Tour of UW Charter Street Heating and Cooling Plant

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This will be a tour of the recently renovated combined heat and power plant that serves the UW  campus.

Advance Registration is Required The tour can not accomodate more than 30 people. 

There are no elevators so attendees will need to be able to climb one or two flights of stairs.

The original plant was constructed in late 1950’s as a heating plant with three coal-fired boilers to supply steam to campus buildings for heating. A fourth boiler was added in the early 1960’s. A plant expansion in the mid 1960’s added a fifth boiler (natural gas) and the first two chillers for campus cooling. The current 9.7 MW steam turbine generator was added in mid 1990’s. The plant was extensively rebuilt between 2011 and 2013 to replace the coal-fired boilers with gas-fired units and make other improvements and additions including:

• Water treatment equipment installation
• Upgrades to feed water and condensate collection systems
• New air compressors
• Upgrade to digital controls for both campus heating/cooling plants
• Electrical system upgrades and additions
• New 13.8-KV switchyard
• Fire protection for the existing plant and expansion
• New six-cell, 50,000-GPM cooling tower
• Construction of a new control room

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Bring head phones if you have them. UW will provide a wireless receiver and a single earbud for anyone who doesn’t bring their own.

Parking: The map provided by the link in the "Where" box above shows UW parking Lots 33 and 45. After 4:30 PM, both of these lots are free so attendees can park in either lot depending on availability.

4:55 PM: Gather at the entrance indicated on the linked map and wait to be admitted. If the weather is bad, we will be admitted a little earlier. The entrance is adjacent to the plant’s parking lot on Mills Street just south of Dayton Street. Anyone arriving after this door is locked will need to walk around the plant to the pedestrian gate on Charter Street and buzz the control room for entrance into the plant.

5:00 - 6:30 Tour: The tour will last approximately an hour and a half depending on questions and inclusion of a tour of the roof. (See below)

Tour Stops: (order subject to change)

• Control room
• 225,000 Lb/Hr natural gas boilers
• Natural gas meter pit
• New utility tunnel and steam exit locations
• Water treatment plant
• Steam turbine generator
• Campus cooling chillers and pumping systems
• Fuel oil tank (back-up fuel to natural gas)
• Optional roof tour - If weather permits, those who wish to climb the additional stairs to the roof can see the boiler stacks, and the cooling towers for the boiler feedwater, and the chiller.

Overview Map and Additional Parking

The map below shows an overview of the area. The point marked is UW parking lot 45 across Mills St. from the plant. Lots 45 and 33 are accessible by turning South on Mills St. from from Univeristy Avenue Westbound or Johnson St. Eastbound. You can also turn North on Mills St. from Regent St, just South of the area shown. If parking lots 33 and 45 are full, there may be space available in lot 54 behind the UW Geology Museum on Charter St. across from the South end of the plant. Go around the block to Charter St. by going South on Mills St., East on Spring St. and North on Charter St. Lot 54 has linked sections that may not be visible from the street.

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