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Chiller plant is an unsung hero on Illinois State's campus

By Michele Steinbacher
msteinbacher@pantagraph.com

NORMAL -- An Illinois State University building’s brick-and-glass architecture might give the appearance of a new classroom building or administrative offices.

But the Beaufort Street structure near Watterson Towers actually is a chiller plant -- a 5,000 square-foot complex to house cooling operations for the southeast part of campus.

Opening a chiller plant may not generate the kind of attention that opening an alumni center or sports facility might, but the facility is as important as any ISU project, ISU President Al Bowman told a crowd Friday morning.

“Chillers contribute to the comfort and welcoming atmosphere” students and staff experience in campus buildings, he said. The exterior of the southeast plant adds an aesthetically pleasing landmark to the street, while its function is environmentally sensitive and saves money, he said.

The complex is part of a master plan to refit the campus with an interconnected system of chillers, linking buildings through underground piping.

A similar northwest chiller plant also has been installed outside Redbird Arena. Together, the chiller plants represent a $10 million investment in the university, said Ron Kelley, ISU’s energy management director.

The plan is to replace deteriorating cooling units across campus. Whereas the traditional units would be placed individually to serve single buildings, the chiller plants allow ISU to consolidate the functions.

They network to serve multiple buildings and provide for backup for each other, said Kelley.

A chiller uses refrigerant to cool water. The cooled water then is piped throughout a building to cool the air.

That’s different from traditional air conditioning, which cools air by passing it cooled coils, said Tim Kiefer of The Farnsworth Group, a project manager at the chiller site.

Bowman has said the project should translate into huge energy savings across campus.

On Friday, the president joined facilities and heating plant staff to unveil the new technology at an open house at the plant.

Steve Bragg, ISU’s finance vice president, called the chillers “facilities that are functionally state-of-the-art, environmentally responsible and simply stunning in design and construction.”

The southeast chiller serves Stevenson Hall, which is a large academic building, and Watterson Towers, one of the world’s tallest residence halls and home to about 2,200 ISU students. The chiller also is linked to the Science Laboratory Building, so that if needed, it also could serve that site.

Bragg told people attending the open house that Watterson’s population was greater than populations in more than 700 Illinois cities. That puts into perspective the role of the plant.

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Take a look

Beth Schobernd, left, Chris Homan, center left, Jim Fisk, center right, and Christine Tsui, all with Illinois State University, talk about the cooling towers Friday morning, Aug. 29, 2008, during the open house of the Southeast Chiller Plant in Normal. (The Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)

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