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1/16/09 8:25 AM by Luke Ramirez

I agree with Mr. Jonlin's idea, however there are additional obstacles that must be considered. For example, how will this energy sharing scheme work between a new and an existing facility? There would be a lot of interuption to the existing building in order to tie it in to the new building. I fundamentally think this is a good idea, but maybe not viable in the real world. Is there any precedent for this? Has anyone else tried it? We could benchmark their ideas...

12/31/08 8:54 AM by Duane Jonlin

Most energy use in Seattle buildings goes towards space heating and water heating. Where facilities produce too much heat and have to expend energy on air conditioning (transformers, generators, industrial processes, computer facilities, etc), that heat can be pumped to other nearby buildings that need it, thus saving substantial energy on both ends. We could also exchange energy between office buildings that need cooling during the day and nearby apartments that need heating during the day. Heat producers could sell their energy to the system and heat users could buy heat at attractive rates. However, individual building projects do not have sufficient capital or authority to build such connecting infrastructure between sites. This infrastructure should be the City's responsibility (perhaps contracted to another entity such as Seattle Steam) and could potentially support itself financially through user fees. There are numerous examples of such systems in use world-wide. In order to gain the necessary expertise, it is important that Seattle undertakes one or two pilot projects as soon as possible, and then begins applying that knowledge to additional districts around town, wherever there is a promising match between heat producers and heat consumers. This is all about eliminating unnecessary waste of energy, and will be fundamental to our long-term goal of near-zero fossil fuel usage.

12/15/08 1:22 PM by Jennifer Lail - DPD Green Building

KEY QUESTIONS: ? What role should the City play in facilitating, incentivizing, constructing or operating these systems? ? Should City mandates or incentives consider the source of energy rather than on-site consumption levels when setting efficiency targets? ? What are the appropriate next steps for assessing the viability of thermal solutions?

  3 total comments