Capital improvements have helped CityPlex Towers become more energy efficient and through a boiler replacement, the buiding has reduced its natural gas usaged by more than 70 percent.Featuring two new boilers that run at a 90 percent efficiency, CityPlex Towers has seen positive results since 2012 with the completed installation.
With the 60 hp boiler — with a 6:1 turndown rate — running in the summer and the 700 hp boiler — with a 10:1 turndown rate — running in the winter, since the final installation, King has not found a reason to run the boilers at 100 percent, and their performance has delivered benefits.
“Our building load is still less than 700 horsepower, and the payback for the boilers has been really good,” King says. “We dropped 71 percent in our annual gas consumption from 2009 to 2014. It was huge. The previous boilers were so grossly oversized and inefficient to keep online that we have seen tremendous changes.”
From 2008 to 2016, the electrical peak kW demand decreased 43 percent, and the kWh decreased 56 percent. Between 2008 and 2016, CityPlex Towers went from boilers running at 30 percent efficiency to two new boilers operating with a 93 Energy Star rating.
“We went from one extreme to the other,” King says.
In addition to operating more efficiently, King and his staff have been able to spend more time on other projects.
“The City of Tulsa requires a licensed first-class unlimited engineer onsite in the central plant to monitor steam systems above 15 psig and chillers above 150 tons any time the equipment is operating and the facility is occupied, which means 24/7/365 for our facility,” King says, adding that after the boiler replacement, “the staff size stayed the same, and the extra time is used to better maintain other equipment within the central plant.”
Boilers: Capital Improvements for Energy Efficiency
Boilers: Replacement Based on Building Load
Boilers: Upgrades That Deliver Results
