geothermal energy

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I know in some areas of Boston you can buy steam from a central plant.

This company http://www.veoliaenergyna.com/en/veolia-energy-north-america/ operates 22 miles of steam lines in Boston.


In Boston, Veolia Energy serves approximately 240 commercial, government, institutional and hospitality customers.

Veolia Energy supplies centralized heating for 44 million square feet of space, and cooling for approximately 9 million square feet. Steam generating capacity is in excess of 1.5 million pounds per hour and the thermal energy is delivered through a 22-mile network controlled with advanced systems, ensuring reliable service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Cambridge Operations

In Cambridge, Veolia Energy acquired a steam distribution network in 2005. Located in the high-tech corridor near Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the network supplies process steam to global leaders in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

Veolia Energy also operates a cogeneration plant on behalf of a major biotechnology company. Veolia Energy provides comprehensive operation and maintenance of the central steam/electricity generation plant under a 5-year agreement with a performance guarantee.
Facility Management - High-End Shopping Mall

In Boston, Veolia Energy also provides comprehensive central plant operations and a maintenance management program to a high-end shopping mall in the Back Bay area. The provision of energy services involves maintaining 15 staff on site and 24/7 chilling to retail, office and hotel spaces.
 
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mdshunk said:
Where I have the shop, one of the tenants in the same complex sells compressed air that way, to whoever wants to buy it. A real bonus for tenants with lots of compressed air needs but not enough capital to buy a monster compressor.

Remember when gas stations had free air? :D
 
iwire said:
I don't think any heating system can really be called Green.

If you think about it electric resistance heating might be more green then oil, gas or wood.

Sure the electricity needs to be produced but a modern power plant burns cleaner then any home systems.
Actually the newer and improved woodstoves burn pretty clean if you use seasoned hardwoods and the wood isn't wet or damp.
 
mdshunk said:
Where I have the shop, one of the tenants in the same complex sells compressed air that way, to whoever wants to buy it.
I didn't know you could "sub-meter" air. :cool:
 
iwire said:
I don't think any heating system can really be called Green.

If you think about it electric resistance heating might be more green then oil, gas or wood.

Sure the electricity needs to be produced but a modern power plant burns cleaner then any home systems.

Electrical generating systems that use steam (coil, oil, nuclear) typically have around 35% thermal efficiency. The other 65% is waste heat that goes out with the cooling water or into the air via the cooling tower.

Plants that have customers who will buy steam can get some revenue for that energy that they can't recover in the turbines.

A typical home heating system operates around 80% efficiency (some higher) so it is recovering about double the BTUs in the fuel.

Combined cycle gas turbine systems have efficiency near 60% because they use the waste heat from the gas turbine to produce steam for a steam turbine. They are usually fired with natural gas and are usually used for peaking loads.
 
Here's my threadjack: I'm adding electric heater packs to my air handlers if oil stays this high. (oif fired boiler now) I think that my heating cost will decrease about 25%.
 
j_erickson said:
Here's my threadjack: I'm adding electric heater packs to my air handlers if oil stays this high. (oif fired boiler now) I think that my heating cost will decrease about 25%.


I was going to buy an electric water heater myself, this way I dont need to use oil all summer.
 
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