Timeline: 2004 onwards.
A number of City-owned buildings, including City Hall, Metro Hall, Police Headquarters, Union Station and Old City Hall, are kept cool in the summer by an innovative deep lake water cooling system. Provided by Enwave Energy Corporation, the system uses cold water from Lake Ontario to cool buildings, replacing conventional chillers and cooling towers.
The system is ideal for heritage buildings such as Union Station and Old City Hall since cooling can be provided without major renovations.
The use of deep lake water cooling at City Hall, Metro Hall, and Police Headquarters reduces electricity use by 12 million kWh annually.
2021 update:
There is continued growth in demand for cooling in Toronto’s downtown core. In 2021, construction is underway to add a fourth intake to the DWLC system which will
increase the potential of the current Enwave (district energy system) cooling capacity by
26,000 tonnes. This expansion is estimated to reduce the demand on the electricity
grid by up to 0.5 kW per tonne of cooling load delivered, resulting in up to 70% peak
demand savings in electricity compared to a mechanical chiller plant. The DLWC system
uses water from Lake Ontario to provide cooling to more than 80 buildings including
critical care facilities, government buildings, data centers, universities, and commercial and residential towers, within Toronto’s downtown core. The DLWC system is an innovative partnership between the City and Enwave Energy Corporation where infrastructure is shared for mutual benefits, principally reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy resilience.
Learn more Explore more actions
Municipality: Toronto
Action: Net zero carbon district energy systems
Category: Energy