As a part of the OSU Sustainability Office, we are working hard to ensure that steam pipes are properly insulated throughout campus. A few of the mechanical rooms we have installed insulation include Wiegand, Kerr, Dearborn, Hovland, and the Women’s Building. The most recent mechanical room that needed insulation was East Greenhouse.
East Greenhouse had one of the hotter mechanical rooms on campus. This was directly due to a corner of the room which had 2 sections of 3 inch steam pipe that was not insulated. The temperature of the pipe was measured at 270 degrees and there was 13 feet that needed insulation. The room temperature before the install was around 82 degrees. Once the pipe was insulated the room temperature lowered to roughly 76 degrees.
To help in our efforts, if you know of anywhere on campus (not necessarily a mechanical room) that has an exposed steam pipe, please let us know and we will work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
CATEGORIES: Energy