New loop improves efficiency
Installing chiller loop will help increase energy efficiency in three BC buildings by 50 percent.
Gabino Vega Rosario
Issue date: 10/8/08 Section: News
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"This is going to be just plain old pipes," said Keith Keevil, manager of maintenance and operations.
The tunnel system from the campus east is big enough for people to walk through, but the new chiller loop will be underground, making it nonaccessible.
Using condensation, the three buildings will be connected by pipes to provide cold air in the buildings. These pipes will be connected to use one chiller at 85 percent efficiency for all three buildings.
"Now, all three buildings are running at 35 percent efficiency individually," said Keevil. "However, once we connect them, we could use one chiller to cool off all three buildings." Keevil said that this chiller system will save money and energy by shutting down two chillers and having one transport cold air through the buildings.
If one chiller is nonfunctioning, there are two more left to replace the broken one. According to Keevil, this project will cause efficiency and create redundancy.
The project was officially started on Sept. 30, by creating a barrier around the area where the trench will be located. The project is scheduled to be finished by the end of December.
"We chose this time because the chillers will not be used," said Keevil. "We got a lot of complaints at the beginning of the semester because the LA building's cold air didn't work, so we want to avoid that."
The trench will be six feet deep and eight feet wide, and it starts on the west side of the campus. Behind the bookstore's parking lot, the lot will be dug up to insert the pipes. "We were originally going to cut down the tree," said Keevil, pointing at the large tree in between the LA building and the bookstore, "but it's best to dig up around it to save money."
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