Innovas Technologies is Headed Back to the 2026 Big Ten and Friends Utility Conference
Innovas Technologies is proud to return to the 2026 Big Ten and Friends Utility Conference, taking place June 1–4, 2026, at the Virginia Guesthouse & Conference Center at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.
For years, Big Ten and Friends has been one of the most valuable events on our calendar. It brings together the engineers, utility directors, plant managers, and campus operations teams responsible for keeping some of the largest and most complex central utility plants in North America running efficiently.
As a long-time partner to universities and district energy facilities, Innovas has had the opportunity to work alongside many of these institutions to improve chiller performance, reduce operating costs, and support long-term sustainability goals. This conference continues to be a place where real operational challenges are discussed—and where practical solutions matter most.
A Longstanding Partnership with Campus Utility Leaders
University central plants face constant pressure to maintain reliable chilled water systems while controlling energy costs, minimizing downtime, and meeting carbon reduction goals.
That’s why the conversations at Big Ten and Friends are so important. The event focuses on real-world plant operations—maintenance planning, equipment reliability, lifecycle management, and improving efficiency across campus utility systems.
For Innovas, these discussions are familiar. Many of the campuses attending this conference have faced the same issue: chiller fouling slowly reducing system performance, driving up energy use, and increasing the need for manual cleaning.
Our Helios Automatic Tube Cleaning System was built to solve exactly that problem.
A Strong Example at the University of Virginia
Few examples highlight that better than our long-standing work with the University of Virginia.
Since implementing Helios across multiple campus cooling plants, UVA has seen significant improvements in efficiency and operating performance. The university-wide installation has generated more than $1,051,431 in total savings while reducing over 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions, helping support both financial and sustainability goals.
By continuously cleaning condenser and evaporator tubes while chillers remain online, Helios helps prevent the fouling that causes reduced heat transfer, increased energy consumption, and unnecessary strain on critical equipment.
Instead of relying on periodic manual cleaning and performance recovery, UVA is able to maintain more consistent chiller efficiency throughout the cooling season—reducing labor demands and protecting long-term equipment performance.
This is the kind of measurable result that makes a difference for campus utility teams managing large central plants every day.
The University of Virginia has saved over $1,051,431 and reduced more than 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions with campus-wide installation of the Helios Automatic Tube Cleaning System, improving chiller efficiency and central plant performance.
Join the Conversation
The Innovas team looks forward to reconnecting with familiar faces and meeting new campus utility leaders throughout the conference.
If you’ll be attending the 2026 Big Ten and Friends Utility Conference, we’d love to connect and talk about how Helios helps universities improve chiller efficiency, reduce fouling, and support more reliable central plant operations.
We look forward to seeing you in Charlottesville this June.
