CASE STUDY: University has Miles of Tunnels

Challenge:

A university uses steam to heat the buildings on their campuses. The three campuses occupy 5000 acres. They are composed of classrooms, residences, study areas, libraries, laboratories, restaurants, gyms and much more. In order to service the spaces, they have power plants which supply steam and pump it through miles and miles of pipes through underground tunnels. They have thousands of steam traps in order to eliminate condensate and keep system running safely and powerfully. Steam trap audits are performed on a regular basis, but due to the complicated system, are expensive, take a tremendous amount of time and can even be dangerous.

The task of auditing traps was massive..

Solution:

The facility management proposed systematic Pulse sensor rollouts over the next several years, starting with their most critical traps and adding more every quarter until all are being monitored.

“Steam is a green choice for heat, and monitoring makes it more cost effective than ever”

Benefits:

• The cost of having Pulse monitors on all their traps is extremely insignificant when weighed against the money lost through steam and energy loss from failures

• Manual audits are less accurate than sensors due to human error, plus they look at data over a period of a few minutes a year as opposed to thousands of readings per year

• The University used this project as part of their sustainability initiatives, positioning them as thought leaders in the environmental space which has been found to be a key consideration for enrollment criteria

• When a steam trap fails an email alert is sent to the facility manager who can arrange for repairs at an optimal time

Download Case Study PDF

Read more on how Pulse helps hospitals make their steam system more efficient, safer and more reliable

Behind the Scenes of Steam Trap Profiling Webinar

Steam Trap Profiling Increases the Accuracy of Failure Detection.

There is an extremely high error rate in many steam trap monitoring solutions available today including manual steam trap inspection. But why? Why is it so difficult to assess? In this webinar we dive into this and more in a fascinating overview of the complex intelligence algorithm and data involved in creating a steam trap profile.

We discuss the science around steam trap failures and more. You will learn how the artificial intelligence engine learns from each individual steam trap over time to deliver unparalleled accuracy. See why manual inspections and single sensor solutions miss a high percentage of trap failures. Walk through the life cycle of a failure - from sensor installation and baseline establishment, to failure, to alert - we follow the steps exactly as they unfold.

Dangers of Closed Steam Trap Failures Webinar

All steam trap failures are not alike. Closed failures pose significant danger to employees and equipment as condensate backs up into the steam pipes and can cause a number of problems. This video examines the data around closed failures and illustrates using examples we have come across over the years. Plus what you can do to avoid the risk around these failures.