MCAA’s Final Four Student Chapters Will Compete at MCAA23 in Phoenix for First Place and a $10,000 Prize

Twenty-two MCAA Student Chapters submitted a proposal for the National Western Center Campus Energy project.  Congratulations to the Final Four and Merit Award teams. The teams will present their proposals on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 28^th at MCAA23 in Phoenix, AZ.

Students were asked to provide a proposal for construction of the mechanical and plumbing systems at the new district energy facility on the National Western Center Campus in Denver, CO. The scope of the project included the installation of three 1000-ton cooling towers, six 6000-mbh boilers, a SHARC sewer heat recovery system, plate and frame heat exchangers, pumps, piping and supporting infrastructure. 

This new 9,000 SF district energy facility will heat and cool multiple vertical buildings on the campus primarily by recovering heat from the 72” Delgany sewer main. The campus buildings include a veterinary hospital, a cattle expo hall and arena, an equestrian expo hall and arena, events center, agricultural education buildings with labs, greenhouses and kitchens, and a gallery/entertainment building. Upon completion, this project will be the largest sewer heat recovery system in North America. It is a huge step forward in de-carbonizing our commercial buildings with the use of both new and traditional technologies.     

Thank you to the following companies for their special contributions to the competition project:

• U.S. Engineering of Westminster, CO (supplying the project)
• Procore (use of their Project Management software)
• Trimble (use of Trimble Estimation MEP software)
• Ferguson (providing pricing for pipe valves and fittings)