The University of Windsor has installed new technology that is expected to reduce heating and cooling bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The Dual Drive Chiller was installed in the Energy Conversion Centre on Patricia Street. It uses electricity complemented by alternative steam energy.
The device will reduce the university's carbon dioxide emissions by around 8,300 tonnes each year, the equivalent of removing 2,000 cars off the road.
It will also save the university around $1-million annually.
"Every dollar that we can save, that we're not spending on electricity, we can spend on student projects, student experience, scholarships and bursaries. We've been making really meaningful investments in those areas as our enrollment has grown," said Gillian Heisz, Vice President of Finance and Operations.
The project cost $8.2 million to complete. Enbridge Gas provided $200,000 for the project through its incentive programs.
"We had a budget for electricity in our base budget for the last five years, and as we generate savings from [energy saving efforts], and of course, we had significant savings during COVID when the campus was quieter. We saved that money and spent it here," said Heisz.
The installation of the equipment is part of the university's Campus Carbon Neutral Master Plan. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent in seven years. It's anticipated this hybrid chiller will help the university achieve 82 per cent of that target.
"It's one of the largest campus sustainability initiatives we have ever undertaken as a university and I'm also proud to say that it's the first of its kind of any university in all of Canada," said University President Robert Gordon.
The university would like to be carbon neutral by 2050.
