What the carbon box actually does

The Temporary Energy Centre, better known as the “carbon box,” is a lot like viewing a sports car — it looks amazing from the outside, but you have no idea what’s happening on the inside. 

The mysterious box served as a temporary hub for campus energy as the new energy centre was completed.

The structure — designed by UBC architecture students — has been decommissioned since the fall of 2015 because campus energy production has been transferred to the recently completed Campus Energy Centre (CEC).

Both the carbon box and CEC are part of UBC’s ongoing initiative to improve sustainability on campus. No longer relying on the older, less efficient system of steam heating, a hot water system was completed in 2015. Using hot water pipes is more efficient because they are better insulated and have less heat loss.

Both UBC’s energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by more than 20 per cent after the switch. The project to convert all campus buildings to the new hot water heating system was part of a larger plan called the $88 million District Energy System (DES).

The Campus Energy Centre is expected to save UBC $5.5 million annually.

The switch from the carbon box to the Campus Energy Centre did not happen overnight. Over 18 kilometres of pipes had to be laid down to supply 180 UBC buildings hot water. The centre also needed time to build and test its new heating system.

You don’t need to take a Gateman lecture to know the more buildings are upgraded, the more money UBC saves. The carbon box helped facilitate those savings by converting existing steam from the old UBC powerhouse to supply buildings ready for the switch. The moment a building was upgraded, it would be hooked up to the carbon box and the savings would start flowing in. 

Now that the energy centre is fully online, the beloved but poorly understood carbon box continues its work. Since it is relatively new, it can still continue operation. The box is now being used so more buildings on south campus can be converted to hot water.

In the future, it may be sold to a government facility or university campus looking to make a similar transition.

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