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Projects Updates for key objective: 5.2 Reduce cooling tower water use

  1. FY22 Utility Rates

    Associated Project(s): 

    The following utility commodity rates have been reviewed with the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Office of the Provost and have been approved for use as of July 1, 2021:

    • Steam (per klb:) $18.41
    • Electricity (per kwh:) $0.0882
    • Chilled Water (per mbtu:) $14.16
    • Water (per kgal:) $4.66
    • Sanitary (per kgal:) $4.49

    For more details, view the FY22 Utility Budget and Rate Approval on the F&S Website.

    Or, refer to the attached file.

     

     

  2. ECONS007 Energy Conservation Funding 2018 - Returned to SWATeam

    After the iWG meeting on September 17, 2018, Dr. Cai sent the following response to the SWATeam regarding ECONS007:

    Dear ECBS SWATeam,

    Thank you for your strong commitment to campus sustainability.  The iCAP Working Group met on Monday this week and discussed the ECONS007 Recommendation (https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project-update/econs007-energy-conservation-funding-2018-recommendation-submittal).

    We invited Josh Whitson and Kent Reifsteck to speak with us, and there was a good discussion about the benefits and usefulness of Energy Performance Contracting.  However, the iWG decided that there is not an actionable next step in this recommendation, as it currently stands.  We strongly support campus funding for energy conservation, so we are returning this recommendation to your team for further information.  For example, where do you recommend the suggested funding come from?  Also, are there specific projects identified for the funds in the first year? How will those projects coordinate with other efforts for dealing with deferred maintenance?   The iWG members are willing to discuss this issue with you and Kent’s team further, to strategize ideas. 

    Please let us know if you would like to arrange a meeting with your SWATeam and members of the iWG.

    Thank you,

    Ximing Cai

    See related iCAP Working Group meeting notes here.

    See SWATeam recommendation ECONS007 Energy Conservation Funding 2018 here.

  3. ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 - Successful

    Matthew Tomaszewski responded to the iWG Chair, Dr. Ximing Cai, with the following email:

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    Good morning, Ximing,
    I have had a couple conversations with Provost Cangellaris about this recommendation.  We will include it for consideration as part of our broader discussion of the campus budget.  As you know, budget reform has implications for space and utilities use, so this is a timely submission.  

    Thank you,
    Matthew

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    For any future updates on this item, please visit the Utility and Energy Services Funds project.

    See Transmittal of ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 to the Provost Office here.

    See iWG Assessment of the ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 here.

    See SWATeam recommendation ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 here.

     

  4. ECONS007 Energy Conservation Funding 2018 recommendation - Submittal

    The ECBS SWATeam submitted a recommendation, to the iWG, stating, "We recommend $10M per year (scalable) of funding for the next 5 years to implement critical projects that work in concert with energy performance contracts (EPC).  EPC contracts are fulfilled by specialized, accredited firms known as energy service companies. The university uses EPCs to manage complex projects targeting facilities with high energy use, such as laboratories, maximizing energy efficiency and addressing sizable volumes of deferred maintenance issues along the way.  The campus backlog on deferred maintenance is approaching $1 billion."

    See attached the SWATeam recommendation, ECONS007 Energy Conservation Funding 2018, complete with comments from all the ECBS SWATeam members.

    Also attached is the EPC Analysis report as submitted by the ECBS SWATeam.

  5. ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 recommendation - Transmittal

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) Chair, Dr. Ximing Cai, forwarded the ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 recommendation to the Provost following the completion of iWG assessment of the same. 

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    Dear Provost Andreas Cangellaris:

    On behalf of Illinois Campus Sustainability Working Group (iWG), I’m sending you a recommendation on energy conservation funding, which was made by Sustainability Working Advisory Group on Energy Conservation and Building Standards (SWAT-ecbs). The recommendation was then evaluated by iWG

    Energy conservation is vital to maintaining our energy savings and emission reductions and has a strong payback. iWG suggests that the Provost’s Office considers this recommendation when reviewing Facilities and Services’ budget for FY19. Attached please see the original recommendation made by SWAT-ecbs and the evaluation of by iWG.

    If you have any questions about the recommendation, please let us know. We would appreciate any responses regarding your perspective on this recommendation.

    Thank you for your consideration and support to campus sustainability.


    Best regards

    Ximing Cai

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    For any future updates on this item, please visit the Utility and Energy Services Funds project.

    See iWG Assessment of the ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 here.

    See SWATeam recommendation ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 here.

     

  6. ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 recommendation - Assessment with all comments

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on November 30th, 2017, to discuss the ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017, and started the assessment of this recommendation. Their official comment was:

    "Energy Conservation is vital to maintaining our energy savings and emission reductions and has a strong payback. The Provost’s Office should consider this recommendation when reviewing Facilities and Services’ budget for FY19 and should consider this in light of the larger budget reform process."

    See the attached file for the complete assessment of this recommendation complete with official comments from all the iWG members.

    See SWATeam recommendation ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 here.

  7. Illini Union cooling towers removed

    The Illini Union has demolished its old cooling towers for HVAC in the past 15 years, and recently demolished the old evaporator cooling system for the refrigeration chilling water in 2017. Almost all of our HVAC is now on DDC, with the exception of AHU’s 1, 2, & 3 in the South Building attic, and AHU-21 in the North Building NW subbasement.

  8. ECONS006 Energy Conservation Funding 2017 recommendation - Submittal

    The ECBS SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating, "We recommend the following actions and funds to implement critical projects key to energy conservation efforts at UIUC. Total funds needed: $3.55M

    1) RESTORE funding of ~ $1.5M in FY19, compensating for loss of DCEO grants (Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity), to continue the Retro-commissioning (RCx) work. Retro-commissioning = Identifying and implementing operational and maintenance improvements to existing buildings (first pass) to ensure continued optimal performance over time.

    2) INCREASE the Recommissioning (REx) and Preventive Maintenance (PM) teams. Re-commissioning = Building operating and maintenance systems are examined, parts may be fixed or replaced, and systems reset as if they were being installed new. REx is usually performed about 5 years after RCx has passed thru a building and reoccurs about every 5 years going forward. Preventive Maintenance = actions to preserve life of equipment and prevent breakdowns (cleaning of coils, review of air handling unit systems, review of hydronic systems.) Occurs before re-commissioning. The PM group reports to the maintenance side of the organization whereas the RCx and REx teams report to Utilities and Energy Services. In terms of priority:

    • Change the 5th recommissioning team that is temporary for FY18 to make it permanent in FY19 ($350K/year)
    • Increase Building Maintenance and Preventive Maintenance teams from 1 to 2 for FY19. ($350K for 2nd team)
    • Implement systematic building control upgrades to enhance further energy conservation and/or replace outdated equipment (IT audit item) ($1M/year).
    • Increase Recommissioning teams from 5 to 6 for FY2019 ($350K for 6th team)."

    See attached the SWATeam recommendation ECONS006 Conservation Budget Funding 2017 complete with comments from all the ECBS SWATeam members.

  9. March 2017 Sustainability Council Recommendations Approved

  10. OMA representatives review stand-alone cooling towers

    Water Station Foreman, Shawn Young, indicated today that there are two remaining stand-alone cooling towers on campus buildings maintained by F&S: Temple Buell Hall and the Personnel Services Building.  One of these (Personnel) is scheduled to be added to the central chilled water loop in 2020, according to the Utilities Energy Production and Distribution Master Plan.  Base on that discussion, Morgan Johnston will be following up with the Water SWATeam to let them know that because there are so few remaining stand-alone cooling towers, this is not a high-priority item to pursue.

  11. March 2017 Sustainability Council Recommendations & Next Steps

    Director of iSEE, Evan DeLucia, summarized three recommendations presented at the March 2017 Sustainability Council meeting: EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standard, EGen003 Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Timeline, and ECons003 Conservation Budget, as well as the next steps, for Chancellor Jones’ approval.

    We followed up with the Sustainability Council on April 25, 2017, with the attached file.

    See Transmittal of EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards here.

    See iWG Assessment for SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standard here.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards here.

    See Transmittal of EGen003 PPA term to the Sustainability Council here.

    See iWG Assessment of EGen003 PPA Term here.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen003 PPA Term here.

    See Transmittal of ECONS003 Conservation Budget to the Provost Office

    See iWG Assessment of ECONS003 Conservation Budget

    ee SWATeam Recommendation of ECONS003 Conservation Budget

     

  12. Water & Stormwater SWAT Meeting Minutes 3/30/2017

    Updates and discussion of greywater meter, greywater design standards, cooling tower cycles of concentration, water use dashboard, and student outreach. 

  13. Water Use and Cycles of Concentration (COC) in a cooling tower

    Below is information provided by Jeremy Overmann, B.S. Ch. E., Water Treatment Specialist, on the water use and cycles of concentration (COC) in a cooling tower, as requested after a Land and Water SWAT meeting. 

    "

    Water SWAT members,

     

    Here is some more information regarding the cooling tower discussion at today’s meeting.

     

    This first graph shows how much water a typical 100 ton Cooling Tower uses per hour, and how this changes when the tower is operated at various Cycles of Concentration (COC)

    NOTE:  a 1 ton cooling tower can remove 15,000 BTU/hr of heat.

     

    2Q==

     

    Most standard chemically treated Cooling Towers use unsoftened water and operate between 4 – 6 COC, depending on the source water quality (also called Make-Up water) and the efficacy of the chemical treatment program.

    As COC increases, the potential for formation of calcium scale (and possibly other types of scale) increases.  Scale deposits reduce the energy efficiency of the chiller and the cooling tower, and result in the need for labor intensive cleaning to remove the scale.

     

     

    The following table shows the relationship between volume of Cooling Tower blowdown (bleed), blowdown rate (% bleed), COC, and total water usage.

    Cycles of Concentration is controlled by choosing the rate of blowdown.  This is done by controlling the blowdown (bleed) valve at the bottom of the tower.

     

    COC

    BLOWDOWN

    TOTAL USAGE (Makeup)

     

    Gallons

    Percent

    Gallons

    Percent

    1.5

    10,000

    100%

    15,000

    100%

    2

    5000

    50%

    10,000

    66%

    3

    2500

    25%

    7500

    50%

    4

    1667

    17%

    6667

    44%

    5

    1250

    13%

    6250

    42%

    6

    1000

    10%

    6000

    40%

    7

    833

    8%

    5833

    39%

    8

    714

    7%

    5714

    38%

    Note: Evaporation = 5000 Gallons

     

     

     

    In a “Zero” blowdown cooling tower, softened water is used, and cycles of concentration ranges from 20 – 100 or higher.  To achieve proper water chemistry to provide corrosion protection, usually need to operate at > 20 COC. 

    During the Champaign Regional Office Building study, the highest COC achieved was 51.  The blowdown valve is turned off, however some water is lost from leaks in the tower, and from droplets of water that escape with the air that is drawn through the tower.

     

    COC

    BLOWDOWN

    TOTAL USAGE (Makeup)

     

    Gallons

    Percent

    Gallons

    Percent

    1.5

    10,000

    100%

    15,000

    100%

    5

    1250

    13%

    6250

    42%

    10

    555

    6%

    5550

    37%

    25

    208

    2%

    5208

    35%

    50

    102

    1%

    5102

    34%

    75

    66

    0.7%

    5066

    34%

    100

    51

    0.5%

    5051

    34%

    200

    25

    0.3%

    5025

    34%

    Note: Evaporation = 5000 Gallons

     

    "

     

  14. iWG Meeting Notes from Jan. 27, 2017

    The iCAP Working Group met and discussed the following agenda items.  Meeting notes are attached.

    1. Brief iCAP Portal overview by Morgan
    2. Discuss any updates to Water002, Cooling Tower Increase COC
    3. Discuss Trans008, Bike Parking in Ramps
    4. Discuss updates to Econs004, Green Labs Coordinator
    5. Consider issues with recommendation process and view recommendation tracker

    Attached Files: 

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