Halifax | 7
gram, the geothermal vault harvests cold
energy from seawater during the winter
months. The seawater is then chilled in an
underground rock mass, and the stored ther-
mal energy later used (in warmer months)
to help meet air conditioning needs. It is
projected that the Alderney 5 vault will save
$350,000 per year in energy costs and avoid
$800,000 in future replacement costs.
Although the Alderney 5 Vault is the first
of its kind to use geothermal storage on such
a grand scale, multiple offices in downtown
Halifax take water from the harbor and use it
in their air conditioning systems, says Dun-
can. In this, and many other ways, Duncan
is proud that Halifax has focused so intently
on mitigating environmental impact while
decreasing utility cost. At the most funda-
mental level, such initiatives are more pru-
dent in terms of public dollars, ultimately
costing less for the taxpayer, which allows
the government to direct the savings into
other programs that will benefit residents.
“Solar City”, for example, is a new program
offered by the HRM whereby they facilitate
loans to homeowners who want to convert
to solar water heating systems. The loans
have either very low or no interest, and are
financed over a 10-year period. This simple
strategy has caught on in the home building
