Project Description
This design-build building automation project consisted of the construction of a new central plant for the main cooling and heating media of the LACCD Southwest College campus.
The project was a design/build that utilized thermal storage or ice tanks for cooling. The chilled water side of the project includes two air-cooled chillers that are primarily used for ice charging in the evenings. The ice tanks or thermal storage serve as the cooling media for chilled water during peak hours. This design saves significant energy, since there is no peak loading or usage of chillers during this time.
The hot water side of the project includes six boilers. Rather then using one boiler at full capacity, the sequence of operations calls for some boilers to run at the same time, but at a lower capacity. This increases the lifespan of the equipment and draws less energy when heating is required.
The central plant utilizes variable speed pumping to deliver the media across campus. The system runs only at the capacity needed to meet demand. Differential pressure is sensed at remote locations on campus to determine the need for flow. The system also uses a complex polling equation at each building’s Air Handling Unit or Variable Air Volume Box to determine demand.
