Inside Cal Poly’s Central Plant: ASHRAE Club Tour Experience

Mechanical Engineering senior and incoming ASHRAE club officer Lucas Meneghetti shares his experiences of a club tour of Cal Poly’s Central Plant:

This past Thursday, April 24, I had the opportunity along with 12 other Cal Poly ASHRAE students to join professor and club advisor Lauren Rueda and Supervisor of Central Plant and Refrigeration Aaron Giannini on a tour of one of the most crucial facilities on campus: the Central Plant. The plant is responsible for providing chilled and hot water to the majority of campus buildings.

My interest in visiting the facility started during my Thermal Systems Design class last winter quarter. During that class, we toured the Baker Science building and learned about its HVAC and MEP systems. Throughout that tour, the Central Plant and its importance to campus operations were mentioned multiple times. After that, I wanted to better understand the infrastructure responsible for supporting HVAC across our campus.

From the moment you walk into the plant, you are immediately faced with a massive 1.1-million-gallon thermal energy storage tank that holds chilled water used to cool most of the campus buildings. During the tour, we also had the chance to see the evaporative cooling towers, chillers, boilers, and the controls system that manages operations across campus.

One of the things that stood out most to me was the purpose of the storage tank: storing chilled water that is produced at night, when energy demand and costs are lower, and stored for use during the day when demand is highest. This allows the campus to significantly reduce energy usage during peak hours and operate without running the chillers during the day.

It was also interesting to learn about some of the real-world challenges the facility faces, such as the need for advanced filtration systems to prevent contamination and protect equipment, especially since the storage tank is exposed to the atmosphere.

Overall, this was a great opportunity to gain real-world exposure to HVAC systems and better understand what it takes to keep a college campus running. It was even more valuable to share the experience with other ASHRAE students who brought their own insights and perspectives to the tour.