Ever wonder how UT Austin keeps its cool? Let’s talk about the Chilling Plant Insulation Shop. It plays a vital role in the university’s complex cooling system.
The University of Texas at Austin has a fascinating history with cooling. From its founding in 1883 until 1928, UT relied on power from the City of Austin. Individual coal-fired boilers heated each building. In 1928, a central heating plant was built.
Demand for mechanical cooling emerged in the 1940s. Owners chose between two different paths. They either built a central cooling plant or installed a chiller in each building. Those who chose the central cooling plant approach added capacity to their plants and built new plants on campus.
Around 1980, old chillers needed replacing. The central-plant concept proved wise. When a chiller in a central plant fails, cooling is still possible. If a chiller in a building fails, that building loses cooling. Energy costs also mattered. Cooling buildings with a central plant used less energy than individual chillers.
During the 1980s, some owners ran chilled-water piping between buildings. They replaced failing chillers with larger ones creating a distributed chiller plant. Some constructed central plants serving their campuses. The reduced operation and maintenance costs and higher reliability offset the capital investment.
One key facility is Chilling Station No. 6. Facing growing demand for chilled water and the demolition of an aging chilling plant, the Utilities Department built this new 15,000-ton station.
Station No. 6 is located in the tight confines of the central campus. It is constrained by existing buildings, tunnels below, and height limitations. The building balances equipment, security, and personnel needs with a pedestrian-friendly exterior that fits the campus master plan.
The design puts human-scaled program elements along the western face. The office wing’s brise soleil window wall contrasts with the simple limestone and brick enclosure. The inverted pyramidal copper roof opens upward to the sky. It alludes to the cooling effects of wind and rain.
UT’s central utility plant provides all the power, steam, chilled water, deionized laboratory water, and compressed air for the campus. The cooling system has four central chilling stations with 45,000 tons of capacity. These stations serve 135 buildings using six miles of chilled-water piping.
The four chilling stations house 11 electric centrifugal chillers. Their sizes range from 3,000 tons to 5,000 tons. A thermal-energy-storage tank provides capacity and backup.
The university has worked hard to optimize its cooling operations. They aimed to save energy and address increasing cooling demands. They also dealt with aging building systems. Efficiency improvements have added value to the campus.
UT’s on-site utility system generates 100 percent of needed electricity, steam, and chilled water. It uses the same amount of power as in 1977. This is despite adding 8 million square feet to the campus. So remember the Chilling Plant Insulation Shop. It supports a system that keeps UT Austin cool and efficient.