Project Background and Goals

The UBC Farm is a learning institution managed by the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems. They are currently in the planning stage of building a new farm centre which will include classrooms, a food processing area, a dining hall, and a commercial kitchen. Our focus is on the commercial kitchen, which will be used by local farmers, community members, and Food & Nutrition LFS students. The kitchen will meet food safe standards. This, in combination with the demand for local food, will ensure that the kitchen will experience a lot of use; it is expected to be used six days out of the week or roughly 75 hours per week.

UBC Farm (Source: http://ubcfarm.ubc.ca/about/farm-features/)

Their building is still in the design stages; our CIVL 202 CBEL group has been asked to contribute conceptual designs for a heat recovery system for their commercial kitchen. The UBC Farm has a focus on sustainability and as a result they are exploring energy efficient options. During our meeting with Veronik Campbell, the Academic Coordinator for the UBC Farm, she provided us with a preliminary proposed layout of the building. We are to evaluate energy flow in and out of the kitchen, study how much heat is produced by similar commercial kitchens, and provide designs of how the energy could be recycled.

Next Steps

While reviewing some farm centre plans, we determined that the primary appliances that produce significant amounts of heat are two walk in coolers and one commercial size stove. However, we will study other appliances in more depth once we receive an extended equipment list from Ms. Campbell. Furthermore, we are going to research other equipment that will produce large amounts of heat by looking into pre-existing commercial kitchens.

We are currently at the brainstorming stage of our design; we are exploring methods of capturing and transferring heat, and ways of using the heat. Some possible ways of using this recycled heat is to transfer it to water, classroom space and greenhouses. Our client is also interested in directing heat to outdoor classrooms but our initial response is there are more efficient uses for the recycled heat. As a result, we will be researching heat transfer systems and energy use in spaces relevant to the new farm centre as well as selecting appropriate methods of recovering and recycling excess heat. Upon completion of the research and design process, our findings and recommendations for the new farm centre will be presented to Ms. Campbell in the form of a report. We look forward to working on the project further over the next few weeks.