Jon Ziegler, PE, GLHN Senior Mechanical Engineer/Analyst presented at the APPA National Conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this year on the process of long range planning for institutional infrastructure.  This included the benefit of utility planning and a review of the tools available through APPA and APPA University. Important reasons to develop a Utility Development Plan (UDP) include: Cataloging capacity of existing utility system Identifying deficiencies by system Gathering/preparing utility…

Henry Johnstone, PE, President of GLHN Architects &Engineers, Inc. is raising awareness of the future of fresh water not only domestically, but globally.  Published in District Energy magazine, distributed by the International District Energy Association, Henry’s article explains how district energy will play a large role in the reduction of urban water consumption. “As regional fresh water becomes scarce, the balance of trade offs between cooling energy and water consumption becomes…

The University of Arizona operates and maintains a campus steam production and distribution system serving over 130 buildings, with a generating capacity of over 320,000 lb/hr of saturated 100 psig steam. The campus is comprised of many building types and uses including a Level I trauma hospital, research laboratories, classroom/office buildings, large auditorium spaces, student housing, and NCAA Division I Sports complexes. Campus heating loads can fluctuate significantly over the…

A Utility Development Plan (UDP) is a comprehensive and interactive long range planning process encompassing some or all campus utilities.  It is a living document with the purpose of establishing an effective method to identify, prioritize, and define projects and estimated costs for immediate and future needs.  Stage 1 of the process is Problem Definition which looks at existing conditions of the utility systems and includes talking with utility providers…