An on-campus water plant to be constructed and named District Energy Plant IV will provide more resources to affordably operate the growing needs of the University of Central Florida Main Campus.
District Energy Plant IV will produce both chilled and hot water to cool and dehumidify buildings on campus. Example buildings include the pending completion of the Research 1 Building, formerly called the Interdisciplinary Research and Incubator building.
The plant’s energy-efficient materials, combined with its overall life-cycle cost is estimated to save the university $121,000 annually in operation costs and resources, says UCF.
The total cost of the project has been evaluated at $14 million and may be completed in November of 2017.
“This project has been developed over three years and in many phases to ensure we meet our current and future energy demands in the most efficient way possible,” said Director of UCF Utilities and Energy Services Curtis Wade.
“Our goal is to ensure that energy at UCF remains as affordable and reliable as possible.”
The District Energy Plant IV will have the capacity to produce 8,000 tons of chilled water – 4,000 in place by the first phase, according to UCF. One thousand tons of chilled water will be used by Research 1 Building and the remaining three thousand tons will be added to existing underground infrastructure that serves nearly 75% of buildings on the main campus. At maximum capacity, the District Energy Plant IV can support six additional buildings the size of Research 1 Building.
Along with infrastructural support, the plant will serve as an educational tool for students with color-coded pipes to illustrate water circuits. Real-time electric dashboards will display plant metrics such as efficiency, energy usage, and dollars per ton being saved, according to UCF officials.
A LEED energy efficiency certification will be pursued and, if granted, will be UCF’s first industrial LEED-certified facility on campus.
Effective February 27, 2017, portions of the parking lot C2 will be temporarily reserved for the construction of the new District Energy Plant IV by UCF Facilities Planning & Construction http://fp.ucf.edu/node/112. There will be 50 additional B and C designated spaces on the second level of parking Garage C, says UCF Parking Services.
