The University of Toronto is building Canada’s largest urban geo-exchange system underneath its St. George Campus to heat and cool several of its 200-year-old buildings in downtown Toronto.
“This geo-exchange system will help us have a much lighter touch on the world, and if we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.” “We just hit our 200th anniversary at U of T, we plan to be here for at least 200 more, so long-term investments are of interest,” Mr. Saporta said. Mr. Saporta said adapting the old St. George campus buildings to new heat pumps can take a lot of work, as it involves updating electrical panels and mechanical systems. But those issues won’t be as burdensome to the building process as supply chain disruptions and other pandemic complications. On some days during the Omicron wave, 30 per cent of construction workers would be absent from work after being exposed to the virus.