The International District Energy Association (IDEA) is thrilled to announce that Enwave Energy Corporation has received the Joseph M. Brillhart Innovation Award at IDEA2024, the organization’s annual conference and trade show held in Orlando, Florida, in June. Enwave, along with its partner Continual Energy Inc., was honored for their project “Royal York Hotel District Decarbonization,” which showcases their efforts to decarbonize the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. This award exemplifies the pinnacle of public and private collaboration, emphasizing the value of shared best practices, new technologies, and collaborative efforts within the industry.
The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, an iconic establishment in downtown Toronto since 1929, sought to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels by 80%. Enwave, in partnership with Continual, achieved this by replacing the hotel’s existing chiller plant with a new one connected to its Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) system for cooling needs. For heating, they implemented a modular heat pump system connected to Enwave’s district loop in Toronto.
This innovative integration of the DLWC system and heat pumps allows Enwave to repurpose recovered heat from cooling customers in the district, which was previously lost to the atmosphere, providing low-carbon heating to the Royal York Hotel. This project represents the next generation of district energy solutions.
In February 2022, Enwave, the district energy system owner and operator, and Continual, the design builder, were contracted to develop a new heating and cooling platform for the nearly 100-year-old Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The team created a solution leveraging year-round recovered heat from Enwave’s DLWC network, which serves over 100 buildings in downtown Toronto, along with Ontario’s clean electricity grid. This solution replaced the existing on-site chiller plant with a connection to Enwave’s system and an advanced oil-free modular heat pump system.
The new system uses return chilled water, typically released into the atmosphere in a conventional chiller plant, and converts it into two grades of heat for space heating and domestic hot water. The hotel has significantly reduced its steam consumption, avoiding more than 7,000 tons of CO2e per year, equivalent to removing 1,558 cars from the road. This innovative district heat pump solution also enabled the historic hotel to receive the prestigious Canadian Green Building Council Zero Carbon Building Performance standard, a notable achievement for a building of its age.
“By repurposing waste heat from cooling customers in the district, we have unlocked a sustainable solution that defies convention,” said Carlyle Coutinho, CEO of Enwave Energy Corporation. “Our approach tackles the pressing issue of carbon emissions and underscores our commitment to being a catalyst for positive change. This district heat recovery solution represents the next frontier in urban sustainability.”
IDEA also awarded Honorable Mention designations to three other exceptional submissions: “Urban Cooling Improved Energy Efficiency Through Integrated Metering Solutions” and “MV VSD Retrofit Project at BB2 DCP” submitted by Empower, and “City Waterfront Building Energy Retrofit,” submitted by Ecosystem and the City of Toronto.
This is the inaugural year the award was given as the Joseph M. Brillhart Innovation Award, named in honor of the beloved former IDEA Board Chair and Executive Committee Member who launched the award 10 years ago. Brillhart passed away in 2023, and the IDEA Board unanimously voted to name the award after him.
