New York City steam system - wikipedia New York City steam system Steam vapor being vented through a typical Con Edison orange and white stack on Seventh Avenue at West 22nd Street. Steam vapor such as this can be caused by a leak in Con Ed 's steam system -- which heats and cools buildings in Manhattan up to East 89th and West 96th Street -- or by cooler water contacting the outside of a steam pipe. The New York City steam system is a district heating system which takes steam produced by steam generating stations and carries it under the streets of Manhattan to heat and cool high rise buildings and businesses. Some New York businesses and facilities also use the steam for cleaning and disinfection. The New York Steam Company began providing service in lower Manhattan on March 3, 1882. Today, Consolidated Edison operates the largest commercial steam system in the world. The organization within Con Edison that is responsible for the system 's operation is known as Steam Operations, providing steam service to over 1,700 customers and serving commercial and residential establishments in Manhattan from Battery Park to 96th Street uptown on the West side and 89th Street on the East side of Manhattan. Roughly 24 billion pounds ( 11,000,000 t ) of steam flow through the system every year. Contents 1 Effects on the environment 2 Plants 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Effects on the environment Approximately 30 % of the ConEd steam system 's installed capacity and 50 % of the annual steam generated comes from cogeneration. Cogeneration and Heat Recovery Steam Generation ( HRSG ) significantly increases the fuel efficiency of cogenerated electricity and thereby reduces the emission of pollutants, such as NOx, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and particulate matter, and reduces the city 's carbon footprint. Con Edison is promoting the use of steam for cooling in the summer months, something that can be accomplished with the installation of absorption chillers. Such trigeneration systems reduce peak electrical loads and save construction costs associated with expanding electrical infrastructure. Clouds of condensation can sometimes be seen rising from manholes in Manhattan through orange and white `` chimneys ''. This can be caused by external water being boiled by contact with the steam pipes or by leaks in the steam system itself. At least 12 steam pipe explosions have occurred in New York City since 1987. The most recent incident was the 2018 Steam Pipe explosion which occurred in the Flatiron District and forced the evacuation of 49 buildings. The explosion released concrete, asphalt, `` asbestos - containing material '' and mud into the air. The asbestos cleared out of the air to safe - level. A previous incident was the 2007 New York City steam explosion, and another on June 28, 1996, at a plant on East 75th Street. Plants Map all coordinates using : OpenStreetMap Download coordinates as : KML GPX East 74th Street plant West 59th Street plant East 74th Street Station ( at FDR Drive ) 40 ° 46 ′ 01 '' N 73 ° 57 ′ 03 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.7668749 ° N 73.9508952 ° W ﻿ / 40.7668749 ; - 73.9508952 60th Street Station ( at York Ave. ) 40 ° 45 ′ 35 '' N 73 ° 57 ′ 32 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.7598303 ° N 73.9589127 ° W ﻿ / 40.7598303 ; - 73.9589127 59th Street Station ( at 11th Ave. ) ( IRT Powerhouse ) 40 ° 46 ′ 08 '' N 73 ° 59 ′ 30 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.7689531 ° N 73.991624 ° W ﻿ / 40.7689531 ; - 73.991624 East River Station ( 14th St. and FDR ) ( cogeneration ) 40 ° 43 ′ 40 '' N 73 ° 58 ′ 24 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.7277782 ° N 73.9732059 ° W ﻿ / 40.7277782 ; - 73.9732059 BNYCP Plant ( Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Partners ) ( cogeneration ) 40 ° 41 ′ 58 '' N 73 ° 58 ′ 34 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.699314 ° N 73.976086 ° W ﻿ / 40.699314 ; - 73.976086 Ravenswood `` A '' House Steam Station ( Queens ) 40 ° 45 ′ 22 '' N 73 ° 57 ′ 01 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 40.7561804 ° N 73.9503086 ° W ﻿ / 40.7561804 ; - 73.9503086 See also Cogeneration District heating Holly Steam Combination Company 2007 New York City steam explosion References Notes ^ Jump up to : `` Steam operations FAQ '' on the Con Edison website Jump up ^ `` A Brief History of Con Edison ''. Con Edison. Archived from the original on 2006 - 03 - 12. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 04. Jump up ^ Moyer, Greg ( 9 October 2014 ). `` Miles of Steam Pipes Snake Beneath New York ''. Retrieved 20 July 2017 -- via NYTimes.com. Jump up ^ `` Steam Energy '' ( PDF ). Con Edison. Retrieved July 5, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Con Edison Steam Long Range Plan 2010 - 2030 '', p. 69 Jump up ^ Benefits and Case Studies of Hybrid Cooling Using Steam Archived 2007 - 10 - 08 at the Wayback Machine., Consolidated Edison Jump up ^ Belson, Ken and DePalma, Anthony. `` Asbestos and Aging Pipes Remain Buried Hazards '', The New York Times ( July 19, 2007 ). Jump up ^ WRAL. `` 28 buildings evacuated in NYC steam pipe explosion : : WRAL.com ''. WRAL.com. Retrieved 2018 - 07 - 19. Jump up ^ Brassil, Gillian ( 2018 - 07 - 19 ). `` Asbestos found at steam pipe explosion in Manhattan 's Flatiron District ''. CNBC. Retrieved 2018 - 07 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Steam Pipe Explosive Event : Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQs ) '' ( PDF ). NYC.gov. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018. Jump up ^ `` Mayor de Blasio Delivers Update On Manhattan Steam Pipe Explosion ''. The official website of the City of New York. July 19, 2018. Retrieved 2018 - 07 - 21. Jump up ^ Raffa, Frank. `` Con - Ed Blows Off Some Steam ''. FDNewYork.com. Retrieved February 20, 2014. External links Con Edison Steam Operations Con Ed History Gotham Gazette Article on Steam Why District Steam Heat Flopped in Gilded Age New York Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_York_City_steam_system&oldid=851341335 '' Categories : District heating in the United States New York City infrastructure Steam power Consolidated Edison Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Lists of coordinates Geographic coordinate lists Articles with Geo Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español فارسی ייִדיש 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 21 July 2018, at 16 : 42 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what do steam pipes do in new york
Answer: takes steam produced by steam generating stations and carries it under the streets of Manhattan to heat and cool high rise buildings and businesses