El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-01-25

soaked burlap are new development
in the air washing plant These de-
vices are employed in the vent1lat1nS
system of the union station at Wash
ingtOn- This supplies 10000 cubic
feet of fresh air per minute. It's heat
ing surface amounts to 1900 square
feet Of radiation and a temperature
of 20 degrees is kept perfectly uniform
at all times.
skyscraper Air Plants.
The heating and ventilating plant
Of large office building is an intri-
cate mechanical problem. becoming
each year more perfect in its work
ing. An 1S-story building, recently
erected, has a plant with power
enough to run a large factory, al
though it performs only the task o,
heating and ventflating the building.
Fresh air is taken in from the street,
famed through cloth air-filters, oper-
ated by an electric motor. The hot
water generator has a capacity Of
800 gallons and the steam is so well
under control that only a pressure OF
one-half pound is required.
Those who read Looking Back
ward a quarter of a century ago viii
be interested IN knowing that another
of BeIamy's ldeas-heating from cen
trail plants rapidly reaching full
it's experimental point In various
parts of the country, especially in the
central west, many cities ranging from
5000 to 20, 900 inhabitants are salts
factorily heated from a central plant
The heat is piped to the different houses
and paid for monthly in the same man
ned as gas or water. The success Of
the central heating plant is no longer
open to question, and the newest de-
II, = L. IL T. he
sage of heat from one town to an
other several miles distant
Heat for Salt Lake City.
A plant now under construction in
Utah has underground conduits which
will conduct heat some three miles
distant to the central part of Salt Lake
City where it is to be supplied to the
hotel Utah, the Deseret News building,
the temple. the tabernacle and most
of the other important buildings Of the
city. The expense of this plant is TO
be $3.50, 900 and it will be IN operation
very soon A number OF towns combine
heating. and lighting with the power
which supplies the street car service
Manchester Iowa, and Eveland. Min
nesota, are doing this with good re-
suits Several heating companies To-
Gated in Chicago are furnishing heat
to small towns ten or twelve miles
away.
The advantage of central heating is
obvious to the house holder, who is
spared all trouble in caring for his
furnace From an economic stand
point it is also desirable, since the
conservation of the nations fuel sup
ply IS a question the next generation
will have to face One plant furnish
ing heat to thousands of buildings
instead Of each one consuming fuel
for its own heating. is a great saving
Each month new towns are realizing
this and grant franchises to companies
for central heating.
Steam Heat Regnins Favor.
The central heating plant Is not yet
universal, however, and in the mean
time the small house owner is con-
fronted with the problem of deciding
the merits of hot water or steam heat
in his own dOmicile. 1t is said there
never has been a question of domestic
engineering so much debated and upon
which opinion is more evenly divided
| Five years ago hot water was said to
be superceding steam in buildings OF
all kinds. The latest developments
indicate that steam is regaining ia
vor for apartment and large office
buildings For the small private house
hot water has the advantage Of re-
curing simpler apparatus and being
easier TO operate.
Since heating and ventf1ating have
been combined by all modern contrac-
ters, the study of the temperature Of
a building IS one Of the new subjects
to which these engineers are giving
attention. A number of plants are
now under consideration which Sc
cure the combined process of heating.
cooling and ventilating Within a few
years it viii be considered quite as
unnecessary, and as detrimental to
health and comfort, to have our houses
too warm in summer as 1t now is to
| have them too cold in winter. The
system of cooling houses by means Of
| direct and indirect draft IS the latest
study Of the ventilating engineers
Plumbing is also being combined