Sewage Heat Recovery

Abstract

For the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in the Athletes Village a system of using latent heat in sewer pipes were used. Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU) is a low temperature community energy system that brings domestic hot water and space heating to neighbouring buildings by means of heat extraction by heat pumps located at the sewage pump station. This Sewage Heat Recovery System is a less proven technology compared to Geo-exchange (Geothermal Heating). So far there have only been three systems world wide that recover heat from raw sewage. There is one in Tokyo, Japan and two in Oslo, Norway and now one in the Athletes Village in Vancouver, BC. This is the first system to be developed in North America.

The principle objective of this research study is to distinguish what would be the most energy efficient way to meet the heating and cooling needs of a Fire hall; Geo-exchange (Geothermal Heating) or a Sewage Heat Recovery System? And which one would result in being the most cost effective?

The plumbing layout of the Fire Hall has already been designed in a Fall Semester Course called ARET 250 – Plumbing design. Modifications to the plumbing arrangement will be made to the sanitary system, for at the moment the grey water and black water are incorporated into one system and need to be separated into two in order to apply the Sewage Heat Recovery System. This study will also incorporate the use of solar panels that will in sequence heat the domestic water supply of the Fire Hall.

All though Sewage Heat Recovery and Geo-exchange are very similar in design and functionality Chris Baber (the NEU Manager, from the City of Vancouver) states that raw sewage heat recovery would be more applicable and more useful for residential buildings and is more efficient due to the higher temperature and lower installation costs. With this concept in mind, the goal is to gather comparable data in relation to the application of the systems, the operation in which it works and the conclusions drawn by each systems energy efficiency. This data will be presented in form of auto-cad drawings, and comparisons in cost by use of spreadsheets.


References:

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id33548/watersewer
http://www.thechallengeseries.ca/chapter-05/neighbourhood-energy-utility/

Aret 250 - Plumbing Design Fire Hall

Top: Front Elevation
Bottom Left: Office Side Elevation
Bottom Right: Side Elevation

Proposed Thesis Statement

Hey guys, so I am still fiddling around with my thesis statement, if you have any ideas on how I can make it better please post a comment.

Thesis Statement: How energy efficient and cost effictive is a Sewage Heat Recovery System combined with a solar heating for domestic water supply in a standard Fire Hall?

Sewage with a little Humour

Building Selection

So lately I have been racking my brain trying to figure out where I could apply this Sewage Heat Recovery System to. Suggestions were given to either do a residential home, an Neighbourhood area much like Sun Rivers or like the Athletes Village in Vancouver and/or the possibility of putting the system into the New Learning Building here on the TRU Campus. However, I talked to Walter Prescott (a Mechanical/Electrical Instructor at TRU) and he suggested that I use the Fire Hall we designed the plumping for in our ARET 250 course. It's not a huge building but a decent enough size that I could apply this system to. I already have the basic drawings of the Fire Hall and of course I will have to make quite a few changes to the plumbing design and then apply the system.

Latent Heat = Sewage Heat Recovery

Being in the Architectural and Engineering Technology Program (ARET), we learn to incorporate "Green Living" or "Green quality products" into our design and construction of Residential and Commercial Buildings. We also see that in order to think GREEN, you have to start off small and work your way up. True, in fact with everything else we do.
This is why Sewage Heat Recovery is so interesting, you take a small concept like the waste that we deposit daily and turn it into something huge that is beneficial to our way of living and for the environment!

Sewage Heat Recovery is a less proven technology compared to the energy source of biomass. So far there have only been 3 systems world wide that recover heat from raw sewage. One in Tokyo, Japan and two in Oslo, Norway and now one in Vancouver, BC. Based on an Article writen in April 27,2009 by Jean Sorensen, the system was designed for the athlete`s village and for the residents that live in the False Creek Area. The Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU) system is able to service an estimated 16,000 people which include residential, commericial and institutional facilities in an area of 32 hectares.

With this information, I hope to discover the advantages of Sewage Heat Recovery compared to Geothermal Heating and the application to an area much like Kamloops. And possibly answer the questions of whether it can be applied to an existing system, whether it`s causing more harm then good to the environment.

Info:
http://www.thechallengeseries.ca/chapter-05/neighbourhood-energy-utility/
http://canmetenergy-canmetenergie.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/eng/buildings_communities/communities/publications/false_creek.html
http://vancouver.ca/sustainability/building_neu.htm

Latent Heat in Sewer Pipes

For the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in the Athletes Village a system of using latent heat in sewer pipes was used. Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU) is a low temperature community energy system that brings domestic hot water and space heating to neighbouring buildings by means of heat extraction by heat pumps located at the sewage pump station. With this being the first system ever developed in North America, I plan on incorporating this type of heating into my research report.