Did you know the Blatchford neighbourhood’s entire heating and cooling needs are met by recycled, shared energy? Here’s why that’s good news for homeowners.
1. Save on expensive air conditioning
One system takes care of your heating and cooling. No need to buy a costly air conditioner or draw significant electricity to run it.
2. Reduce your impact on the electricity grid
The system gives residents a year-round temperature of between 10 and 20°C. Need to adjust your home’s temperature above or below that? Just use your most energy efficient ground source heat pump to make up the small temperature difference.
3. Harness the efficiency of a heat pump
Ground source heat pumps are the most efficient heating/cooling option on the market – and they come already-installed in Blatchford homes that are connected to the District Energy Sharing System (DESS). Heat pumps have a 300 to 400% efficiency rating in electrical use for thermal energy production all year. Compare that to the less than 100% efficiency of a typical natural gas furnace.
4. Reduce financial stress with steadier energy rates
Using renewable fuel sources means eventually avoiding the risk of fossil-fuel market fluctuations and carbon levies.
5. Increase energy efficiency gains with your Blatchford home
Living in a high-performance green building means your heating and cooling efficiency is even more optimized – including less chance of thermal energy escaping through outside walls.
6. Rest safely with no risk of carbon monoxide leaks
Heat pumps don’t use a combustion process.
7. Enjoy steady heating and cooling
No more air blasting on and off – the system provides an even, comfortable temperature.
8. Get peace of mind from reliability
The system is designed to meet customer needs regardless of Edmonton’s dramatic temperature swings with efficient heat in wintertime and cooling on those hot days of the year.
9. Take the guesswork out of planet-friendly homeownership
Want to live sustainably, but not sure where to start? A DESS-connected Blatchford home automatically means your heating and cooling is provided by an efficient system that helps conserve and share renewable energy, and significantly reduces your impact on the planet.
10. Feel good about doing good for the environment
Transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and be part of a movement that means something both today and far into the future. Blatchford homes release fewer greenhouse gas emissions than homes in a typical community – and residents can feel pride in that.
What is District Energy?
District Energy Sharing Systems are centralized systems where thermal energy is distributed from a central location to multiple buildings in a neighbourhood.
How does Blatchford’s District Energy Sharing System work?
Blatchford’s District Energy Sharing System is a highly efficient system that uses renewable energy sources. The first stage of the District Energy Sharing System uses a geoexchange field which harnesses the shallow geothermal energy below the earth’s surface.
This geoexchange field in the community consists of 570 boreholes that are 150 metres deep. It acts like a massive ground energy battery that ‘charges’ the district energy sharing system.
Once the energy has been harnessed from the geoexchange field, it is sent to the community’s central Energy Centre where it is upgraded to a higher temperature using a highly energy efficient heat pump. This heat energy is now sent via a network of underground pipes to the homes and buildings in the community.
The District Energy Sharing System also allows for energy to be ‘shared’ and recycled throughout the community. Excess heat energy can be removed from one building and put back into the system to be used in another building that needs that heat. Energy can also be shared between seasons. Excess heat energy in the summer can be sent back down into the geoexchange field where it can be stored until it’s needed in the winter.
During certain times of the year, the community heating and cooling energy needs will balance each other out, so no new energy will have to be added to the system. Talk about efficiency.
Essentially, the entire neighbourhood’s heating and cooling needs will be met by recycled, shared energy!
Learn more about Blatchford’s District Energy Sharing System.