A Second Life for Leftover Heat
By Jeff Cowan, President and CEOHamilton Community Enterprises Everyone, everywhere likes to reduce waste. It’s how we conserve resources, save money and prepare for a rainy day. Affordability concerns, uncertainty in energy markets and the growing threat of climate change are all driving us to reduce the amount of energy we consume. This is especially […]
WARMINGTON: New carbon fee on restaurant bill may be ‘legal’ but it’s tough to swallow
The 2% fee is invested in carbon capture to help offset the eatery’s carbon footprint – so I guess we’re just expected shut up and pay it Joe Warmington These friends didn’t realize that not only were they enjoying a great meal in the city’s west end, they were also helping grow back a forest […]
Thermal networks: The missing infrastructure we need to help enable carbon-free heating
James (Jim) S. Cotton Most of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere have a fundamental problem: we want to reduce our carbon emissions, but we also need to heat our homes. The good news is there is a way to do both by creating thermal networks. A thermal network is a system of insulated, […]
Inside Innovation: Capturing, storing and reusing lost heat becomes a global phenomenon
John Bleasby Across Canada, the number of days that buildings of all sorts require heating far outnumbers those that require cooling. According to data gathered by James Cotton, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McMaster University and associate director of the McMaster Institute of Energy Studies, the ratio in Toronto, for example, is about […]
Three innovative McMaster startups awarded seed funding
Three McMaster startup companies – HARvEST, A.I. VALI Inc. and Esphera SynBio – have each received $256,000 in the third round of McMaster Seed Fund investments. Co-founded by mechanical engineering professor, James Cotton, and research lab manager at the McMaster Institute for Energy Studies, Jeffrey Girard, HARvEST aims to support decarbonization of the restaurant industry […]
HARvEST Systems demos waste heat recovery from Pizza Pizza ovens
By Canadian Pizza Hamilton, Ont. – HARvEST Systems has successfully demonstrated its innovative waste heat recovery systems within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The company’s clean technology system, installed and commissioned at three Pizza Pizza locations, enables the restaurants to efficiently manage their energy usage, cut down on operating costs and reduce emissions. Developed […]
Why we need to reuse waste energy to achieve net-zero heating systems
James (Jim) S. Cotton As we move toward a cleaner energy future, there is a growing push to electrify everything, from cars to home heating. While that sounds ideal, it is also much more than a matter of simply plugging in. The grid is nowhere near ready to satisfy our carbon-free energy needs, especially as more […]
HARvEST SYSTEMS SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATES WASTE HEAT RECOVERY FROM PIZZA PIZZA OVENS
HAMILTON, ON: HARvEST Systems has successfully demonstrated its innovative waste heat recovery systems within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. HARvEST’s clean technology system, installed and commissioned at three Pizza Pizza locations, enables the restaurants to efficiently manage their energy usage, cut down on operating costs, and reduce emissions. Developed through a five-year research program at […]
Pizza Ovens Power the Future in Canada
Eric Butterman Several years ago, James Cotton, professor of mechanical engineering and associate director of the McMaster University Institute for Energy Studies, Hamilton, Ontario, started a project on thermal electric generators. At the time, he never imagined that it would end up involving pepperoni. “When you look at this issue [of energy recovery], you start […]
McMaster University is converting heat from pizza ovens to electricity
A McMaster project captures wasted heat that escapes from commercial ovens and converts it to electricity RAMISHA FAROOQ They say that if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. But what if you could capture that heat and put it to use? That’s what engineering students and faculty advisers at McMaster University […]