PNC Center

Since 2021, CoolCo has provided cooling services to PNC Center, one of the largest buildings in downtown Cincinnati and located in the heart of the business district. This 27-story building overlooks the Ohio River and accommodates a variety of tenants. Recently, PNC Center invested in a renovated lobby featuring a state-of-the-art golf simulator, inviting collaborative conference areas, as well as a host of other amenities.

Before transitioning to CoolCo’s services, PNC Center relied on aging HVAC equipment installed in their basement. As the equipment approached the end of its operational life it became prudent to consider replacement options to increase reliability. The prospect of embracing district cooling emerged as an attractive solution, promising space and energy savings. For PNC Center, the allure of district cooling lay in its simplicity and the assurance that CoolCo’s team would manage the chiller facility 24/7. Additionally, the switch allowed for the repurposing of a portion of the mechanical space for storage and other building uses and was the more affordable option when compared to purchasing new onsite chillers. By connecting to CoolCo and avoiding the capital cost of new chiller equipment, PNC was able to redirect funds to building renovations.

Construction wrapped up in 2021, and ever since, PNC Center has seamlessly operated on district cooling. “Since partnering with CoolCo, we’ve experienced zero service interruptions,” remarked Eric Smith, PNC Center’s Operations Manager. “With our old equipment, cooling outages were a frequent nuisance and posed a challenge to recover from. However, now, even on a hot summer morning, our 27 story building cools down within 45 minutes. This level of reliability is paramount in ensuring our tenants’ comfort.”

Beyond enhanced reliability, PNC Center has also benefited from energy savings and increased efficiency from being connected to CoolCo. This increased efficiency has earned them an Energy Star certification – a testament to PNC’s work to track, analyze, and improve building energy use in alignment with the EPA performance standards. This certification underscores their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint and upholding superior energy efficiency standards compared to conventional buildings.