District Cooling
Reliable, Cost-Beneficial Alternative to Traditional Air Conditioning
District cooling may be right for you if:
- Your building is within a few blocks of a plant's piping network
- You are considering an HVAC retrofit
- You want to reduce up-front capital equipment costs with new or existing construction
- You want to reduce ongoing equipment and maintenance costs
- You want to reduce the requirement and cost of electrical service
- You want to increase your real estate revenue by repurposing your roof and/or mechanical room space
What Is District Cooling?
District cooling provides customers their HVAC requirements through a network of underground pipes. It serves multiple buildings within a particular service area.
A district cooling plant distributes chilled water (approximately 44 to 45 degrees) to the customer's building through a set of heat exchangers located in the customer's mechanical room. A single plant can meet the cooling needs of several buildings.
Benefits of District Cooling
Operationally Reliable
- System redundancies mitigate risk
- Amount of equipment you maintain decreases
Cost Effective
- Substantially reduced initial capital investment
- Lower operational and energy expenses
- Stabilized and predictable long-term costs
- Lower electric service equipment costs
Flexible
- Use as much or as little cooling water as you need
- No need to worry about limited plant capacity
Enhances Your Property Value
- Increased effective revenue-generating space — no need for chillers
- Reduced noise and potential for environmental hazards
- Improved comfort
- Increased net operating income for building
- Rooftop repurpose to pool, garden area or solar panels
Learn More
- Benefits of Distributed Cooling, Heating & Power (CHP)
- Chilled Water from Austin Energy (pdf)
- District Cooling from Austin Energy (pdf)
- Life Cycle Cost Benefits (pdf)
- Our Current District Energy & Cooling Implementations
- Overview of District Energy & Cooling
Contact Us
Find out how your business can benefit from district cooling and potential future sites.
Email District Energy & Cooling today to request more information or to schedule a professional consultation.