Riverview Hospital is known for many things - most notably its century-long history as a place of healing for the mentally ill, its famed arboretum and manicured grounds, and the property's striking architectural gems - but the steam plant, towering over Lougheed Highway just west of Pitt River Road, isn't one of them.
The steam plant is that large, blue behemoth that just about every Tri-City commuter has driven past and, while it can fairly be described as ugly, it's a powerhouse in every sense of the word, having supplied at its peak 27 buildings (and 10 cottages) at Riverview via 28,500 feet of underground pipes.
But what makes it unique, other than its comparatively lacklustre architectural merit, is its status as a district energy system. Back when it was built in 1924, the notion that a central building could heat a web of surrounding buildings was pretty state-of-the-art.
"This was really leading edge when it was built," said Coquitlam Coun. Craig Hodge, chair of the Riverview lands advisory committee. "A district energy system is one of the things Coquitlam is looking at today - what's old is new again."
In fact, he said, Coquitlam is considering centralized community energy systems for new developments on Burke Mountain and at Fraser Mills, as well as at existing facilities in Town Centre. A dynamic heat exchange system was incorporated into the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex during its recent renovation and expansion.
And while the technology at Riverview's steam plant is now considered outdated, the concept remains viable.
The plant was originally fired by coal that was brought in on barges that docked at Colony Farm and transported up the hill. In 1971, the system was switched to cleaner-burning natural gas for long-term cost savings and environmental reasons.
A back-up oil supply, located directly up-slope from the steam plant, was pressed into service during the region's last major snowfall, about four years ago.
So what's really at work behind those big blue walls?
In short, steam is generated by the boilers and then conveyed via underground pipes to 14 separate buildings and 10 cottages, where a combination of direct heat (steam radiators), forced air (air handling units with steam coils) and heat exchangers (steam to hot water for hot water radiators) provides indoor heat. Hot water comes from storage tanks with steam coils.
But even as the steam makes its way around Riverview, it's losing, well, steam. That lost heat converts to condensate, which is captured by steam traps and held in condensate recovery tanks.
It's then pumped via condensate lines, running parallel to the steam distribution lines, back to the boiler house, where it's turned back into steam - and the process begins all over again.
Information from the Ministry of Labour, Citizens' Services and Open Government states that Riverview's steam plant appears to have been a state-of-the-art system for its time. Similar systems are now used in Victoria and Vancouver, New York and in several European cities.
Coun. Hodge said the challenge with Riverview's system is its aging infrastructure.
"The pipes are quite old and require heavy insulation, and the system has to be staffed 24/7 by qualified technicians," he said. "And to operate just one building, you have to have the central plant up and running."
A government staffer likened it to boiling a massive kettle full of water for just one cup of tea.
"It's great for heating 1.5 million square feet but it's not so efficient for 200 square feet," Hodge added. "But we're looking at it as a way of heating a cluster of buildings."
And whether it can continue to be used for potential future uses of Riverview - whatever those may be - will require a lot of digging by an expert to determine where the pipes and boiler house infrastructure are at in their life spans.
"This has been a very good system for about 90 years," Hodge said. "And it's still a leading-edge distribution system."
BY THE NUMBERS
Size of steam plant: 33,152 sq. ft.
Number of buildings served at its peak: 27 plus 10 cottages (today: 14 buildings plus 10 cottages)
Length of underground steam distribution pipes: 18,500 ft. (28,500 ft. at its peak)
Maximum production capacity (at peak): three boilers (400 HP each) operating at 400 psi, with a maximum load of 14,000 lb./hour
Today's operating capacity: two operational boilers at 100 psi (only one is running at any given time), with a minimum load of 3,000 lb./hour
Percentage of space being heated by the steam plant that is currently vacant: 94%
Amount of space used for short-term projects by the film industry: 45% of vacant heated space
Annual operating costs for the steam plant (natural gas, 24/7 staff, maintenance): $1.6 million
