Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-11-06
Steam Heating by Wholesale.

While Edison is perfecting his plan to
light the world with electricity, almost as
great marvels are being wrought by the
Holly system of wholesale heating by steam.
The gas company in Springfield, Mass, the
Republican announces, have already begun
heating buildings by this system, the steam
being brought in underground pipes two
thousand feet or more. With four extern
sive blocks already supplied, the gas COM
panies do not require any additional boiler,
and have used but very little extra fuel to
uruish heat for the buildings already sup
piled, and could heat twice as much radia-
ting surface without any more fuel. The
loss of pressure by condensation and friction
in this distance is only one and half
pounds. The pressure on the steam pipes
is from twenty to twenty-five pounds now,
and Mr.. Holly says he could heat the greater
part of the city without increasing it to
more than thirty pounds But in the houses
the pressure is always five pounds, no more
nor no less, no matter how many radiators
Hllfu WIFI ulS ~ DlOuBnb
about by regulating valves in the cellar,
which reduce and regulate the pressure.
The meter is attached to these valves, aud
is governed by a pendulum clock which
runs forty days. and is so arranged that the
consumer can read the amount registered
from day to day. The main pipes expand
when the steam is let into them one and
seven eighth inches every one hundred feet,
and to obviate that difficulty junction hoxes
are placed at the end of every section of one
hundred feet, in which the ends of the pipes
play. To the bottom of these boxes the
service pipes, or laterals, are attached, so
that all the water condensed in the mains is
driven by the pressure up the laterals into
the buildings, where it is let off by an auto.
matte steam trap. Pipes also lead from
each radiator to the trap, and waste pipe
takes all the condensation into the sewer
This trap, the junction boxes, the regulat-
ing valves and meter are the most important
of Mr. Holy's patents.
The gas company, who have brought the
right to use the system in Springfield, do
not consider their present operations in the
light of an experiment after the success Mr.
Holly has had in Lockport. There five miles
of mains and laterals were in use last win
ter, and this year they will be increased two
miles. Houses a mile away were heated in
the coolest weather as readily as those near
at hand, and there was not an instance of
grumbling on account of the cost. Expert
ments have shown that an area Of more than
four miles square in any city or village can
be warmed with one set of boilers. Rights
have been sold for New York, Chicago, De-
troit and other places. There seems at pres.
ent nothing to prevent the general introduc
ton of the system into the business places
and dwellings of our cities. The expense of
fitting with pipes and apparatus is less than
putting in an ordinary furnace, and in re-
gard to the running expense it is understood
that the company will guarantee it shall not
be more than the consumers average coal
bill for the past three years But aside from
the question of expense, the new system
does away with all labor and iirt of stoves
and furnaces. The steam is serviceable at
the same time, anywhere on the route, for
power. 1t is claimed that engines can be
run economically half a mile or mile away,
and Superintendent Dwight of the gas
company says it will be quite handy to use
when they get the electric lights for the
streets. Altogether the system promises to
work revolution in the use of steam, in
more than one direction.