Image of plant operator at the central heating and cooling plant pointing at a computer monitor.
Central Plant Operator David Waller evaluates the recently optimized recommendations about which chillers should run and when. In its first year of implementation, this system has saved campus $150,000 while improving our green energy use.

Saving cool cash on hot days

Academic partnership improves bottom line and green energy use

  • by Sienna Mata

"Can we optimize how we cool our buildings without compromising campus comfort?

This question, the focus of a long-standing partnership between UC Davis Facilities Management and UC Davis Chemical Engineering (Process Systems Engineering), has resulted in savings, greener energy use and published research. 

'Our campus cooling infrastructure is much more complicated than HVAC systems many are used to at their homes,” said David Trombly, a senior engineer supervisor at Facilities Management, who oversaw this initiative.'

In most of our campus buildings, the chilled water responsible for cooling the air that beats back the Davis heat originates at the campus's Central Heating and Cooling Plant. There, chillers use electricity to cool water to 40 degrees. When the temperature is right, the water can be (A), sent directly to buildings; (B), directed to our own thermal energy storage tank (a large container capable of storing 5 million gallons of chilled water); or (C), delivered from the storage tank to our buildings."

Read the full story at UC Davis Facilities Management

Primary Category

Science & Technology

Tags

Facilities Management Sustainability