Chilled water pipelines are being installed on the east side of campus that will upgrade part of the university’s air conditioning system.

According to the NIU Web site, the pipes will lead from a chiller plant to various buildings east of Normal Road and south of Lucinda Avenue. The chiller plant will be located on the northeast corner of the Campus Life Building parking lot.

“[The new system] will connect just about everything on the east side,” said Ron Beldon, the project’s mechanical engineer.

He said the Holmes Student Center and Founders Memorial Library will also be connected to the plant.

The project is part of a Capital Development Board fund that is replacing 30-year-old air conditioning equipment.

The west side of campus has been running on a similar air conditioning system since 2003, Beldon said.

“The old equipment has gone way past its useful life,” said Associate Vice President for Finance and Facilities Bob Albanese.

Though the equipment still functions, Albanese said there could be a problem if any major repairs were needed to the system.

Before the project began, each building had its own air conditioning system; maintenance and repair were expensive and wasteful, said Albanese. But with the upgrade, one main unit will cool a number of buildings more efficiently.

Beldon said less energy will be needed per unit of cold air than was needed with the old system.

The laying of the pipelines began in mid-April and will be completed by September.

According to the May 20, 2008 issue of “Northern Today,” Normal Road from Davis Hall north to Lucinda Avenue will be closed for most of the summer. Landscaping work will be completed by October.

Albanese said the project is “on target” to be completely operational by 2010.