Princeton University, Resilient Back-Up Power

Burns is leading a collaborative effort to provide resilient power for a new research and teaching complex.

Princeton University is building a new precinct of research and academic facilities to house their environmental studies departments and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Four buildings will be combined to create the 665,700-square-foot ES & SEAS complex.

In close coordination with the university’s facilities staff, Burns is leading a team of specialists to design and oversee construction of two 2-Megawatt (MW) generators, providing resilient power for the ES & SEAS complex.

The generators will provide continual operation of life-safety and asset-retention systems. Design techniques will mitigate noise and will automate emergency back-up power, complying with local codes and ordinances.

The project avoids running separate power feeds between the complex and the generator, located a half-mile away. Instead, the system’s unique operations sequence utilizes the building’s electrical infrastructure, integrating with the ES & SEAS complex’s low-voltage substation.

Additional design components include installation of a fiber-optic communications loop and new compartmentalized switchgear.

Construction is scheduled to complete in winter 2025.

Location

Princeton, NJ

Client

Princeton University

Industry

Higher Education

Expertise

High Performance Buildings

Life Safety

Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing