Central Plant Re-Design
Complete modernization of 1960s-era distribution center central plant with enhanced efficiency and redundancy while maintaining operations
CLIENT
Large National Retailer
LOCATION
Regional Distribution Center
PROJECT TYPE
Central Plant Modernization
FACILITY TYPE
Distribution Center (Originally commissioned in 1960s)
The Situation
Our customer, a large national retailer, was operating an old Distribution Center which was initially commissioned in the late 1960s. Due to the age of this facility and equipment, the company was struggling with high repair costs and significant downtime. They needed a complete redesign of their chilled water cooling and hot water heating systems.
Our Approach
Our team developed a comprehensive redesign that included replacement of primary chilled water, condenser water, and hot water heating pumps with new variable speed pumps. The solution also required replacement of the existing 600-ton crossflow cooling tower with a new 850-ton counterflow cooling tower.
The Work
- Complete redesign of hot water heating piping system
- Installation of three new 900-MBH high efficiency boilers
- Configuration in primary/secondary loop system
- Installation of 600-ton variable speed primary chiller
- Addition of 250-ton variable speed secondary chiller
- Replacement of cooling tower with larger, more efficient unit
- Comprehensive controls integration and commissioning
Special Coordination Requirements
The project required careful phasing to maintain distribution center operations throughout the construction period. Our team coordinated with warehouse operations to ensure minimal impact on shipping and receiving activities.
Key Challenges
- Aging 1960s-era central plant infrastructure
- High maintenance costs and frequent equipment failures
- Significant operational downtime affecting distribution operations
- Need for complete system redesign while maintaining operations
- Requirements for improved efficiency and redundancy
Our Solution
- Designed custom central plant solution to reduce operational downtime
- Provided enhanced system redundancy for critical distribution operations
- Achieved greater efficiency than existing 1960s-era equipment
- Enabled continuous distribution center operations during construction
- Met all customer objectives within project timeline and budget
The Results
First, our team designed a project which enabled the ongoing operation of this facility while we made the necessary upgrades. Our plan met all the customer’s objectives for this central plant upgrade. We achieved their necessary heating and cooling requirements while maintaining the project’s timeline and budget, to the great satisfaction of our customer.
