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The Chicago Public Schools heating, ventilating, and air conditioning requirements are met by a broad and diverse array of equipment and technology. Building age ranges from a few months to well over a century. The oldest building operated on a daily basis first opened for classes in 1879. The average building age is over 57 years. The schools operating energy requirements are provided by natural gas or electricity. About 90% of the gross system conditioned space of 58,000,000 square feet is heated by natural gas, the remaining 10%, electrically. There are nearly 60 schools that are centrally air conditioned. These buildings range in size from 9,000 square feet to over 400,000 square feet.
Approximately 480 buildings are gas heated, utilizing steam, hydronic (hot water), or heat-exchanged forced-air systems to accomplish the heating requirement. The majority of these buildings, have steam plants which are older than the system-wide average.
In the 120 electrically heated buildings, heating systems are either resistance, heat exchanged forced-air, or heat pump type. The oldest electrically heated building was constructed in 1969. Electrically heated buildings have a lower initial cost but cost more to operate.
Local 143 engineers operate and maintain steam engines, centrifugal chillers, absorption systems, heat pumps, multi-zone rooftop units, boilers, fire sprinkler systems, swimming pools, and much more.
The term "low pressure" has been equated with “no danger" by some who are unfamiliar with the laws of thermodynamics. When rating the total pressure of a boiler, the total pressurized area, measured in square inches, is multiplied by the operating pressure of the vessel. Even on smaller boilers or hot water heaters this total pressure can exceed several hundred thousand pounds. Boiler water alone approaches 240 degrees Fahrenheit at 10 pounds gauge pressure and is in itself extremely dangerous. As a matter of fact, the only fatality related to a steam system operation in the Chicago Public Schools was that of Hugh Manley, a school Engineer who lost his life while preventing a catastrophe in 1923. Manley High School was named in his honor by a grateful Chicago shortly thereafter.
The term "automatic plant" implies that all operations necessary to insure a conductive educational environment are accomplished through electronic or pneumatic means. The fact is that virtually all plant operation within the Chicago Public Schools is accomplished manually through the necessary selection of heating coils, fan speed, and start-up time. A skilled operator utilizes knowledge of site characteristics, building needs, and anticipated atmospheric conditions to plan in advance for the programs at the school. This use planning has saved the school system countless millions in energy costs long before the term "conservation" was fashionable.
The Chicago Public Schools have demonstrated an exemplary safety record in regard to plant operation over the past century. The results of proven competence, especially in regard to student safety, should never be minimized. The documented safety record achieved by Local 143 School Engineers is saving taxpayers millions of dollars annually in liability costs that an unproved system would be required to pay. Consider tragedies that have occurred in other parts of the country.
Local 143 Engineers who are currently operating Chicago Public School facilities are also performing other vital and regulatory required tasks such as asbestos, lead, and radon sampling, energy usage and data collection for energy cost avoidance, in-house pest control programs and a myriad of other recently evolved duties.
The operational task is one of the most challenging that face the Chicago Public Schools in the environmentally charged culture of our time. Recent federal mandates in the field of energy and environmental management insure that competent operation will be a must in the years to come. The Chicago Public Schools benefits from the continued efforts of competent and dedicated operational personnel.
Local 143 Engineers hold:
Chicago Public School Engineers are required to have a Chicago Stationary Engineer’s Licenses.
We are proud that
CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAVE NEVER HAD A BOILER EXPLOSION!
Through continual upgrading of our skills we can be sure that such tragedies will never happen in our schools.