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New Buildings Help Cut Energy Use, Provide Safety At LBCC
By Shereen Oca
Staff Writer
New central plants and a public safety building are the latest addition to Long Beach City College amidst ongoing construction on both campuses.
Reduced energy consumption and decreased operating costs are among the many benefits that result from the completion of the Liberal Arts and Pacific Coast campuses’ central plants, officials said.
Each plant is part of the college’s 2020 Unified Master Plan, and they tie into a campus-wide push to become more energy efficient, according to LBCC Superintendent-President Eloy Oakley.
“They will allow both of our campuses, in particular the Liberal Arts Campus, to really improve the efficiency of the way we deliver our utilities,” Oakley said. “This will allow us not only to save money over time, but more importantly to save energy and make us a greener campus.”
Built simultaneously, the total cost of both plants was approximately $16 million, according to Tim Wootton, deputy director of facilities.
He estimates the plants, once fully operational, will save about $60,000 in operating and maintenance costs annually, while significantly reducing the amount of total energy consumed.
In addition, Southern California Edison has provided LBCC with an incentive of $1.2 million to build the central plants as well as offering the school rebates on additional energy-saving projects, according to Medhanie Ephrem, LBCC energy-management coordinator.
As part of the master plan, he continued, all new buildings will be linked to these plants and efforts will be taken to update and connect the older buildings, some of which date back to the mid-1930s.
“That is a big project, infrastructure-wise both internally and externally,” Ephrem said of retrofitting the old buildings to become compatible with the new energy-management system. “Down the line, we hope to have all the buildings connected to the central plants.”
Once a building is connected, LBCC staff then can control its heating, ventilating and air conditioning to maximize the efficiency of operations, he said. That comes in addition to the primary purpose of the plants to generate, cool and heat the water for both campuses, he added.
“Overall, it will save the college money, which we will be able to put back into the classroom,” Oakley said. “It will also serve as a reminder to our students to continue to find ways to decrease our use of energy.”
The central plant was completed at the same time as the new Library and Learning Resource Center on the Pacific Coast Campus earlier this semester.
The central plant on the Liberal Arts Campus is the latest building completed at LBCC and houses both a public safety center for campus police as well as an athletic room.
Several projects on the Liberal Arts Campus are nearing their completion as well. The South Quad Complex should be finished by late January or early February, and that campus’s Library and Learning Resources Center is scheduled to open in early spring, according to Oakley.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the central plant and public safety building on the Liberal Arts Campus will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2.
The Liberal Arts Campus is at 4901 E. Carson St.
For more information on the Long Beach City College, call 938-4353 or go to www.lbcc.edu.
Reduced energy consumption and decreased operating costs are among the many benefits that result from the completion of the Liberal Arts and Pacific Coast campuses’ central plants, officials said.
Each plant is part of the college’s 2020 Unified Master Plan, and they tie into a campus-wide push to become more energy efficient, according to LBCC Superintendent-President Eloy Oakley.
“They will allow both of our campuses, in particular the Liberal Arts Campus, to really improve the efficiency of the way we deliver our utilities,” Oakley said. “This will allow us not only to save money over time, but more importantly to save energy and make us a greener campus.”
Built simultaneously, the total cost of both plants was approximately $16 million, according to Tim Wootton, deputy director of facilities.
He estimates the plants, once fully operational, will save about $60,000 in operating and maintenance costs annually, while significantly reducing the amount of total energy consumed.
In addition, Southern California Edison has provided LBCC with an incentive of $1.2 million to build the central plants as well as offering the school rebates on additional energy-saving projects, according to Medhanie Ephrem, LBCC energy-management coordinator.
As part of the master plan, he continued, all new buildings will be linked to these plants and efforts will be taken to update and connect the older buildings, some of which date back to the mid-1930s.
“That is a big project, infrastructure-wise both internally and externally,” Ephrem said of retrofitting the old buildings to become compatible with the new energy-management system. “Down the line, we hope to have all the buildings connected to the central plants.”
Once a building is connected, LBCC staff then can control its heating, ventilating and air conditioning to maximize the efficiency of operations, he said. That comes in addition to the primary purpose of the plants to generate, cool and heat the water for both campuses, he added.
“Overall, it will save the college money, which we will be able to put back into the classroom,” Oakley said. “It will also serve as a reminder to our students to continue to find ways to decrease our use of energy.”
The central plant was completed at the same time as the new Library and Learning Resource Center on the Pacific Coast Campus earlier this semester.
The central plant on the Liberal Arts Campus is the latest building completed at LBCC and houses both a public safety center for campus police as well as an athletic room.
Several projects on the Liberal Arts Campus are nearing their completion as well. The South Quad Complex should be finished by late January or early February, and that campus’s Library and Learning Resources Center is scheduled to open in early spring, according to Oakley.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the central plant and public safety building on the Liberal Arts Campus will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2.
The Liberal Arts Campus is at 4901 E. Carson St.
For more information on the Long Beach City College, call 938-4353 or go to www.lbcc.edu.
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