With New Ever Green™ Cut 'n Wrap™ Insulation Kits

Bates College, located in Lewiston Maine, is widely regarded as one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the U.S. As such, it is very concerned about carbon neutrality and embraces the philosophy of limiting carbon emissions. When the opportunity arose to participate in a demonstration project to test a new insulation product designed to help reduce the cost of wasted energy and reduce carbon emissions, Bates welcomed the idea. In the Spring of 2009, Auburn Manufacturing, a leading developer of textile products for extreme temperature industrial applications, installed its new Ever Green™ Cut 'n Wrap™ removable/reusable insulation blankets, cut from insulation kits, on a wide range of steam pipe fittings in the college's Pettengill Hall.

Real-World Results

Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are major concerns for managers of institutional building space heat distribution systems. While the energy savings from insulating pipe sections in a heated piping system are apparent, the complex geometrical configuration of the fittings make these components more difficult to insulate. It has become common practice to leave these valves and fittings uninsulated. When left bare, however, uninsulated valves and fittings can lose huge amounts of heat that can add significant cost to the energy bill. It can also lead to disturbances in electronic equipment as well as hazards associated with the extreme temperatures.

Real-World Results Make Specifying Cut 'n Wrap (Evergreen Cut n Wrap) a Really Easy Decision

In addition to extensive laboratory testing, Ever Green Cut 'n Wrap insulation kits have been tested in real-world environments. The facilities listed below agreed to test, evaluate, and document Cut 'n Wrap insulation covers for improved energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and lower heat loss in their respective steam distribution and processing areas. In each case, the existence of exposed and uninsulated relief valves, flanges, valve stems, fittings, and steam traps were the root cause of excess heat loss, CO₂ emissions, and safety issues.

Once Cut 'n Wrap was installed, estimated heat loss savings and payback were calculated using 3E Plus^®, a computer program developed by NAIMA (North American Insulation Manufacturers Association), that incorporates ASTM C1129 - "Standard Practice for Estimation of Heat Savings By Adding Thermal Insulation to Bare Valves and Flanges." (The NAIMA 3E Plus^® Insulation Thickness Software Program is embraced by the U.S. Department of Energy and is used as a tool in several DOE best practices programs offered through its Office of Industrial Technologies. The 3E Plus Program can be downloaded for free from www.pipeinsulation.org)

Additional measurements were also made to gauge the reduction of ambient room temperature, as well as the surface temperature of the affected components, both before and after the installations took place.

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) distributes electricity to over 3.7 million customers in northern Illinois and has a peak load of 23,600 MW. To supply this power, they have 90,000 miles of power lines and operate hundreds of transformer substations.

In New England where manufacturers and companies utilizing welding and its technologies are spread out over a large area, it is often difficult or costly to send employees for training. In response to the need to increase the availability of training, the New England School of Metalwork, a non-profit educational facility specializing in the welding and blacksmithing trades based in Auburn, Maine, conceived the idea of constructing a Mobile Weld Training Center (MWTC) that would allow companies to train employees at their own facilities, thus eliminating travel concerns.