I Never Knew

I learn things all the time, but today found something really interesting in my RSS bin. Reading a little about the NYC steam pipe blowing was, of course, sad. On the other hand, the ingenuity and planning that was done in the late 1800's was remarkable. They'd thought of and built an efficient method for salvaging normally lost heat in the generation of electricity. The volume of steam is tremendous and is not only used to heat buildings in the winter, but is used to turn turbines that power AC systems in some buildings during the summer months. This idea was used 120 years ago, yet today that idea is rather novel in most places. It's all in what is presented to the general public. Even with this latest disaster, this type of system should spread, with the growing energy costs and a somewhat increased need for "cleaner" energy and saving energy. Check out the SciAm article. It's pretty short but has some good things to think about.