One of the two air conditioning cooling towers located behind Peltier Hall failed at the beginning of June, forcing Assistant Vice President for Facilities Mike Davis to rent a temporary system at $8,000 a month until a new tower can be put into place.
According to Davis, the cooling units have a 15-year lifespan, and considering that the broken cooling tower was installed in 1992, it was in need of an upgrade. With a value of roughly $190,000 and not enough state money to pay for it, Nicholls is forced to use money from Building Use fees included in tuition, $48 every semester, in order to fund the replacement.
The air conditioning systems are much more complicated than just the system itself, Davis explained.
“The cooling units are made up of two 640-ton cooling towers and two 640-ton chillers,” Davis said. “The chillers and cooling towers work together in order to be effective. These units are part of an energy loop that provides air conditioning for Beauregard Hall, Peltier Hall, Polk Hall, Stopher Gym, Shaver Gym and Powell-White Hall.”
A rental tower had to be put in place so that the chiller associated with the failed cooling tower would not be damaged. Repairs were made to the chiller a few years ago and it is still in working order. Issues have been ordered for a new cooling tower to replace the rental.
The rental tower was issued June 7 and the new tower is expected to arrive in October. When the new cooling tower is installed, Madewood Drive running along Peltier Hall will be closed to accommodate a crane for removing the old tower and to connect the new one. A small section of Beauregard Hall will also be closed at this time as a safety precaution to students.
During the fall and winter months, the school rotates out cooling towers so that one is run at a time. When the summer months arrive with hotter temperatures, there is a higher demand for air conditioning and Nicholls runs both cooling towers.
“If the cooling tower would have failed in December, we would not have had to rent a cooling tower because there is still one cooling tower behind Peltier hall that is in working order,” Davis said.
Davis has issued a capital outlay request to the state as he does every year, requesting funds for various projects happening around campus. One part of the capital outlay is to request funds for the replacement of the remaining two chillers and the cooling tower since they are also reaching the end of their life cycle.
The total capital outlay request amount for this year is roughly $2.4 million. The request is still going through the long strenuous process of approval associated with the capital outlay.
“The capital outlay request for funding of the new cooling tower and two chillers is listed as an emergency project and will hopefully take priority in the state,” Davis said.