Utilities

Utilities are purchased and distributed to all university owned buildings. Many utility lines are owned and maintained by Facilities Management and some are owned by the local utility companies.

Electricity is purchased from the City of Radford and is delivered to a substation located near the Allen Building. From there it is distrubuted to each building at 4160 volts through duct bank loops buried in the ground. Each building has a transformer which reduces the voltage to 208 or 480 volts as required. Facilities Management maintains the duct banks, wiring and switches. Off-campus buildings are fed by lines maintained by the City of Radford Electrical Department.

Water is also purchased from the City of Radford. Water enters the campus at 4 locations. Each location has a Back-Flow Preventer to prevent contamination of the water. The distribution system is in a loop configuration so that areas can be turned off and not effect the rest of campus. These water lines and back-flow preventers are maintained by Facilities Management.

Facilities Management also maintains a sewer and storm water distribution system.

Steam is produced and distributed to all university buildings on the main campus. The steam travels in lines located in the steam tunnels which go to all buildings. The Boiler Plant is responsible for the maintenance of these lines.