Energy | Office of Campus Sustainability

A series of pipes in the uOttawa tunnel network

We are committed to creating an efficient campus that reduces its impact on the environment.

Target

Reduce energy consumption by 2% annually despite the growth of the campus. This means reducing energy consumption to 627,000 GJ by 2017.

Progress

In 2013, energy consumption dropped by 0.5% despite the addition of 6,000 square metres of space.

PROGRAMS

EcoProsperity
EcoProsperity is a program to implement deep-energy retrofits on campus. In 2013, the program was responsible for over $3 Million dollars in energy savings. Recently retrofitted buildings include the Morriset Library, Desmarais, Fauteux, Site and Roger Guidon.

District Heating and Cooling
The University of Ottawa’s campus utilizes a district heating and cooling loop. This means all the buildings are connected by tunnels under ground that allows energy to be shared between the power plant and buildings.

Embedded Energy Manager
The University of Ottawa has partnered with Hydro Ontario to employ an embedded energy manager on campus. The embedded energy manager is responsible for reducing electrical consumption by finding energy saving opportunities.

Demand Response 3 (DR3)
During the hottest days of the year, the University is called upon by the Province to reduce its energy consumption to preserve the electrical grid. On these days we implement energy reduction measures which include turning off non-essential lighting and rotating ventilation.