Industry: Residential real estate
D is for district heating
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Summer readiness checklist
As temperatures rise, it’s time to ensure HVAC systems are geared up for the summer heat to optimize building systems’ performance, conserve energy, and keep occupants comfortable and safe during heat waves, hurricanes, tornados, tropical cyclones, floods, or other extreme weather events.
Whether buildings use district chilled water or operate onsite chillers and cooling towers, regularly reviewing and implementing this guide ensures proactive building readiness for summer temperatures, helps maximize equipment lifespan, and improves overall energy efficiency.
Print out this summer preparedness checklist and review it every spring to prepare staff and equipment for the coming warm temperatures. Please note that the steps will vary depending on the equipment present onsite.
Contact your account manager to explore partnering with Vicinity’s operations and maintenance experts to assist with summer readiness, equipment upgrades, or preventative maintenance programs.
Vicinity leverages best practices at its central facilities to provide a smooth transition into the summer season. These protocols ensure safe, reliable, and consistent operation to prevent service disruptions for customers who leverage chilled water or steam for cooling purposes. Vicinity’s interconnected energy facilities offer 99.99% uptime energy delivery with resiliency through redundant power and fuel sources.
Vicinity’s summer preparedness includes extensive cooling tower and chiller inspection and cleaning at Vicinity’s central facilities that produce chilled water, including basin cleaning, sterilization to prevent bacteria growth, and oil inspections on gearboxes and fan belts. Vicinity also performs eddy current testing to detect leaks on chiller tubes and inspects refrigerant and oil samples. Mid-season, Vicinity performs additional maintenance to ensure smooth operation of the central facilities before scorching weather conditions, hurricanes, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, floods, or other extreme summer weather events. Each day, Vicinity monitors atmospheric pressure, humidity, and temperature to anticipate and meet customer buildings’ energy demands, and confirms redundancies are in place to minimize any disruptions to steam or chilled water service.
By taking these proactive steps, Vicinity delivers reliable customer service year-round and reduces the maintenance needed onsite at customers’ buildings.
Flashcube’s luxury apartments keep tenants comfortable year-round
Industry
Residential real estate
Location
Kansas City, MO
Square footage
207,000
The customer
Constructed in 1974, the nine-story, 207,000 square foot Executive Plaza building epitomizes the late-modern architectural style. Due to its abstract reflective glass curtain wall, the building became known simply as “Flashcube.” This architecturally significant building earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places and remains a centerpiece of Kansas City.
In 2020, the building underwent an extensive renovation, transforming from a vacant and outdated office building into luxury apartments. Today, Flashcube is home to 184 apartments and nearly 18,000 square feet of premier co-working office space. Tenants enjoy state-of-the-art amenities, including an indoor soccer field, rock climbing wall, indoor basketball courts, and a resident lounge and game room.
The challenge
Because Flashcube sat vacant for more than 15 years, the onsite chillers and boilers were prohibitively expensive to resurrect. The plans to convert the building from office space to multi-family residences required a complete demolition of the interior space. This transformation presented many different mechanical system options for the owners to consider. The building owner also needed individual metering at each apartment to empower tenants to control their individual energy consumption and expenses.
The solution
With an eye towards innovation, sustainability, and cost control, Flashcube’s owners explored a more reliable and cost-effective heating and cooling system. An extensive third-party analysis compared the lifecycle cost of onsite chillers and boilers, district energy, a water source heat pump system, variable refrigerant system technology, and a residential split system. When accounting for the costs of installation, maintenance, energy, water, and capital replacement cycles, it was determined that district energy provided the best overall lifecycle cost.
Lower costs, higher reliability
By choosing Vicinity’s district energy network, Flashcube’s new owners saw a reduction in construction costs by removing the need for onsite heating and cooling generation equipment, reutilization of existing piping, reduced electrical infrastructure, and tenant metering solutions. While reducing ongoing operating costs, district energy helped boost reliability for tenants.
A multipurpose solution
District energy helps keep Flashcube’s tenants comfortable and safe year-round. Vicinity’s district chilled water connects with simple heat exchangers to tenant fan coils, which eliminates the need for complex, large chillers and cooling towers onsite. District steam is used for building heat, domestic water heating, and a snow melt system, eliminating the need for large onsite boilers and water heaters.
Reducing and reusing resources
Rather than being discarded as waste, the condensate from the steam generation is used to pre-heat Flashcube’s domestic hot water and is then recycled as grey water to supply the building’s toilets. By recovering the steam condensate to heat the domestic hot water supply and grey water system, this steam biproduct saves money, energy, and city water.
Repurposing space for tenant needs
Another advantage of forgoing onsite chillers and boilers is new usable building space. By designing its heating and cooling needs around district energy, the owners of Flashcube have additional room for unique tenant amenities—all while leveraging an energy source that is driving carbon reductions. In fact, the mechanical and backup house space in the basement is now an inviting office space for tenants to access.
Benefits
Recycled
condensate
Lifecycle cost savings
Maximized
building space
eSteam™: a cost-effective, carbon-free thermal energy solution to decarbonize your commercial building
Commercial buildings represent the highest source of carbon emissions in major cities, making them one of the most important targets in urban decarbonization. eSteam™ is a unique solution that can address this challenge head-on and inexpensively decarbonize healthcare, life sciences, universities and commercial buildings with ease.
Accelerate decarbonization with eSteam™
Vicinity’s renewable thermal energy product will help you accelerate the decarbonization of your building and our communities. Our solution is turn-key.
eSteam™ reduces the need for you to invest in new onsite energy infrastructure to meet your sustainability goals. By connecting to the district energy system, you eliminate the need to make significant investments to decarbonize your building’s thermal energy load—we’re doing that for you. Vicinity will leverage and build upon existing infrastructure, including our existing network of steam pipes, electric substations, and transmission lines, and deploy the capital needed to rapidly reduce our carbon emissions.
For our cities, Vicinity’s eSteam™ provides a way to cleanly heat and cool urban buildings—reducing the need for natural gas boilers that create unregulated gas stacks and unmonitored carbon emissions—improving overall air quality in neighborhoods.
eSteam™ is the first renewable, carbon-free thermal energy product in the United States, offering maximum flexibility and superior environmental benefits.
eSteam™ benefits:
- Carbon-free – eSteam™ is carbon-free, so you can meet your sustainability goals and avoid looming carbon taxes.
- Total flexibility – You nominate how much eSteam™ you want annually and select the renewable electricity source to generate your eSteam™ based on your budget and sustainability objectives.
- Affordability – eSteam™ is the most cost-effective, affordable option to green your building compared to alternatives, like electric boilers in your building. Vicinity’s access to transmission level rates gives district energy an economic advantage over onsite equipment.
- Avoid carbon fees and fines – Many cities in the U.S. have implemented or are considering laws that will lower greenhouse gas emissions in buildings. Oftentimes, these policies will carry hefty fines for non-compliance. eSteam™ is carbon- free, giving you peace of mind that your building will be green, without costing you more green.
- Maximum reliability and resiliency – Join the many customers who choose Vicinity’s district energy heating and cooling products for maximum reliability and resiliency.
- Low capital investments – To access the benefits of eSteam™, you don’t need to invest in costly capital projects and you can avoid expensive building retrofits. Decarbonize your thermal energy footprint by simply connecting to Vicinity’s district energy network.
- Certifications – Gain potential points for LEED® and ENERGY STAR® certifications to demonstrate your buildings’ commitment to sustainability.
Customers benefit from carbon-free eSteam™ generated with renewable electricity.
How eSteam™ works
By installing electric boilers at our central facilities and procuring renewable power from the grid, we can offer carbon-free steam to meet your buildings’ thermal energy needs. Vicinity can purchase renewable power on your behalf—such as wind, solar and hydro—at transmission level rates, allowing us to keep your costs down.
Coupled with other technologies like industrial-scale heat pumps and thermal storage, our goal is to offer you the most affordable, flexible thermal energy product that lowers carbon footprints, improves air quality and meets sustainability goals.
Vicinity’s eSteam™ is the first renewable, carbon-free thermal energy product in the United States, offering you maximum flexibility and superior environmental benefits.
Lock in with eSteam™ today to decarbonize your buildings and avoid looming carbon fees. To learn more about eSteam™ email our energy experts at info@vicinityenergy.us.
Pumps & Systems podcast: Heat pumps & decarbonization
In this episode of the Pumps & Systems podcast, Bill DiCroce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vicinity Energy discussed the role heat pumps can play in decarbonization, as well as the efforts cities like Boston are currently making to strive for sustainability and an eventual goal of net zero carbon emissions.
Recommended preventative maintenance
Vicinity’s comprehensive maintenance services are offered year-round—during peak usage or before system turn-ons—to optimize steam efficiency, reliability, and cost savings.
Improve the operating performance of steam systems by taking preventive steps to avoid energy losses. Customers who have leveraged Vicinity’s preventive maintenance program have experienced the following benefits:- Conserved energy and reduced energy costs by improving system performance and eliminating inefficiencies.
- Improved reliability by identifying problem areas that could cause unscheduled system outages.
- Optimized capital expenditure and operating expenses by maximizing system efficiency and strategically planning for infrastructure investments with an identified budget for equipment repair or replacement.
- Improved operating procedures by reviewing, refining, and documenting preventative maintenance best practices.
Steam traps
- Service description: Survey building, locate, identify, tag, and test steam trap performance.
- Maintenance value: Ensure steam traps function correctly and prevent issues that can lead to energy waste, equipment damage, and safety hazards.
Pressure Regulating Valves (PRVs)
- Service description: Identify valves’ make, model, size, and serial number. Test pilot valve for leaks, clean orifices, check diaphragm plates, test the gauging, and set to desired system pressure.
- Maintenance value: Prevent system over-pressurization and relief valves from releasing steam into the atmosphere. Failed PRVs may improperly cycle open and close, both oversupplying and then starving the downstream equipment of steam.
Strainers
- Service description: Inspect screens and clean out debris, evaluate source of debris, and troubleshoot. Ensure blow-down valves are functioning properly to flush trapped material.
- Maintenance value: Reduce rust and pipe scale damage to valves and pumps. Ensure heat transfer surfaces are kept free of efficiency reducing deposits.
Heat exchangers
- Service description: Perform water chemistry testing, determine if leaks exist, measure tube thickness, repair or plug tubes as needed, and perform preventative maintenance, such as hydrolasing or cleaning as needed.
- Maintenance value: Recover efficiency losses, optimize operation of the exchangers, and reduce energy consumption.
Steam pipe
- Service description: Inspect steam piping. Check for leaking joints, watermarks on insulation, and corrosion.
- Maintenance value: Deliver safe and reliable steam into the building while reducing potential for steam emissions into the building.
Condensate return line
- Service description: Inspect for leaks and corrosion. Check condensate pump seals for leaks. Check vent pipes for vapor emissions.
- Maintenance value: Avoid condensate water spills, ensure proper evacuation of condensate from system lines, and identify the presence of leaking steam traps in the system.
Mechanical room hot water loop
- Service description: Inspect all piping, inlet/outlet temperatures, and pressures on heat exchangers and mechanical pumps.
- Maintenance value: Confirm adequate operation of key energy transfer equipment, such as heat exchangers, which supply building heat, hot water, or other process loads.
Seasonal and maintenance shutdowns/turn-ons
- Service description: Manage closure and opening of Vicinity’s main service valve for seasonal system curtailment or start of use. Shutdowns require draining of systems while turn-ons require both draining of systems and operating pressure checks.
- Maintenance value: Ensure safe and confined operation of Vicinity’s main service valve for shutdowns/turn-ons related to seasonal changes and maintenance activities. Reduce radiant energy losses, condensate accumulation in system piping, and mechanical room air space temperature. Prevent pipes from rotting and prepare systems to be dormant for an extended period by draining the systems for shutdowns.
Emergency winter weather preparedness checklist
Melt away the challenges of winter weather. Prevent costly equipment damage and disruptions to daily operations by proactively preparing for winter weather conditions.
To enhance preparedness, we encourage you to utilize our emergency winter weather preparedness checklist. Regularly reviewing and implementing this guide ensures proactive building readiness for winter conditions. It safeguards against potential freeze-ups in steam and sprinkler systems, mitigates the risk of roof collapses due to heavy snowfall, and protects against potential flooding during extremely cold temperatures. These risks present safety concerns and entail substantial financial and time investments in repairs, with the possible consequence of building shutdowns.
Print out this emergency winter weather preparedness checklist and review it every winter to prepare staff and equipment.
Vicinity has rigorous cold weather protocols to ensure safe, reliable, and consistent operation of its facilities to prevent service disruptions. Our interconnected energy facilities offer 99.99% uptime energy delivery through multiple power supplies, backup generation, and several water and fuel sources in case of interruptions to other utilities.
Vicinity’s winter weather protocol includes:
- A comprehensive cold weather plan that entails pre-season preparation, pre-storm planning, weekly winter weather readiness checks, and post-season assessment.
- Identification, monitoring, and prioritization of components, systems, and other areas of vulnerability at our facilities which may experience freezing problems, pose safety risks, prevent the delivery of fuel or water, or result in other cold weather operational issues.
- Validation that critical equipment is operational through function testing.
- Implementing ongoing walk-downs throughout the season to ensure heat tracing is functional, sufficient pipe insulation is in place, and opportunities for continuous improvement are identified.
- Strict compliance with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) – Emergency Operations (EOP).
- Annual training with specific checklists related to freeze protection panel alarms, troubleshooting and repair of freeze protection circuitry, identification of facility areas susceptible to winter conditions, review of special inspections or rounds implemented during severe weather, and fuel switching procedures.
