AlfaTech Big Book: Education – Higher Ed

H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

CERRITOS COLLEGE | UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE MASTER PLAN & IMPLEMENTATION

COLLEGE OF THE DESERT UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE MASTER PLAN

Boiler Replacement: The firm examined the existing heating hot water boilers throughout the campus and determined that 19 units required significant repairs or replacement. With state maintenance funding and CCC/IOU rebates available, the college agreed to replace all 19 boilers. The boilers ranged in size from 500,000Btuh input to just under 2 million. In addition to the new boilers, it was decided to replace all associated pumps at this time. In many cases, concrete housekeeping pads were cracked, or even too small based on the existing equipment. New pads were designed and installed to safely accommodate the new boilers. Work was scheduled to minimize downtime for the many buildings involved and was also expedited to meet the short deadline to qualify for the CCC/IOU rebate, which roughly totaled $20,000. The college now has reliable and energy-efficient heating for most of the buildings on campus. Lighting Retrofit: The firm provided design for a campus-wide lighting retrofit. The project included replacement of existing T-12 fluorescent lamps with new T-8 lamps and electronic ballasts. Also included was the retrofit of existing mercury vapor and incandescent light fixtures with new energy-efficient fixtures. We were able to obtain $100,000 in rebates from the CCC/IOU program.

Norwalk, CA

Palm Desert, CA

Type: Higher Education, Utility Infrastructure Size: 120-acre campus

Type: Higher Education, Utility Infrastructure Size: 160-acre campus

The firm was selected to develop a Utility Infrastructure Master Plan (UIMP) to address all major utility systems for both existing buildings (comprising a total of 789,000 square feet) plus the additional 219,000 square feet of space identified in the facilities master plan. The approved UIMP specified a new 3,000-ton central plant, underground chilled water piping system, and connection of over 1,800 tons of existing load. The estimated annual energy savings are 1,161KW in demand and 2,985,563KWH. The estimated energy cost savings are $440,000 per year. Following completion of the campus UIMP, The firm was awarded several contracts to implement the needed upgrades. These projects have included the following: Central Plant: As a first step, it was necessary to research the best location for the facility, which ultimately became a site adjacent to the Aquatic Center. A main reason for this selection was the ability to capture heat from the condenser water cooling process and transfer it to the main swimming pool. By doing so, the College could save roughly $25,000 per year in natural gas costs and also earned a rebate of $18,000 from the California Community Colleges/Investor Owned Utilities Energy Partnering Program (CCC/IOU). A pre-fabricated central plant was specified to realize time savings and to efficiently utilize limited space. Consisting of three centrifugal chillers, the system operates with remarkable efficiency while still meeting load requirements. It also featured a Dolphin water treatment system that operates without chemicals leading to substantially reduced environmental impact and water consumption. The ability to sufficiently maintain and operate the plant was the highest priority for the client. The plant that was delivered to the client not only met that goal, but also proved extremely efficient and capable of operating self-sufficiently, including building lighting and air conditioning, at less than 0.75KW per ton, and has resulted in achieving $600,000 in rebate money from the CCC/IOU. The combination of efficient equipment selections, application of variable speed technology, and state-of-the-art control technology delivered a package, including the building lighting and HVAC, which earned a “Best Practices Award” at the 2009 UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference.

The firm developed a comprehensive utility infrastructure master plan to address all utility systems plus plans for growth (250,000 additional square feet) as outlined in the facilities master plan for this 160-acre campus with 593,000 square feet in existing buildings. The plan indicated detailed utility corridors, system upgrades/modifications, and cost estimates of those upgrades. As part of this process, the firm performed a detailed review of existing equipment in all the existing buildings on campus to inventory HVAC equipment, electrical switchgear and panels, plumbing equipment, fire alarm and other miscellaneous systems. This information was then summarized in a report with details about remaining useful life, code violations, capacity issues, maintenance issues, and also identified priorities for replacement and maintenance of these items, including estimated costs to implement.

Additional Projects for Cerritos College include: • Aquatic Center • Burnight Center • Fine Arts Building

• Liberal Arts Building • Maintenance Facility

• Utility Infrastructure Master Plan • Utility Infrastructure Phases 1 - 3