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Equity Office Co-generation Powers Up

Drive down any street, in any big city, and buildings abound; big ones, small ones, brick, glass, round or square. What makes each unique in its own right is what lies within. As we drove past 30 N. LaSalle in Chicago, Illinois, it looked like most any other building in the city. Both visitors and tenants alike made their way to one of the 44 floors hosting businesses of every type. Special care had been taken to make the building aesthetically pleasing while remaining fully functional in today’s technological society. We entered with no doubt in our minds that Equity Office took pride in making their building the premier property in Chicago.

Our meeting was with Chief Engineer Jim Hickey. After settling down in the Engineers Office, we asked Jim how he became the Chief at this building. He recounted how during his apprenticeship at 30 N. LaSalle, an anchor tenant was in the midst of releasing twenty floors of rentable space back to the building. With the potential for increased tenancy in the near future, the building recognized the need for an additional engineer, and Jim was able to move right into the position. That was 1993. There are now seven engineers employed at 30 N. LaSalle - Jim, Chief Engineer; Jim Muller, Assistant Chief; four building engineers and one apprentice. They work a 24/7 schedule. Jim commented about his guys, “The one thing I am most proud of is that I have a great crew. They enjoy being here and take pride in the fact that their plant is so well maintained and very clean.”

While 30 N. LaSalle appeared to be the same as any other building, there was one aspect that set it apart from all the rest. In addition to using conventional means of heating and cooling, this building is one of a select few properties to become a co-generation facility.

We started with the conventional means first. 30 N. LaSalle is heated by three Kewanee 600 HP, natural gas, low pressure, steam boilers during the winter season. Only one of the boilers, however, will run at any given time. Should the weather turn really cold, it may become necessary to run two boilers simultaneously. The third boiler is used for redundancy purposes. Steam generated from these boilers is then distributed to the system heat exchangers, pre-heat coils, unit heaters and domestic hot water converter.

Chilled water is provided by two, 1,388-ton and one 240-ton Carrier centrifugal chillers. These are low-pressure chillers using R-11 refrigerant. While the small chiller loop can be isolated to serve ground floor tenants, the primary chiller loop serves the supply air handlers, the low rise secondary system interchanger and the high rise secondary loop. A 3,000-ton Marley cooling tower provides condenser water for the chillers. A smaller Marley tower, 400-ton capacity, serves the tenant riser.

Air quality within the building is also a primary concern. Ventilation is provided by an induction system serving the perimeter and a constant volume system serving the interior areas. Air return is achieved through the ceiling plenum. In addition to being divided into a low rise and high rise building, these sections are in turn divided into southeast and northwest perimeter systems served by medium pressure steam re-heat coils for each zone. Fans are working off of variable frequency drives, affording a high level of energy efficiency. Being further divided into north and south interior zones, these zones are served with low pressure, hot water reheat coils on every floor.

Coordinating all these systems to work as efficiently aspossible, an Andover 256 automation system takes constant readings to ensure that the maximum comfort level is obtained in every office space. The ability to switch to pneumatic controls is available in the event that not only power but natural gas supply is interrupted.

Just as important as the equipment are the people who run that equipment. Jim told us that going into a job such as his required a good mechanical background. In addition, he added that besides a mechanical background, the ability to deal with many types of people helps. “As a chief engineer, you wear many hats. If you can juggle management, tenant, and crew personalities effectively, then you will be successful in your job,” he said. He added that membership in associations such as The Chief Engineer has helped him tremendously. Not only has he made valuable contacts with vendors, he has had the opportunity to meet and talk with other chiefs who may have had or are having some of the same issues that he must deal with.

What Chief Hickey likes best about his job is the diversity of details that must be attended to every day. “Anything can happen in a million square foot building and whenever you think you’ve seen it all, something else comes up. Every day is different. There is no typical day”. That was certainly true in the development of the co-gen project. What began as a mutual need for two different companies has become an enormous time and money saving venture entwining both.

As with many businesses, Equity Office was becoming increasingly concerned about deregulation and increasing energy costs. At the same time, Chicago Title and Trust Company, occupying the 38th floor, was concerned about backup power generation for their elaborate data center located within. In a meeting between Equity Office and CT&T, it was apparent that the needs of both could be equally satisfied with the installation of a generator. It was decided that the installation of a gas fired generator could serve not only as a backup in the event of an actual power outage, but also as a means of peak shaving in times of high energy usage. Looking like this was a win-win situation for all involved; the go-ahead was given.

All education concerning the operation of the generator was done during installation. Although there was a lot to learn, the actual start up and shut down of the generator is fully automated so hands-on operation is at a minimum. In addition to the learning curve at installation, all of the engineers have taken the Generator Operation Certification offered through The Chief Engineers Association. With a capacity of 1,100 kW, the Cummins Onan natural gas fired generator is started prior to each day’s base building equipment being started. Power is supplied directly to the main switchgear room where a bank of transfer switches distribute the power to where it is needed. At the end of the day, when the base building equipment is powered down, so then is the generator. In addition to supplying power to the building, waste heat from the generator is sent to a waste heat boiler, which in turn provides steam to the main boiler header. From here it us used for domestic hot water needs for the building in the summer and for heating needs in the spring, fall and winter. This eliminates the need to run the 600 HP boilers in the summer, providing not only energy savings but maintenance savings on the equipment as well. In the event that power is lost to the building, the generator automatically transfers power to the 38th floor. A 400 kW diesel generator is in place for other emergency power needs in the building.

Redundancy is a key word in the operations at 30 N. LaSalle. When the generator project was scoped out, all possibilities were thought through. In the event of a total power outage and generator malfunction, a hookup panel installed near the generator allows for a roll-on generator to be installed for a temporary power supply. Equity Office also installed a secondary power riser to provide backup power to Chicago Title & Trust in the event of physical damage to the primary riser. Every emergency situation was accounted for before the project began. A good deal of the project was “field engineered” and having a comprehensive understanding of the mechanical and electrical systems of the building was very beneficial to the process.

Completed in the second quarter of 2002, the project has proved nothing but valuable to both entities. Not only has Equity Office reduced energy costs and gained the experience and knowledge for application to future cogeneration projects, CT&T can rest assured that their data center will be protected under any circumstances thrown at them. The mutual involvement of both companies has benefited not only them but the tenants within the building as well.

After hearing of the success of this project we asked Jim in closing what he felt prepared him for a job of this magnitude. He answered, “I would say years of familiarizing yourself with the operations within. He further related that he has had lots of training and courses through Local 399 and would encourage anyone in the field or thinking of entering the field to do the same.

So when not at work, what do you do with your time, we asked. “I golf a lot, and plat softball. The ‘manly’ type of softball, 16 inch”, he answered. “I have been married for 13 years to my wife, Tina, and I have three children, Jimmy, Amanda and Elyse. They take the rest of my time.”

Cogeneration is becoming the wave of the future. It is an option that more and more buildings are looking to in this time of energy uncertainty. Equity Office has beaten the race into cogeneration and has proved it to be a highly successful venture for themselves as well as Chicago Title & Trust. When the city goes black you can be sure of the name of the only building left with its lights on, 30 N. LaSalle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the time of the interview Jim Hickey has become Manager-Portfolio Engineering with Equity Office, Jim Muller has become Chief Engineer and Bob McInerney is now the Assistant Chief Engineer.

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