Harness the Heat
Harness the Heat: Capturing waste heat in cities to create comfortable outdoor spaces
Idea in Administrative Services
Introduction
Over ⅔ of all energy produced in cities is wasted as heat. In a world of rapidly rising temperatures, why let heat escape so easily? At Harness the Heat, we Identify, collect and passively utilize wasted heat in cities to provide more comfortable and liveable outdoor public spaces.
Problem
According to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s latest report, “four out of five cities faced "significant" climate hazards this year. It is undeniable. Our cities’ climates are becoming more volatile. At the same time, we are not doing a good job of aiding this issue. In fact, over ⅔ of all energy produced is wasted as heat. In the summer, this exacerbates the urban heat island effect. In the winter, we continue to burn more fossil fuels in the name of “comfort,” through equipment like propane gas heaters at restaurants. While outdoor seating was a great success during COVID-19 and we should continue its efforts, the reality is that a commercial propane heater for outdoor seating is responsible for 1-3 kg of CO2 every hour. At Harness the Heat, the primary problem we are addressing is thus the increased climatic risk from wasted heat for city stakeholders. We target city agencies (and thereby residents), restaurant owners (and their customers), and private property owners (and their tenants) to support their urban outdoor comfort levels long term. Due to the proximity of existing heat exhausts, steam networks, and climatic risk, we are targeting New York and Boston as our initial markets.
Opportunity
Harness the Heat solves the coupled problem of increased climatic risk and wasted heat in cities by capturing and repurposing neglected heat leaks, such as steam leaks or roof exhausts, to create comfortable, resilient urban furniture solutions. We weave sustainable and comfort-oriented design principles to provide innovative outdoor furniture that 1) gathers unused heat from city infrastructure, 2) utilizes this heat to meet residents’ needs, and 3) includes a mix of passive and active technologies to improve thermal comfort. In the long-run, these innovations include products such as dining spaces, mobility stations, and urban pop-ups. Thus far, we have been focusing on steam from manholes and rooftop exhaust. In winter, HTH can use rooftop exhaust to help vegetation withstand winter and provide warm seating. In the summer, HTH could use steam leaks to implement small scale plant installations on urban sidewalks, including evaporative cooling strategies to mitigate heatwaves. Together, our mission is to create a more comfortable outdoor urban environment that harnesses waste and establishes a new standard for energy-efficient urban infrastructure.