Looking to blanket radiators in an overheating school

overheated_school

Hello, I am working with an overheated school system. As you can imagine many of the radiators are turned off at the valve by teachers to alleviate the heat, which is causing its own problems. I want to cover some of the radiators so that they reflect heat back into the system instead of out into the room. I am considering using double bubble aluminum wrap. I wanted to see if you had any concerns or better ideas about this.

nicholas bonham-carter

Bubble wrap may not stand the heat. An old quilt would be better.
Why not get the system running properly so you do not have to suffer. The original design would not have overheated, so what has changed?—NBC

ratio

Well, see this for a little about the bubble wrap, but why is it overheating? Were a lot of improvements to the envelope made (insulation added, windows replaced, etc.)? A new, tremendously oversized boiler recently installed? Old pneumatic controls ripped out because it "wasn't repairable" & replaced with a shiny new DDC system that doesn't work right?

How old is the building? It's nearly certain that it worked originally, and turning everything higher is a common response to "doesn't work". Blankets of some kind over the radiators will indeed cut the heat output of the radiators, but they'll only push the problem somewhere else in the system. Better to use that as a temp fix while you find the real problem.

JohnNY

You've got a lot of options to reduce heat output, and while inhibiting convection is certainly one of them, there may be a more permanent and systemic solution. Are you in the New York Metro area by any chance?

overheated_school

Thanks. Yes indeed, there is a larger issue with the system. The particular room I am speaking of is an auditorium that currently has every radiator turned off except one and is still too hot, like the stuff of legend too hot.

The building has four boiler two steam two hot water (one of the hot water boilers is brand new) and it is a literal hot mess. I am looking for grant money to have the heating system rebalanced. In the meantime, I am trying to get some of the radiators turned back on so that the system as a whole can be run less often.

Here is a fun fact, the building has no timers on the boiler. They are manually turned down at night by the custodians, unless they forget, which they often do.

The building is over 100 years old, the boiler are serviced every year according to code, but I am not sure what the service history of the pipes and valves is.

nicholas bonham-carter

It wouldn’t take much of a grant to make this system function as originally installed, when the energy savings are factored in.—NBC

Ironman

If it's a one pipe steam system, close the radiator vents.

overheated_school

You guys make it sound so easy but it has been like herding cats over here. The school purchasing protocol complicates everything.

Right now I have 4k in grant money to spend in two schools. Both schools don't have functioning timers. Both have super heated (like super, super heated auditoriums)

I was thinking to cover the turned on radiators in the auditioriums, price out timers/thermostats (6 boilers total) for both buildings, and see if I can get a rebalancing done for at least one building.

overheated_school

Ironman said:

If it's a one pipe steam system, close the radiator vents.

Will that make the system short cycle?

Ironman

No more than covering the rad's. Can really answer without knowing all the particulars of your system: boiler size, sq. ft. of EDR, size of rad's your trying to turn off, etc.

What pressure is the boiler running at?

JUGHNE

Yes, pressure.......1 or 2 pipe or a mix.......zone valves.....hot boiler holding pressure 24/7?
If 2 pipe are the aud rads hot even with the valves off?
Water hammer?

Paul48

The wasted fuel dollars have got to be huge. You need to be able to take realistic savings numbers vs. cost to repair, to the bean-counters. They are only seeing an expense.

Jamie Hall

The blankets might be a quick fix. Added to other quick fixes, which were added to other quick fixes. Which... you get the picture.

Much better to go right back to square one and figure out how the thing was intended to run in the first place. As has been said, it probably worked pretty well when it was first installed. Then when you get that figured out, set about restoring it.

nicholas bonham-carter

It may seem daunting to think of solving these problems, but it’s not impossible for a real steam man, (not the janitor, or mere sanitary plumber). As I said, the first months lowered gas bill might pay for the initial fix.
The idea of a system controlled not by temperature feedback, but by some forgetful person throwing a switch in the basement is rediculous, and in this age of climate change from burning excessive fossil fuel, should be illegal.
Like drug offenses, fuel waste penalties in a school setting should be increased!—NBC

njtommy

Where are you located @overheated_school?