Boiler Upgrades – Town of Athabasca

Overview

The Town of Athabasca undertook a boiler replacement project at the Old Brick School. The project aimed to improve energy efficiency while preserving a historically and culturally significant community asset. Built in 1913, the Old Brick School is a designated Alberta Provincial Historic Resource located in the heart of the Town of Athabasca.

Since the end of its use as a school in the 1960s, the building has hosted a wide range of community programs and organizations. The Athabasca Pottery Club has occupied the basement for decades, while other spaces have supported theatre users, service clubs, arts programming, continuing education, dance classes, and municipal services. With support from the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s Community Energy Conservation Program, the Town replaced an aging boiler system that had reached the end of its service life, improving reliability and energy efficiency in the facility.

Approach

The existing natural gas boiler, originally installed in 1977, was operating beyond its intended lifespan and posed a risk to the continued safe operation of the building. Given the Old Brick School’s historic designation and its role as a shared community facility, the Town prioritized an approach that would modernize the heating system while supporting long-term revitalization plans for the building. In 2019, the Town commissioned a design development report to guide future rehabilitation of the site.

The project involved removing the aging boiler and installing a new high-efficiency boiler system better suited to the building’s heating needs. The Town received $51,159 in funding through the Community Energy Conservation Program toward the total project cost of $87,493.

Results

The boiler upgrade is expected to reduce natural gas consumption by approximately 314 GJ per year, resulting in annual energy cost savings of about $3,816 and a reduction of 15 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually. The project supports the Town’s efforts to improve energy efficiency while advancing the revitalization of a historic community facility.

“The Old Brick School is a landmark in our town.  As we slowly begin the restoration of this building, the boiler replacement was top of mind.  The grant obtained through the CEC program has helped to significantly improve the efficiency of our boiler operations and provide our team with greater confidence in the system’s reliability and day to day performance.”

Rachel Ramey, CAO