NEWS FEATURE

from HPAC May 2021

UPFRONT

SEE THE LATEST NEWS @ HPACMAG.COM

Rendering of the Zibi community

NET-ZERO COMMUNITY COMING TO THE OTTAWA AREA The federal government together with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has announced a $23 million investment towards the construction of the new district energy (DE) system for Ottawa-Gatineau’s carbon-neutral 34acre Zibi waterfront development.

The National Capital Region’s first net-zero community, the Zibi Community Utility (ZCU) DE system (an equal partnership between Hydro Ottawa and Zibi) will leverage locally-generated hydroelectricity, river-coupled cooling from the Ottawa River and waste industrial heat from the local Kruger Products industrial plant.

All buildings at Zibi will be interconnected through a hydronic loop that will deliver heating and cooling energy generated at the central plant, to be located in the lower level of a 15-storey residential building. The design is based on low temperature (+/-40C) heating water temperatures.

The fully-operational DE system is scheduled to be completed this year, with the entire Zibi community build out slated for 2032. zibi.ca/zcu

FEDERAL BUDGET INCLUDES HOME RETROFIT INCENTIVES The federal government stepped-up its clean-energy initiatives during its spring budget with the announcement of interest-free loans to help Canadians with energy efficient home improvements.

The new funding will build on the 1-million free energy audits and up to MODERN HYDRONICS SUMMIT SUCCESS The 2021 Modern Hydronics Summit, held online March 30 and 31, filled two afternoons and attracted 871 attendees with hydronics enthusiasts logging in from across the country. In total there were nine educational sessions, including keynote addresses from John Siegenthaler on reducing water temperature in existing hydronic systems. Other session topics included: air-to-water heat pumps, snow and ice melt solutions, buffer tanks, energy metering and more. During each scheduled session attendees engaged with speakers via public text chat, and the overSweet Heat winning all feedback on the event was very positive. John entry—residential: Siegenthaler noted: “Kudos to HPAC for pulling this vir-

Riverdale Plumbing. tual conference off so well. Wish we had something like this for hydronics in the U.S.” In addition, winners and first-runners-up of the first ever Sweet Heat installation contest were announced at the Summit. Launched late last year, the contest called Commercial category on hydronic contractors in Canada to share recent instalwinning entry: Rambow lation photos and explain the challenges and creative soMechanical. lutions used. With 31 entries received, the contest was divided into two categories—commercial and residential. The final judging for the contest was performed by Siegenthaler and Robert Bean.

In the commercial category the runner up was Grand Mechanical Solutions of Brantford, Ont., and the winner was Rambow Mechanical of Kelowna, B.C. For the residential category, runner up was Denrite Mechanical of Sturgeon County, Alta., and the winner was Riverdale Plumbing of Toronto. The two winning entries will be featured in the Fall edition of Modern Hydronics, included within the August issue of HPAC magazine.

700,000 grants valued up to $5,000, announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement.

Budget 2021 proposes to provide $4.4 billion on a cash basis ($778.7 million on an accrual basis over five years, starting in 2021-22, with $414.1 million in future years), to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The interest-free loans worth up to $40,000 will help homeowners and landlords undertake retrofits identified through an authorized EnerGuide energy assessment. In combination with grants announced in last Fall’s Economic Statement, the loans will help eligible participants make more costly retrofits.

Also included is a dedicated stream of funding to support low-income homeowners and rental properties serving low-income renters.

The program is expected to be available by summer 2021. More than 200,000 households can take advantage of this opportunity.

Recommendations include: • Replacing oil furnaces or low-efficiency systems with a high efficiency furnace, air source heat pump, or geothermal heat pump. • Installing a high-efficiency water heater or on-site renewable energy like solar panels. canada.ca

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