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Energy Highlight

Tertiary Valve Replacement:
The Tertiary Valve Replacement Project is to replace selected, existing, tertiary chilled water (CHW) valves. Tertiary CHW control valves regulate the flow rate of distribution CHW to each building from a regional CHW system. At U-M, most tertiary CHW valves are typically sized to match the connecting pipe diameter which is often sized to accommodate future additions to the CHW system. Thus, many tertiary valves have been sized to accommodate potential future loads that have yet to be added and therefore are presently oversized and difficult to control properly.

Besides difficulty in maintaining stable tertiary CHW temperatures and flows, oversized tertiary CHW valves lead to unnecessary energy consumption due to increased distribution pump flow rates, and increased chiller cycling (e.g. operating 2 chillers at part load, when only 1 is needed). Such cycling reduces chiller efficiency, and requires the operation of unnecessary primary pumps, condenser pumps, and cooling towers.

This project replaces selected, existing, tertiary CHW valves with smaller valves to improve control of CHW temperatures and flows in nine buildings. The estimated project cost is $314,800; the energy cost savings is $92,430, and the simple payback is 3.4 years.

Estimated Project Cost = $314,800
Estimated Energy Cost Savings = $92,430/yr
Estimated Payback Period = 3.4 years

Tertiary Valve installed at East University Chiller Plant

Past Energy Highlights

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