Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Demonstrating a Commitment to Sustainability

  • 12/01/13
Vanderbilt University Crystal Terrace

Lochinvar helped Vanderbilt University to maintain a commitment to sustainability when it came time to upgrade the Crystal Terrace building.

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, continues to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability as part of its SustainVU efforts, an ongoing program to improve the university’s impact on the community and the environment. As part of these efforts, the Vanderbilt Plant Services team set out to replace the existing boiler system as part of an efficiency upgrade at its Crystal Terrace building in October 2010.

Crystal Terrace is a nearly 110,000-square-foot multi-tenant building used by Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The facility houses multiple floors of offices as well as the Finance Department, Strategic Planning Department, Women’s Health Services and the Space and Facilities Planning Department.

The Vanderbilt Plant Services team met with Lochinvar to discuss options for replacing the 25-year-old existing steel tube atmospheric boiler. The Vanderbilt team chose to replace the existing boiler with the high-efficiency CREST and Power-Fin models.

Despite the complexity of getting the boilers into the mechanical room, the CREST Boiler’s SMART TOUCH operating control simplified the rest of the installation. Utilizing CREST’s built-in cascading sequencer, the two boilers are operating in a cascade sequence as a front-end loading system. The CREST carries the load approximately 80 percent of the time, and the Power-Fin is brought on during the coldest days to help meet the largest heating demands.

Since the installation, the Vanderbilt Plant Services team reports that the Crystal Terrace building has used an average of 23 percent less fuel per month in comparison to the old system.

“Vanderbilt has made sustainability a top priority in recent years, and we continue to work towards enhancing environmental efficiency on campus,” states Mike Gable, P.E., CEM, Office of Space and Facilities Planning. “We could not be more pleased with the performance of this technology and the significant energy savings we have achieved as a result of this upgrade.”

www.lochinvar.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management December 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • LAN, Inc. Opens Office in College Station, Texas

    Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) recently announced the opening of a new office in College Station, Texas, to support its regional client base, according to a news release. The organization provides engineering, design, and program management services for water, wastewater, transportation, stormwater, and education clients in the Brazos Valley.

  • California K–12 District Completes Elementary School Campus Replacement

    The West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) in Richmond, Calif., recently announced the completion of a replacement campus for Lake Elementary School, according to a news release. The school has capacity for 470 students between Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and sixth grade.

  • Niles West High School Natatorium Renovation

    Natatoriums are highly specialized spaces, and luminaires in this setting face several unique challenges. Perhaps the most significant is corrosion, which is exacerbated by high indoor humidity, condensation, and pool chemicals, often resulting in material degradation in luminaires not certified to perform in corrosive environments.

  • Illinois District Boosts Security at High-School Stadium

    Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, Ill., recently announced that it has completed the redesigned entrance to its high school stadium with a new focus on school security and community engagement, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects and Engineers on the project as part of District #157’s year-long facilities master plan.

Digital Edition