronto’s City Council to help accelerate the implementation of the plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make the city more resilient.

Enwave’s district energy system is the largest in North America. It serves 180 buildings comprising more than 40 million square feet through 4 interconnected downtown plants and 40 kilometres of underground pipes. The addition of the PSEC to the district energy system will expand Toronto’s district heating and cooling distribution and capacity using low carbon technologies, by installing 3600 tons of cooling and 62,000 Mbh (thousand BTU’s per hour) of heating using water source heat pumps (heat reclaim chillers). Enwave’s ‘Green Heat’ offering is also being made possible by the installation of new assets that utilize waste heat while producing cooling and hot water.

The site offered some interesting complexities to be solved by the design team. The first was space constraints. As the existing Energy Centre did not have any space to house the new equipment, the only available space that could be used for the addition is a small corner on the lot where buried fuel oil tanks are present. A design was implemented to build over the tanks, one that would comply with the requirements of the Ontario Building Code and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority by leaving the ground level open for future removal of the tanks. All disciplines had to overcome many challenges due to space limitations, including structural, architectural, mechanical, and electrical.

A challenge for the mechanical design team centered on how to integrate the new heat pump system with the existing heating and cooling district system, as well as how to stage equipment without impacting Enwave’s existing customers and their stringent temperature requirements. Our solution was to design a false loading system to start and stage on additional heat pumps in order to avoid temperature spikes which would have negative impacts on customers’ critical data centre equipment.

According to the Canada Green Building Council, “it’s estimated that residential, commercial, and institutional buildings contribute 17% of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions today, and when building materials and construction are included, this level approaches 30%”. As the designers and engineers of these facilities, the AEC industry has an outsize role to play in ensuring the success of sustainable development.

HH Angus has a proven track record of promoting innovative and sustainable engineering solutions. We are committed to providing engineering solutions that reduce energy consumption and reduce or eliminate greenhouse gases.