The HFS Team provided professional services to design and construct a new, modern chiller plant adjacent to the existing boiler plant at the Omaha VA Medical Center. The project consisted of the demolition of existing systems and the installation of equipment in a new chiller plant building, which included new controls, all required safety items, and system modifications/enhancements for the new plant to function with portions of the existing chilled water distribution system.

The initial project scope of work was based on a feasibility study to connect to and purchase chilled water from a nearby university plant, which was deemed infeasible as it lacked redundancy for emergency situations. The HFS Team reviewed the options and the existing system, concluding that a new plant was needed on site. The existing system was an eclectic mix of technologies that had been modified over the years. These modifications resulted in complicated, inefficient piping and pumping systems that wasted energy.

The new building was designed adjacent to the boiler plant, away from the main building to consolidate the industrial areas of the campus and simplify maintenance requirements. The HFS Team designed it to accommodate future expansion, when more funding becomes available, by simply adding additional bays for chillers and electrical equipment, as needed. In addition, premium land area on campus was both recovered from the existing towers and saved for alternate uses by placing the new cooling towers on the plant roof.