Central Utility Plants
What is a Central Utility Plant (CUP)?
A central utility plant is the contained area of a building that is composed of plumbing, mechanical, and electrical equipment. An example of some of the specific systems that are housed within a Central Utility Plant are centralized air, boilers, generators, pumps, and central receiving. If there is a cluster of buildings within close proximity to one another, the Central Utility Plant is often shared amongst the total of them.
Is the Central Utility Plant the same as the HVAC?
The Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning System (HVAC) is one of the most consistently utilized systems within the Central Utility Plant. The HVAC system and the Central Utility Plant differ in that the HVAC is composed of utilities that are specific to heating and ventilation, whereas the Central Utility Plant is composed of utilities that control all functions of the infrastructure. HVAC systems use air from outside of the building to produce newly refreshed air that has been filtered efficiently to eliminate smoke, carbon dioxide, gas, and other odors. With the growth in building size and capacity over the years, air regulation and circulation have been more imperative than ever as too much moisture can cause mold and other illnesses.
Do I need a Central Utility Plant?
Every functioning building needs a Central Utility Plant within or near its infrastructure. Central Utility Plants were created to efficiently contain all of the important components of building regulation. Generally speaking, large sources of energy that are contained will save on space, maintenance, and efficiency. Infrastructures like dormitories, large campuses, hospitals, and corporate facilities are among the few types of facilities equipped with Central Utility Plants and generally save on space, maintenance, and efficiency as a result. In instances where there is a shared Central Utility Plant, the collective group of buildings will house the infrastructure outside and close by. Singular buildings generally place their Central Utility Plant inside or on top of the building.
The TAS Edge
For years, TAS has mastered the art of customization and efficiency. Our network of top-tier engineers specialize in building Modular Central Utility Plants that save you money, time, and project costs. Building with TAS means 100% customization to meet the scale of client needs. Reduction in project costs, production delays, energy consumption, and maintenance costs are just a few of the benefits that TAS offers. On average, our clients save 10-15% by using TAS Modular Central Utility Plants instead of traditional CUPs.
The TAS edge extends to our production process and includes client input and site-specific adaptations. One of the benefits of going modular with TAS is increased safety, due to single-point mechanical, electrical, and plumbing connections.Custom models are made to consider every element of the site’s environment, taking into consideration outside elements like wind and possible geographical obstacles. Satisfaction is our number one priority, and all TAS solutions to be modular, reliable, and efficient with fasty delivery and installation. Our goal is to continuously improve the overall health of the entire production process.
Benefits of TAS Central Utility Plants:
- Increase in project lifecycle due to risk-averse timeless or budge missteps
- Reduction in sit footprint
- Reduced jobsite crane costs
- Tax Advantages -CUP’s can be depreciated as a piece of equipment versus building square footage
- Custom design to fit site specific needs
- Reduction of specialized trade labor and materials management-labor at the site
- Dependable quality and safety standards
- Controlled quality management processes
- Build cycle optimization
- Reduction of project scheduling complications due to environmental factors
- 10-15% Cost savings over conventional construction
Key Features of TAS Central Utility Plans:
- ETL and UL Labeling
- Full service installation
- Single Point mechanical, electrical and plumbing connections
- Custom finishes that are built to match existing structural design
- Maintenance and operation access with platforms, stairs, walkways, ladders and grating
- Designed to meet wind and seismic criteria of site
- BIM modeling
- Custom electrical and control packages
- Pre-commissioned factory testing
Project Profiles
Our Engineers – Your Team
TAS engineers are experienced and hold certification in Power, Data Centers, and the Industrial field. We offer our clients over 100 years of combined experience while ensuring that every design is the most cost-effective and efficient option available. Our engineers can be contracted out for ongoing management services, overseeing project execution, as well as providing performance analysis on a periodic basis. As a client of TAS, our team is your team.
Industry-Led Solutions
A great example of this is the case study of two previous TAS clients in the Energy industry. Both companies’ objectives were to become more efficient while also producing enough energy for their prospective client base. TAS carefully studied various factors, like energy output, equipment conditions, and the scale of each site and determined that one energy company would best profit from retrofitting existing equipment and adding chilled water cooling agents to the data center site. The other energy company was able to build a completely separate Modular Central Utility Plant to house new and improved Data Centers.