nyc steam system

[cheka.]

at first blush it seems like a neat utility to have...very useful in homes and businesses. is the nyc steam system unique? or do other cities have same? users get charged by volume of steam used? what about the condensate - do you have to return it - or can you use it too?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_steam_system

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.[2] Today, Consolidated Edison operates the largest commercial steam system in the world.[3] 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.[4] Roughly 24 billion pounds (11,000,000 t) of steam flow through the system every year.

[cheka.]

hard to find a map of the thing. couple of facts i did find

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/nyregion/miles-of-steam-pipes-snake-beneath-new-york.html

First developed in the 1880s, New York City’s steam system is the largest in the world. No other urban steam system comes close.

Today, 105 miles of steam pipe run beneath the streets of the city, delivering steam to 2,000 buildings for heating and cooling. Steam also sterilizes hospital equipment, presses clothes, and cleans restaurant dishes and cutlery.

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https://www.coned.com/en/commercial-industrial/steam

We operate the largest steam system in the United States, serving more than 3 million New Yorkers, from the southern tip of Manhattan to 96th Street.

The Benefits of Steam Service
Reliability

With a capacity of about 11.6 million pounds per hour, we maintain the steam production capability necessary to meet forecasted heating and cooling peak loads. Plus, we produce a reserve supply to cover equipment outages. We do this with three steam electric stations, four steam-only stations, and capacity supplied under a long-term contract with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Partners.
Energy Efficiency

Steam is produced from a central facility and delivered directly to the customers' premises. That means there’s no need for expensive equipment or to rely on deliveries.
Environmentally Friendly

When businesses choose steam, they choose to improve air quality. Steam service provides significant benefits to consumers and to the city by reducing the use of spaceheating boilers and trucks to deliver fuel oil. Production of steam in our central plants offers improved dispersion of emissions through tall stacks that range from 350 to over 500 feet in height.

Our boilers use low sulfur oil or clean-burning natural gas to produce steam. We have reduced opacity at our plants by 65% over the past few years. And, in a joint project with the Electric Power Research Institute, we have installed state-of-the-art burners to lower nitrogen oxide emissions.

Steam Rates & Service Classifications

SC-1 All-purpose steam rate for small commercial and small residential accounts such as tailor shops and five-story brownstones.
SC-2 Annual power service for steam heat and/or air conditioning for large commercial office buildings, hospitals, and hotels. Subject to Winter Demand Billing if annual consumption exceeds 14,000 Mlbs.
SC-3 Apartment house steam service for buildings with at least 50% residential and containing at least three or more separate living apartments. Subject to Winter Demand Billing if annual consumption exceeds 14,000 Mlbs.
SC-4 Power service to customers who use steam supplied by the company and another energy source for the same purpose during the winter months. Classified as Back-up or Supplementary Service.
SC-5 Negotiated agreement to retain and attract customers that have viable competitive alternatives to the company's steam service.
SC-6 Firm transportation and delivery of steam to the premises of a customer who arranges for third-party supply of steam.

[midnight rambler]

In the former USSR each city had (and still have) a central water heating plant that circulates hot water throughout the city for both domestic hot water use and space heating. Each summer they shut it down for a few weeks to service it, so if one wants domestic hot water during the time the system is shut down for service then they have a water heater installed in their home or apartment.

[PatColo]

Seems that USSR system would leave those in the outskirts with not very hot water.

SF's Market St has one, not aware of anywhere else in the city with one. Ah the telltale steaming grates, in cooler weather.

[midnight rambler]

Seems that USSR system would leave those in the outskirts with not very hot water.



If one wants municipal hot water then one needs to live where the muni hot water lines run.

[Glass]

could I hook up a small / covert steam turbine?

Perhaps my own steam engine sans burner/fire/boiler and drive a generator?

[midnight rambler]

could I hook up a small / covert steam turbine?

Perhaps my own steam engine sans burner/fire/boiler and drive a generator?

If it was a substantial energy draw I would think they would have a means of metering an inordinate amount of energy loss in the system.