It is the opinion of these authors that designing a central utility plant (CUP) presents the most exciting engineering challenge in one’s career. Sizing the HVAC equipment, laying out the piping systems, and designing the controls architecture in a CUP is a formidable challenge, particularly when the project involves large-capacity equipment (in this case, 4,000 tons of cooling). Add to this that the plant is located in a hospital and the project is located in a seismic zone with a seismic design category of C (or D) and the need for a well-engineered solution is at a maximum.
In addition to the applicable minimum code requirements, the layout of the CUP must take into account the available space, flexibility for future expansion, the desired efficiency of the CUP cooling and heating systems, operational needs, redundancy requirements, and resiliency needs.