The days of rain have slowed down the chiller loop project but not enough to cause serious delays in Bakersfield College.
To increase efficiency, the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library, the Language Arts building and the BC bookstore will be connected via pipe system with one chiller cool loop to accommodate all three. The chiller loop project has its trenches complete and the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes inserted. However, according to Keith Keevil, manager of maintenance and operations, that was just the easy part.
“Connecting the pipes to the actual building is more complicated,” he said. “We have to add valves and need steel pipes to connect to the chiller.”
The project is predicted to be complete by Dec. 12, but unless there is rain during that period of time, the project will not be slowed down. The cement for the sidewalk was started on Nov. 14, and the pavement for the parking lot will start on Nov. 21.
“Again, the rain can slow us down because we cannot add the pavement if the dirt is wet,” said Keevil.
Another issue that has been going on is the weather in Bakersfield. According to Keevil, the weather has been in the 80s for the last couple of days. The chillers are usually shut off by early November, so no real pipe insertion has started.