The Soccer Operations Complex is the latest campus building to receive this award.
The Clemson Soccer Operations Complex has received two Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative, a non-profit organization that manages assessments and certifications related to environmental building practices.
Facilities awarded with this certification are recognized energy conservation, reduced water consumption, responsible use of materials, ecological stewardship, and healthy indoor environments for occupants. The Soccer Ops Complex joins a growing list of new construction and renovated buildings on Clemson’s campus that have earned two or more Globe certifications, including the:
UPDATE: 5/20/20 10:15AM – Switching is complete. BRC power has been restored. Planned outage work is complete.
UPDATE: 5/20/20 9:50AM – Cable tested good. Switching outage for ASB and Godley-Snell will be at 10AM.
UPDATE: 5/20/20 9:10AM – Cable transition is going smoothly. Testing cable soon to prepare for switching outage on ASB and Godley-Snell.
UPDATE: 5/20/20 6:55AM – Outage for BRC will begin today at 7:00AM. The building will be without generator backup during this outage that will last approximately 3 hours. Godley-Snell and Administrative Services building will experience a one minute outage at the end of the outage work affecting BRC.
UPDATE: 5/19/20 10:00AM – BRC failed to go on generator power and remainder of outage work has been put on hold. The time for the second outage for Administrative Services and Godley-Snell will be scheduled with those building BSCs.
UPDATE: 5/19/20 7:00AM – Group 3 outage on schedule for 7:30AM today. BRC will remain on generator back up while transition work is being completed. Follow-up outage for Godley-Snell and Administrative Services Building expected at 12:00PM. BRC will be restored to utility power at this time.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 4:45PM – Group 2 power restored. Work complete for the day. Next outage for Group 3 buildings tomorrow morning at 7:30AM. Another update will be sent before outage begins.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 4:20PM – Cable termination and testing complete. 4:30 PM outage for group 2 buildings on schedule.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 3:15PM – Work is progressing slowly in preparation for the Group 2 outage. If no further issues arise, outage will still happen at 4:30PM, but there is a possibility of a delay for the start of the outage.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 12:55PM – All clear from Duke. No additional outages are anticipated for Group 1 buildings. Group 2 buildings on schedule at this time for 4:3oPM outage.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 12:40PM – Group 1 loads transferred successfully. Final testing on Duke substation protection equipment before releasing us to continue loading should be completed in 10 minutes.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 12:18PM – On schedule for Group 1 outage at 12:30PM. Group 1 will have a 1 minute power outage starting at 12:30PM.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 – 10:45AM – Power is on to new Switching Stations. Still on schedule.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 – 7:05AM – Hendrix 1st outage is complete. Building power is restored.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 – 6:50AM – Everything on track. First outage for Hendrix will proceed at 7AM this morning.
Clemson University Facilities is working to transition the campus electrical distribution feed from the old Duke Power substation that was built in 1968 to the new substation that was just constructed on the SE edge of campus. In order to transition our distribution feeders and stations over to the new source, a few brief electrical power outages are going to be needed early next week that will affect all of campus. Energization of the new substation feed will occur Monday, May 18th. Outages are expected to last less than one minute each and are being planned in a rolling fashion across three groups to affect each campus building as few times as possible. The latest information regarding this outage will appear at the top of this post.
We’re aware of the inconvenience this may cause to many working from home, particularly those who are connecting remotely to work machines operating on campus power. Desktop PCs that are shut off as a result of the outage will need to be manually turned back on.We recommend using CUapps until this is possible for you to do so.
Areas that will be affected by campus distribution outages are shown on the map below.
This visual shows the the electrical distribution area for Clemson University.
If you have anything that would be adversely affected by this outage, please contact Bret McCarley at bmccarl@clemson.edu with the details so we may plan accordingly and limit the impact to campus activities.
Rolling Outage Schedule
The first outage will occur in the Hendrix Student Center at 7:00 a.m. Monday, May 18th. Thereafter, outages are being planned in a rolling fashion across 3 groups to affect each campus building as few times as possible. Group 1 loads are currently scheduled to experience a one minute outage at 12:30 p.m. Monday, May 18th. Group 2 loads (which includes the Hendrix Student Center) are currently scheduled to experience a one minute outage at 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 18th. Group 3 loads are currently scheduled to experience a one minute outage at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 19th. The Biological Research Center will remain on emergency generator power until new terminations are installed on existing cable and connected to the new feed. The Admin Services Building and Godley-Snell will experience an additional outage when this cable is terminated and ready for energization (approximately 3-4 hours later).
This post previously included construction information regarding the College of Business with lane closures along Walter T. Cox Boulevard. This project has been completed two days ahead and schedule and WTC is now open.
A few construction projects happening around campus will impact traffic as students return from the winter break. In addition, newly installed gates in front of Brackett Hall will prevent vehicles from entering the core of campus via Calhoun Drive.
Perimeter Road Near the Brooks Center
Construction is currently located near the Brooks Performing Arts Center.
The campus-wide electrical distribution upgrade continues, with Perimeter Road currently impacted by construction between Cherry Road and Brooks Center Drive. Presently the northern-most lanes along Perimeter are closed, and two-way traffic is being facilitated using the southern-most lanes between Brooks Center Drive and Cherry Rd.
Cherry Road between Bryan Circle and McMillan Road
Related underground utility construction is currently underway on Cherry Road, and with its final phase expected to end on January 8th. The project impacts the usual entrance to Bryan Circle, but a temporary detour is in place in which traffic can turn from McMillan Road onto Epsilon Zeta, accessing Bryan Circle that way.
New Gates along Calhoun Drive
To improve pedestrian safety in the core of campus, boom barriers have been installed along Calhoun Drive in front of Brackett Hall. Employee spaces along this stretch have been converted to temporary loading spaces for deliveries.
For the most up to date information regarding construction and its impact to traffic on campus, please see our Road Work Google Map.
Thanks to Hutch-N-Son Construction, one of this summer’s major construction projects has been completed two weeks ahead of schedule: Newman Road is now open to all traffic after being expanded from two lanes to four as drivers approach the intersection with McMillan Road. Vehicles traveling along Walter T. Cox Boulevard (Hwy. 93) can now reach Perimeter Road through Newman. The expansion will ease congestion as travelers enter and exit campus. With Newman now open, the entrance to McMillan along Perimeter will now close.
McMillan Road Utility Work
McMillan Road will continue to see construction through the fall semester as upgraded infrastructure is installed underground. Crews will be working along McMillian Road from the intersection with Newman Road toward Cherry Road. Portions of McMillan Road will be opened as the work in that area is complete. Residents in Calhoun Courts and Thornhill Village should use Morrison Road to reach the apartments in the area until construction along McMillian Road passes the entrances on to Dunavan Road, Omicron Pi Street and finally, Mills Rd.
Clemson University Facilities is working on a major electrical distribution upgrade project that will increase the reliability of the campus electrical system as well as allow future load growth for the campus. This project is expected to take until August of 2021 to complete and will require several planned outages during the course of the project for parts of campus. This project work began in 2012 and has greatly reduced the annual number of major unplanned outages on the campus from previous years.
This visual shows the the electrical distribution area for Clemson University.
Duke Energy is working to relocate the existing 44kV transmission line that feeds campus so that a new 100kV transmission line and electrical substation can be built to feed campus as part of this upgrade project. A campus wide 4 hour electrical outage will be required to tie in this temporary transmission line.
The target time and date for this outage is 9 AM to 1 PM on Friday, December 28th, 2018
A power outage that plunged over a dozen buildings on the east side of campus into darkness Saturday night was caused by a cable failure between Bryan Circle and Mauldin Hall.
The outage happened just before 11 p.m. Saturday as thousands of Clemson fans were leaving campus after the Tigers defeated the Duke Blue Devils in football.
The cable, located in an underground conduit, failed and caused a main breaker in the campus switch station to open for system protection. Multiple buildings, including Douthit Hills, Calhoun Courts, Thornhill Village and Lever, Byrnes, Mauldin, Barnett and Vickery halls were affected. Several traffic lights were darkened by the outage as well.
University electricians drove against the flow of game traffic to get to campus to fix the problem. After several hours, they were able to isolate the problem and restore power to most of the buildings. Mauldin Hall was without power until 5:40 p.m. Sunday because workers had to replace the section of cable that failed, according to Tony Putnam, campus Utility Services director.
“The major electrical project we commenced early this year and plan to complete over the next three years will greatly improve the university’s system reliability, automation, redundancy and fault detection capabilities and minimize the extent of this type of outage,” he said.
A photo of the condition of the South chimney’s concrete cap and upper elevations. As one approaches campus, Clemson University’s Central Energy Facility looms large alongside Tillman Hall and Death Valley Stadium. Its twin “smoke stacks” serve as an unmistakable landmark for visitors and their presence adjacent to increasingly contemporary structures amounts to a vintage interruption to fast-moving modernization at Clemson. Despite their bygone appearance, the chimneys of the CEF continue to play an important role in keeping students, employees and visitors comfortable within campus buildings.
The CEF’s History in Brief
The Central Energy Facility was constructed in 1948. Its original purpose was to provide steam-based heat to most of campus.
“The north stack was constructed as part of the original 1948 plant,” according to Tony Putnam, Director of Utility Services. In 1964, the Central Energy Facility (known in those days as ‘the Physical Plant’) underwent an upgrade to keep pace with campus growth. “The south stack was added as part of the 1964 plant expansion.”
Near the base of the South chimney, taken in the 1960’s.Today, the CEF serves as the key contributor to campus heating and air conditioning, serving much of the campus including various dorms, classrooms and research facilities, as well as Harcombe dining hall. Although it originally burned coal, on May 3rd of 2012 the CEF switched to natural gas in an effort to reduce operational costs. Coincidentally, natural gas has amounted to a major reduction in the university’s carbon footprint. Also, while the CEF’s primary purpose is to provide heating and cooling to the campus, it can produce electricity as needed. As it plays a critical role in the daily operation of Clemson University, it’s important to ensure that the CEF remains a safe and efficient facility.
Repair of the South Chimney
Prompted by concerns that recent construction adjacent to the Central Energy Facility could have affected their structural integrity, University Facilities commissioned Bednash Consulting, Inc. to inspect both the North and South chimneys on June 15th of this year. Their inspection report concluded that while the overall condition of the North chimney was good and required few repairs, several issues were found with the condition of the South chimney. The topmost 18′ of the chimney was recommended to be demolished and completely rebuilt. The chimney’s lightning protection system also needs replacing in order to bring it up to Underwriters’ Laboratories standards.
In order to perform the repairs, a wooden ladder is built from the base of the chimney to its summit. The ladder supports itself from the ground and the lightning arresting cable connected to the chimney stabilizes it. With the ladder in place, a platform encircling the chimney is constructed near the top to give workers a stable workspace to perform brick and mortar work. The material used to repair the chimney is hoisted from the ground using a pulley. However, the workers themselves must traverse the ladder each time they wish to reach or leave the platform. We’ve included a video that provides the worker’s perspective of what it’s like to climb the chimney, fair warning to those afraid of heights.
The “Smoke Stacks” continue to serve Clemson University as a part of providing a reliable source of heating and air to campus housing and academic areas. One day they may come down, but until that time the chimneys of the Central Energy Facility will continue to benefit from the maintenance necessary to ensure they are safe and sound.
Special thanks to Project Manager Tom Minor who provided inspection information along with footage of the repairs.
Clemson University’s main campus consists of roughly 165 buildings spread across 1,400 acres. Since 2008, the majority of these buildings’ air conditioning needs have been served from three on-campus chilled water facilities, known as the Central Energy Facility (CEF), the East Energy Plant, and the South (Hinson) Energy Plant. Chilled water, which helps cool a building’s overall temperature to a human comfort level, is pumped from these facilities to over 70 campus buildings through underground piping system often referred to as a chilled water loop.
With growing load demand, University Facilities’ Utility Services has constructed a fourth energy plant on the north side of the stadium, the West Energy Plant. Commissioned on June 2016, this facility increased Clemson’s chilled water (CHW) capacity by 3,000 cooling tons. There is space for an additional 3,000 tons of CHW capacity as well. For reference an average size 3 bedroom home in South Carolina will have a 3 ton air conditioning unit.
Existing Infrastructure
Capital Projects Manager Sam Zanca provides a tour of the plant to a class.
The Central chilled water loop combines the operations of the three interconnected chiller plants–the CEF, East and South–to efficiently serve the Central loop distribution system. The three Central chiller plants are designed for 11,400 tons of available capacity at a 12°F delta-T (40-52 ° F). In plain speak, the chilled water facilities connected to the Central loop send water to connected buildings at 40-degrees Fahrenheit and collectively receive the same water back at 52-degrees Fahrenheit, some 12-degrees warmer. More on this in a bit.
In terms of equipment, CEF has three 1,800 nominal-ton Trane duplex chillers which were installed in 1999, two of which rely on Lake Hartwell for lake water condenser cooling. The South (Hinson) Energy Plant has three 1,200 nominal-ton Trane chillers which were commissioned in 2008. The East Energy Plant originally built in 1986 was upgraded with two new 1,450 ton, variable speed drive Trane chillers in 2013. By moving to variable frequency drive chillers, the University is able to reduce its energy-consumption by optimizing control of the chiller plant’s operation to meet fluctuations in demand for air conditioning.
The New West Energy Plant
One of the cooling tower sumps, famously known as “The Monsoon Room.”
The new West Energy Plant has two 1,500 nominal-ton variable speed drive Trane chillers which together provide 3,000 tons of chill-water at 15°F delta-T (42-57 ° F). Chilled water system efficiency is tied to its delta-T, where in the higher the delta-T number, the more efficient the overall system can perform. This results in a decrease in the amount of electricity required to generate air conditioning for connected buildings while also amounting to cost savings for university operations. An efficient university central chilled water can provide cooling as much as 30 percent more efficient than a home air conditioning system.
Sufficient for Now, Prepared for the Future
With the new West Energy Plant, the total capacity of Clemson’s chilled water distribution system provides a peak system capacity of 13,100 cooling tons, with a current peak demand from connected buildings at about 11,300 cooling tons. That said, one only has to look in almost any direction to see that our cooling needs will be challenged with new campus construction. With the addition of the West Energy Plant, Clemson University is capable of meeting such demands for the foreseeable future.
