Infrastructure: steam heating?

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Sometimes, infrastructure might have interesting history. Radiators might be a case.

The following is by my understanding.

When I was a kid, we had radiators in houses and buildings. It was eastern Canada, so the weather was cold in the winter.

The places I recall radiators from most clearly were in classrooms. The radiators were often about three to four feet tall, and resided under the windows. They were painted white or off-white. One soon took them for granted, yet one might be intrigued to see one today.

I didn’t realize at the time that it’s possible those radiators held steam. Moreover, one did hear of a boiler room at the school.

Somewhat interestingly, around eighty percent of large buildings in New York City use steam heating as of 2022.

What pointed me in this direction was a this intriguing video on YouTube, from SdS construction (Mar 19, 2023), showing a homeowner’s steam heating setup using restored radiators.

Source:

Zhadanovsky, I. (Jun 21, 2022). “Steam Heating Conundrum of High-Rise Buildings.” https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/84666

-js

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