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As part of UVic’s path to net zero by 2040, the DEP Electrification Project is just the beginning. Future initiatives will focus on: 

• Heat Pumps for Climate Resilience: Adding heat pumps to provide both heating and cooling as temperatures change.
• Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems: Improving energy efficiency by recycling waste heat from ventilation.
• Smart Building Automation: Implementing advanced controls to monitor energy use and improve diagnostics.

• Renewable Natural Gas (RNG): Using RNG strategically to lower emissions without major infrastructure change.
• Exploring New Technologies: Monitoring developments in district energy systems to adapt and scale sustainable solutions. 

By achieving the 2030 interim emissions target, UVic will have more time to align energy upgrades with capital planning and aging infrastructure replacements. 

2. Why use electric boilers instead of other technologies?

• Optimizes performance and cost to secure external funding.
• Leverages proven and reliable technology that does not add complexity to the system, which aligns with UVic's priorities. 
• Defers campus-level electrical service upgrades and associated capital costs.
• Mitigates high operating costs by limiting peak electrical demand and consumption costs.
• Adds resilience against interruptions to the supply of either electricity or natural gas. 
• Resolution of DEP operational issues including vibrational noise complaints that constrained boiler use at night, and summer performance short cycling that increased boiler wear and reduced plant energy efficiency.
• Set to achieve UVic's 2030 emissions reduction goal of 50%, thus providing "longer runway" for UVic to investigate and implement other technologies while aligning to capital plan.

 3. What is a District Energy System (DES)? 

While there are many different kinds, the most traditional type of DES (which is also what UVic has) generates heating water in a central location, before distributing to nearby buildings to heat spaces. Since the DES serves multiple buildings, the DES can typically use larger and more efficient equipment to generate heating water. In addition, since connected buildings have loads that do not occur at the same time, the DES capacity can "right sized" based on the diversified load, thus offering some economies of scale.

4. How does UVic prioritize funding for sustainability projects like decarbonizing the energy plant?

Sustainability projects like decarbonizing the district energy plant are prioritized through the alignment with strategic goals, insitutional priorities, financial feasibility, overall impact, and leveraging multiple internal and external funding sources. Major projects like these are often integrated into our capital planning and budgeting process. 

For existing buildings and infrastructure, the university priorities replacement of end-of life building systems and retiring natural gas equipment to switch to low-carbon alternatives. When there is new construction, we focus on building better by focusing on building electrification and high efficiency building envelope to reduce energy demand. This is captured through the green building design standards we follow, like LEED V4Gold.

The process involves strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and often developing phased projects so that funding and financial impact can be spread over several years. External funding and incentives are a key factor in ensuring the success of these project, such as federal, provincial, or local grants, subsidies, etc.

5. Are there interim solutions UVic is considering to reduce emission while transitioning?

Our energy and emissions reduction work has and continues to be an ongoing process. The Energy Management team within Facilities Management undertakes multiple energy efficiency projects each year through the COntinuous Optimization Program, which has historically reduced campus emissions by 1-2% annually.

Outside of this project, we continue to transition away from the use of natural gas when building systems reach end-of-life or when equipment needs to be replaced. For example, we replaced natural gas boilers with a heat pump system in the National Centre for Indigenous Laws and Fraser Building Expansion project. Enhancements to our energy metering and building automozation systems helps us identify energy conservation opportunities by being able to access and analyze more detailed energy data. New building design has also prioritized very low emitting technologies. When we are planning new construction or major renovations, Campus Planning and Facilities Management identify building project requirements that meet or exceed energy and green building design standards. Since 2019 new buildings including Cheko'nien House, Sngequ House, Engineering Expansion and the National Centre of Indigenous Laws will increase the campus floor area by 11% but will contribute less than 1% to UVic's total GHG emissions. We also continue to seek out funding and partnership opportunities. 

Learn more about our energy and emissions reduction here.