First and Largest Phase of Big Shift is Complete
Shifting toward a fossil fuel-free future
If you spend time in central campus, hanging out in the Quad or Memorial Union or attending class in buildings like Wellman Hall and Young Hall, you’ve likely walked right over some of the four miles of recently installed hot water pipes that are leading UC Davis to a more energy-efficient and less fossil-fuel dependent future.
After more than two years of digging trenches, laying pipes and converting mechanical rooms, the first district of the Big Shift is complete. In a landmark achievement, hot water is running through the Quad district and heating buildings.
“Even though it’s only the first step in our district-by-district approach, it’s a massive accomplishment and it is providing great momentum to carry Big Shift into the next stage,” said Dan Golde, director of engineering projects and project manager for Big Shift.
For over 75 years, UC Davis has relied on steam to heat buildings on campus. Generating steam from our existing boilers requires the combustion of natural gas, making our heating infrastructure dependent on fossil fuels. When the steam-heating infrastructure began to age to the point where it needed to be replaced, the university took the opportunity to consider an alternate, more sustainable way to heat campus. That’s where the Big Shift comes in.
“The Big Shift is about shifting our heating system away from steam made by using fossil fuels and toward hot water that we can ultimately make with renewable electricity,” said Camille Kirk, director of UC Davis Sustainability and campus sustainability planner.
Taking the first step
Such a massive infrastructure change involves significant upheaval. To make the impact manageable, the Big Shift has been split into segments, each focused on converting a specific area on campus. The first segment, the “Quad district,” is the biggest and most trafficked, and relied on the oldest steam infrastructure.
Beginning in spring 2020, construction crews dug trenches throughout the area surrounding the Quad and the Silo and laid new hot water pipes. These pipes now feed hot water to heat 31 buildings including the Memorial Union, the Silo, Shields Library and classroom buildings like Olson Hall, Wellman Hall, and the Social Sciences and Humanities building. Before each buildings could use the hot water, the machinery in its mechanical rooms had to be converted.
“Our steam infrastructure isn’t just underground, it’s in every building," said Alan Suleiman, a Design and Construction Management project manager for the Big Shift. Crews had to go into each mechanical room to demolish old and install new infrastructure to complete the shift to hot water.
“It was tricky,” Suleiman said of the conversion process. "Sometimes we were in and out in a few days, while other buildings took longer. We are so grateful for the building occupants who dealt with some less than ideal temperatures during the shift."
After two years of diligent work in the trenches and basements of classroom halls, the Big Shift team finalized the conversion of the Quad district this summer.
Shifting toward sustainability
“It’s exciting that we were able to achieve the first part of the Big Shift to such a high degree of success,” said Jim Carroll associate vice chancellor of DCM and university architect. “We took an important first step to sustainably transform our infrastructure while laying the ground work for even bigger steps to come.”
Why this shift is worth it
The shift from steam to hot water is vital in reducing university's reliance on fossil fuels and as such, is a cornerstone of the UC Davis Fossil Fuel-Free Pathway Plan. The draft for the FFFPP will be posted soon for public feedback, read more about the plan in the meantime.
This accomplishment brings UC Davis closer to fully transitioning from steam to hot water. With the Quad district complete, 30 percent of our campus buildings' total heating load has been converted, and the efficiency of campus heating infrastructure has been improved.
“By taking some steam pipes offline, we're eliminating energy loss we’d see with steam,” said Joshua Morejohn, executive director of Engineering and Utilities at Facilities Management.
Though the entire district is using hot water, the hot water itself is being heated from the steam created at the Central Heating and Cooling Plant to heat the rest of the campus. Once all the districts are complete, the Central Heating and Cooling Plant can be converted to no longer generate steam and instead use electricity, generated from renewable sources, to produce hot water for heating.
“Creating a fossil fuel-free future is one of the major sustainability goals of the university. The Big Shift is a critical part of that,” Kirk said.
Each district that is converted will bring the campus closer to eliminating natural gas and reducing our carbon emissions. The next segment of the Big Shift is in the preliminary planning stages.
Planning the next step
Focus will turn to the converting the “Sprocket district” which encompasses the Segundo and Reagan residence halls, the Student Health and Wellness Center, the ARC, and the University Credit Union Center, in addition to a handful of classroom and lab buildings. See where the next phase of construction will be on our interactive map. Even more excitingly, this segment of construction includes the installation of heat recovery water chillers and a thermal energy storage tank for hot water.
“These new chillers will allow us to recover heat we’re currently releasing in the air as part of cooling process,” Morejohn said. This recovered heat can then be used in the hot water system in the place of heat generated by natural gas. Once the chillers and tank are installed, they’ll be able to handle a significant heating load of the converted districts, reducing fossil fuel use while the Big Shift is in progress.
Overcoming construction challenges
As construction continues, the Big Shift team will be able to apply the lessons learned while converting the first district.
“Completing this first part of the Big Shift was truly a team effort between the contractor, designers, inspectors, and partners in Facilities Management, the Arboretum and Public Garden, Campus Planning and so many other groups,” Golde said. “While we do not yet know who the contractors for the next part of the project will be, we are very fortunate to have much of the rest of the team intact, carrying the experience and knowledge we gained going forward. With this, we are very confident the next step will build on the success of the first.”
Even with the experience under their belt, the Big Shift crew will still have to manage a lot of complications inherent to digging on campus.
Digging trenches isn’t as simple as pointing a backhoe in the right direction. Pipes for other utilities, tree roots, and possible cultural artifacts, all must be accounted for when breaking ground.
“While excavating every trench, the team had to navigate a maze of existing utilities including storm drains, sewer pipes and electrical duct banks,” Golde said. (Take a peek in the trenches.)
The utilities, while difficult to work around, were mostly known quantities. In contrast, there was no way of knowing where or whether the Big Shift trenches might unearth cultural artifacts. To prepare for this possibility, construction crews underwent training, and cultural monitors — including an archaeologist and a representative from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation — oversaw excavation and walked the trenches during construction. (Read more about why and what measures were taken to protect cultural resources.)
Another thing that had to be protected during Big Shift construction was the health of the surrounding landscape. According to Campus Landscape Architect Christina Reyes, “starting with the design process, to moment-to-moment decisions on the ground, the protection of trees is always an important factor in any [UC Davis] construction plans.”
The Big Shift is no exception. Trenches were planned to minimize impact on trees, including digging around central root systems, protecting roots that were exposed and consulting with an arborist on the best action to take when necessary. (Read more about how trees were protected during Big Shift construction.)
The Big Shift team will apply same level of care and consideration for protecting natural and cultural resources as they move into the Sprocket district.
Looking forward
“The Big Shift is a massive undertaking in scope and in the amount of work it will require, and, as such a major, forward-looking investment, it is a vital part of fulfilling our commitment to stewarding a more sustainable future," Kirk said.
Follow along as this important work continues in the exciting next stage of the Big Shift. Sign up for the newsletter to get construction updates.