(February 1, 2018) – The Facilities Engineering and Project Management department recently completed a project to replace the copper cooling coils for air handler unit #10 at the Peter T. Flawn (FLN) building. These coils, critical to the cooling performance of the air handler, reduce energy costs by increasing efficiency, and are expected to last several decades. The coils are similar to those in a car radiator but are themselves the size of a small vehicle – there are eight of them in this particular project. They date back to when the University was first built (circa 1973). Since these are highly customized products, there is a tremendous amount of coordination required with bringing cold water through the coils. This type of project is unique because of the manually intensive process of swapping large copper coils out by hand. In Texas, this is a project best performed during the winter. However, we did have to contend with one of the most severe cold snaps in recent memory when temperatures dipped below freezing for over seventy-two hours. This made working conditions at the project and in the building above, a challenge for all those working during the winter break. With only eighteen total workdays and despite some harsh weather conditions the project was completed, thanks to Devin Fitzpatrick, Project Coordinator, on January 5, 2018.
New copper copper cooling coils