Even on the hottest days, the team at the Power House keeps campus cool and comfortable.
The Power House, first erected in the 1920s, does exactly what its name says – produces power.
It’s operated by a team of 13 Facility Services employees, consisting of operating engineers, mechanics and a superintendent, according to Peter Davidson, Energy Services director for the University. The team produced 65 percent of the University’s power from May 2011 to April 2012, Davidson said. The Power House also supplies approximately 90 percent of the campus’s air conditioning and roughly 95 percent of its heating, according to Davidson.
The University saves 20 percent of the cost of power it would otherwise have to purchase, according to Davidson.
“It’s almost always cheaper to make [power] ourselves,” Davidson said.
The Power House control room is monitored by teams of two employees working in modified 12-hour shifts. The teams, along with an array of computers, monitor the chilled water output, generator output and steam output for the campus. While many problems can be detected remotely and electronically, a team member physically checks the equipment every hour to ensure it’s running properly.
“You can actually hear a change in equipment by the sound,” according to Greg Vanveckhoven, an engineer foreman who has worked at the University for 36 years, primarily in the Power House.
The Power House, like other power plants, suffers from inevitable equipment breakdown.
“Bad storms are our worst problems,” Vanveckhoven said.
In the past, Electrical strikes during thunderstorms have knocked out the Power House’s generator.
If the Power House isn’t operating normally, the University may have to purchase more power than usual.
As for the employees, they have a vested interest in the condition of the University.
“[The Power House team] takes it personally if they can’t deliver,” Davidson noted. Davidson said his team strives for complete efficiency, thereby saving the University money and keeping the campus population comfortable.
The jet engine generator is able to run on diesel or jet fuel, but are instead run on natural gas.
Natural gas prices are at a 10-year low. It also burns clean and the heat is recycled for other Power House operations.
“If we’re doing our job right, you don’t notice us,” Davidson said.