Temporary Energy Centre (TEC)

Project Snapshot

Budget: $1.15 million
Occupancy: March 2014
Project Manager: UBC Project Services – Sam Orr

Project Summary

Set on University Boulevard between the Neville Scarfe and Henry Angus buildings, the TEC started heating buildings in March 2014.

To construct the TEC, two steam to hot water heat exchangers were assembled inside a 20-foot container to provide up to 15 megawatts of heat to the campus. The heat exchangers convert the steam from UBC’s powerhouse into hot water to allow campus buildings to change over early to the new Academic District Energy System (ADES), before its completion in late 2015.

UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) designed a latticework cover for the TEC which was added in August 2014.

Sustainable Features

As a critical milestone in the ADES project, the TEC allows UBC to decommission steam lines early. With additional buildings being connected each month, the TEC also reduces UBC’s environmental impact ahead of the full ADES project’s completion. With every building turned over to hot water early, UBC uses less energy to heat the campus and produces less greenhouse gases.