Contracted by Interstate Mechanical to assist in design, coordination, and installation of a new thermal storage ice plant, as well as upgrading the current refrigeration plant that supplies 45 Rockefeller Center, a Tishman Speyer property, with the required 1250-ton cooling load. Tishman Speyer’s plan was to use CON-ED demand management incentives, applying a strategy to attain future cost savings by leveraging an innovative thermal battery energy storage technology. The system was engineered to permit cross-cooling between several nearby properties and allow for future updates without requiring closure of any building. ​ In New York City, the power utility charges significantly more money per KWH during peak hours, in comparison to evening hours when demand is low. The solution was to implement a thermal storage ice bank system where the chillers freeze water in ice tanks during off-peak hours, pulling the cooling loads from the tanks during the day. ​ A thermal energy storage system is like a battery for a building’s air-conditioning system. During off-peak hours, chillers are run and ice is made inside of 8’ diameter by 12’ tall storage tanks. During the daytime, the chillers are turned off and pumps are activated to feed glycol water through the ice tanks, pulling the cold temperature from the ice to feed chilled water throughout the building, supplying air handlers with the required chilled water. This ice plant was engineered as a dual flow system which can simultaneously service 45 Rockefeller Center and 30 Rockefeller Center - future-proofed with room for upgrades and maintenance of the 30 Rockefeller Center central plant with no service disruption to tenants throughout the 1250 ton system.

The scope of work included laser-scanning, modeling and coordination for constructability and serviceability, rigging feasibility analysis, shut-down phasing strategy, and development of pre-fabricated spool drawings for a quicker installation. The capacity of this job consisted of the installation of 3 new, high-efficiency Trane chillers. Two of the chillers were dedicated to the upgrade of the existing refrigeration plant. One was a specialized ice chiller to service the new thermal storage plant, 64 Calmac ice tanks, 10 high-capacity pumps, and the associated controls to automatically monitor and control the flow/temperature throughout the 1250-ton system.

When the EliteCAD team aligned the composite point cloud to the provided architectural background drawings in AutoCAD MEP Fabrication, they immediately discovered that the backgrounds used by the engineer did not accurately represent the existing conditions. Our team verified that the provided backgrounds were 3 feet larger than the actual existing conditions which accounted for approximately 1,000sq/ft less of space to fit all of the proposed mechanical system in an already congested mechanical space. It was apparent that the intended number of ice tanks and equipment were not going to fit per the design. This circumstance threatened the proposed capacity, financial viability, and schedule of the envisioned systems and had an immediate impact on the design and layout of the system. This early detection of the severe space limitations allowed for EliteCAD to explore every opportunity to re-arrange or reconfigure piping, pumps, chemical treatment equipment and tank placement to make all fit in the lesser space available while maintaining clearances and optimal performance.

Making Prefabrication Possible: EliteCAD's unique strategy and procedures integrated into an active construction process made it possible to tie into live conditions with short turn around time and minimal impact on the overall plant operations. Accurate scanning and modeling of the existing conditions made rigging feasibility analysis and production of accurate pre-fabrication drawings possible. This effort minimized shut down time and contributed to beating an aggressive construction schedule.

Effective project scheduling plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of any project. EliteCAD's workflow, comprehensive documentation, management and quality assurance methods made it possible to meet an otherwise unrealistic construction time frame. EliteCAD expedited project delivery, with this system fully operational two full days ahead of the master construction schedule at a cost below the estimated budget. Early beneficial use of the new systems reduced the overall cost of the entire New Ice Plant installation.