University’s chilled water curtailed

Building managers throughout campus are being notified that Stanford facilities officials have instituted a Stage 1 chilled water curtailment for this week because of the unseasonably warm weather.

That means comfort cooling is shut down in offices, classrooms, libraries and other building spaces in order to preserve cooling capacity for research and medical facilities that depend upon it. In addition, the chilled water temperature across campus has been increased from 42F to 46F to further reduce load.

Stanford’s chilled water system distributes cooling energy produced at the Central Energy Facility to the air-conditioned buildings on campus. The highest priority is ensuring that the hospitals and School of Medicine have sufficient chilled water for their operations.

According to George Sandoval, executive director of university zone management, in addition to the heat wave, two chillers at the Central Energy Facility are currently down for unplanned repairs.

In a message to building managers, Sandoval wrote, “This reduction in chiller capacity and the current heat wave have reduced our available chilled water thermal storage below normal levels. Curtailment is being implemented to ensure we can maintain chilled water supply temperatures to all critical areas. A temporary chiller is scheduled to be installed during the first week of July to address this capacity shortfall until the two normal chillers are repaired.”

Sandoval encourages those with concerns to contact their Zone Office.

For more, visit the Buildings and Ground Maintenance emergency information website.