Since April 2021, Energy & Water Services (EWS) has been undergoing a District Energy System (DES) valve optimization project across the UBC Vancouver campus. The Academic District Energy System (ADES) is a highly efficient hot water district energy system that serves over 140 buildings across the UBC Vancouver campus.
The District Energy System (DES) shutdown for the Aquatic Centre, tə šxʷhəleləm̓s tə k̓ʷaƛ̓kʷəʔaʔɬ Student Residence (The Houses of the Ones Belonging to the Saltwater), and Exchange Residences took place on February 21. Impacting over 1,000 students, this large-scale shutdown required a lot of pre-planning and re-work to devise a plan that could get the Aquatic Centre and Student Recreation Centre back online as quickly as possible.
The Energy & Water Services (EWS) Steamfitter crew — Mike Carroll, Steve Blackett, Brett Harris, Tyler Cudmore, and Norm Esplana successfully executed the plan with their expert precision and expertise. The shutdown was broken down into two parts, and the crew delivered the first part of the shutdown 17 hours early and the second phase 24 hours ahead of schedule.
The community was ecstatic to have heat and hot water earlier than expected. Kudus to the EWS Steamfitter Crew on a job well done and their commitment to looking after UBC interests and assets.
- “Shout out to Kevin Phelan, District Energy System Process Engineer and the team for the careful planning and diligent execution. Thanks to our team in Student Housing for all the work to communicate this major disruption to 1000+ residents, answer their questions and complaints, and help them through it all. With this work complete, we have a more robust and flexible system that will contribute to resilient thermal energy delivery in the years to come.” — Dave Kiloh, Director Facilities and Building Services at UBC Student Housing and Community Services
- “A huge thank you to Kevin Phelan and his crew from EWS and the contractors performing this work. We are a full 24 hrs ahead of schedule.” — Andrew Powter, Associate Director, Facilities
Facilities and Building Services - “I’m sure there are many residents who will appreciate that this has been completed significantly ahead of schedule, and I hope a note of appreciation can make its way to the frontline workers.” — Sean Ryan, Associate Director, Residence Life