Timeline

  • 2009
    Project Start
  • 2012
    Construction Complete

The Partnership

Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC) is one of the largest private non-profit housing providers in Canada and recognized as a leader in the development and management of affordable housing. 

 The Beaver Barracks redevelopment project was seen as an opportunity to revitalize a previously vacant lot into a vibrant mixed-income housing community. 

Corix and CCOC’s missions align with the betterment of communities. The Beaver Barracks redevelopment reflects this commitment, with its focus on social and environmental sustainability extending to the energy system design and underscoring the advancement of community well-being. 

The Opportunity

The project provided the opportunity to integrate a low-carbon energy solution for low- and moderate-income residents. It also demonstrates how high-performance buildings can meet internationally recognized building environmental sustainability standards while remaining accessible and affordable.

The Solution

In 2009, Corix developed and began operating a low-carbon geoexchange district energy system to provide domestic hot water, heating and cooling to the community’s residents. 

Geoexchange technology leverages the earth’s natural, renewable thermal energy. By acting as a heat sink, it provides heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. This innovative approach uses the underground geothermal field beneath the development, comprising 60 boreholes drilled vertically at depths of 450 feet each, totalling 27,000 feet.

The Energy System

The heart of the system resides in the central energy plant, strategically located within an underground parking garage. Water-to-water ground-source heat pumps extract and distribute heat exchange fluid through a district energy loop housed discreetly within the mechanical rooms of the parking facility.

During the winter, the heat stored in the ground is transferred through the vertical piping network to the ground-source heat pumps. In the summer, the process is reversed, with the heat pump moving heat from buildings to the ground. Year-round comfort, minimal environmental impact.