Underneath the footfalls, cars, restaurants, bars, and well-intentioned economic development plans lies the secret to what’s hot and cold in Hartford.
It is a 50-year-old system of tunnels and piping that provides heating and cooling to the veritable who’s who of downtown Hartford buildings.
The Old State House, Travelers Tower, Hartford Hospital, Goodwin Square, City Hall, Hartford Public Library, Hilton Hotel — all among the more than 50 buildings and 12 million square feet of space served by the Hartford Steam Co.
Unlike nearly all other residential and commercial buildings that generate heat and air conditioning onsite, the customers on the Hartford Steam’s labyrinth get their hot and cold air piped directly to them, like in other old world systems reserved for urban centers including Boston and New York City. Customers don’t need boilers, chillers, or cooling towers in their buildings.
“We’re not a huge utility, but rather an energy service provider than prides itself on personal service,” said Derek Rudd, president and chief operating officer of Hartford Steam, who has been with the company since 1987.
Hartford Steam began operation in 1962, and even though the company and its parent — New Jersey-based Energenic — seek efficiencies and modern upgrades, the fundamentals of its business remains largely the same. The company has two centralized plants that heat or cool water depending on the time of year, and then sends hot or cold air via its underground system to keep clients’ buildings at the appropriate temperature.
The larger of the two plants, aptly named Main Plant, provides heating, cooling, and electricity for 47 downtown buildings. The smaller plant, the South End Plant, provides heating, cooling and electricity for eight buildings, although the main customer is Hartford Hospital.
Off-Broadway venue TheaterWorks on Pearl Street has used Hartford Steam since it moved into its building in 1989, spending $20,000 annually on heating but not using the cooling system.
“I don’t really recall any issues with our steam, aside from the age of the equipment,” said Michael Lenaghan, the theater’s production manager. “We have inquired in the past to upgrade our HVAC, however the price tag has been above our means.”
Hartford Steam is always looking for ways to innovate and adopt new technology in an attempt to better business for its customers, Rudd said. Both plants use combined heat and power facilities, or CHP, which recover the waste heat from electricity generation to provide steam for customers.
“The exhaust heat helps produce steam and chilled water,” Rudd said. “At our South End Plant, we generate enough electricity to run all of our equipment plus provide electricity to Hartford Hospital.”
Using CHP, Hartford Steam reduced its downtown system’s water consumption 41 percent between 2006 and 2009. Over the same period, the company’s downtown system reduced pollution 54 percent and total greenhouse gas emissions 23 percent.
The company added two 2,500-ton electric chillers to increase its system efficiency, replacing the 4,500-ton chiller now used as backup. The new chillers work at night when demand for electricity drops and power prices are lower, enabling customers to cool their buildings during the day with cheaper electricity.
“It’s cost-effective,” Rudd said. “If our customers were each using their own chillers they would be peaking during the daytime … That’s not the case if they’re connected to our system.”
Later this year, Hartford Steam will install a 1.4 megawatt fuel cell from Danbury manufacturer FuelCell Energy Inc. exclusively for Hartford Hospital, helping the health care provide power, heat, and cool its building while reducing its energy costs.
It’s customer service and new projects like these that has Energenic excited since it purchased Hartford Steam last year, said Rudd. That is a good sign for things to come, he predicts.
“They appreciate thinking outside the box and the importance of building relationships,” Rudd said. “It’s been a good fit as they value our input given our longevity in the business.”
