UTILITY PLANT EXPANSION:
LSW Engineers acted as the prime consultant for this project that added 1,200 tons of variable speed chiller and cooling tower capacity and a 400 horsepower hot water boiler in a 2,000 SF expansion of the existing two-level utility plant. The project included extending the existing chilled water and heating water mains through the existing tunnel structure to serve future buildings. The 12 kV electrical power distribution system was extended through existing manholes and duct banks. The cooling tower addition is a stainless steel unit with PVC fill and its capacity is controlled with a variable frequency drive.

THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE:
A 2-million-gallon, 16,000 ton-hour aboveground thermal energy storage (TES) tank was originally in the project scope. At the start of design, we determined that the tank and plant expansion could not be constructed with the funds allocated to the project. To quantify the cost impact of deferring TES construction, life cycle costs were analyzed for a number of TES and non-TES alternatives. In anticipation of electrical rate changes that may result from restructuring, a sensitivity analysis was performed with both marginally higher and lower rates. The resulting design provides a larger chiller, more in keeping with the campus' master planned capacity requirements. The TES was subsequently designed by LSW and is now completed.

Owner: University of California, San Marcos
Size: 2,000 SF (expansion project); 1,200-ton chiller addition; 400 HP hot water boiler; and 16,000-ton/hr Thermal Storage System.
Estimated Construction Cost: $4,500,000
Completion Date: 2001