The $380-million project at Stanford University includes high-efficiency new-building standards and improvements to existing buildings, a high-voltage substation, state-of-the-art solar arrays and a new central energy facility (CUP) that incorporates the largest heat-recovery chillers ever installed in the U.S., according to the project team.
The CUP circulates hot water to heat buildings and cold water to cool them, each in a closed loop so the water won’t need constant replacement. The cold water gradually heats as it travels through the campus, returning to the CUP 14 degrees warmer than when it left. Equipment within the facility strips that heat from the cold water pipes and adds it to the hot water pipes.