If all goes as planned, Yorkton’s Suncrest College could be using the excess heat coming from their Power Engineering Lab to heat their building this fall.

The project was made possible after Suncrest received a $70,000 from Colleges and Institutes Canada, just one of 11 grants they handed out across the country.

Gwen Machnee, Chair of Applied Research at Suncrest College, says currently, heat that comes from the lab is vented into the atmosphere, so this upgraded will save both money, and the environment.

“We have underfloor heating in the whole building, and what we’re doing now is tying the Power Engineering Lab into the building’s heating system. When the Power Engineering Lab is running to train students, we will actually be able to turn off the building’s heating system.”

She says the project is something the College has wanted to do for a long time, and it wouldn’t be possible without the money.

Machnee says students will get the chance to calculate the amount of greenhouse gas kept out of the atmosphere for the ‘awareness’ portion of the project.

She hopes to save 25 per cent of their current natural gas input, or 8000 cubic metres, with the project. Construction is slated to take place in August, with the new system to be in operation for the new school year in September.