ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - 38

ENGINEER'S NOTEBOOK
COLUMN
Kelley Cramm
Kansas City, Mo., City Hall
Recovering Heat
For Snow Melting
BY KELLEY CRAMM, P.E., MEMBER ASHRAE
As engineers in service to the public and our clients, we should always be looking for
creative approaches to save energy and provide value. This column presents a case
study of a project that demonstrates this process. In 2005, my company was engaged
to provide engineering services for upgrades at the City Hall building of Kansas City,
Mo. The primary scope item was to build a new, accessible north entry so visitors with
mobility concerns could have equitable access to the front doors.
The 29-story building (Photo 1), which was dedicated
in 1937, is supplied with steam from the combined heat
and power (CHP) plant located approximately one mile
north. City Hall was cooled from a water-cooled chilled
water plant located in the building.
In 2005, the City of Kansas City initiated a series of
projects to put city buildings on district chilled water.
The City was eager to reduce maintenance requirements
in their buildings and eliminate the " eyesore " of
cooling towers.
Upgrades to City Hall
When my company was contacted, people with mobility
concerns had to enter the building on the west side
and go through the parking garage to an accessible elevator
that took them to the basement level. From there,
they could access the main elevators. It was a circuitous
route (Photo 2). The accessible entry described above is
the door to the left of the garage door entry.
The vision was for the new north entry to be accessible.
38
ASHRAE JOURNAL ashrae.o rg D ECEM BER 2 0 2 1
The north entry was in shadow most of the day, which
frequently resulted in ice and snow buildup on the sidewalk
and stairs during cold weather. This created a dangerous
situation for City Hall patrons and employees.
Over the years, snowmelt products had caused severe
sidewalk deterioration. See Photo 3 for an image of the
north entry in 2005.
The building's steam to heating hot water heat
exchangers and instantaneous steam-fired domestic
water heaters were located in the basement. Steam was
also distributed throughout the building, and steam
condensate return was collected in the basement. While
in the basement doing field work, I made a startling
discovery. None of the steam condensate from the building
was returned to the plant. It was all piped to drain.
I observed hot condensate and flash steam piped to the
sanitary sewer via a floor drain. I learned that for district
steam plants built in that era, this is not unusual.
Kelley Cramm, P.E., is an associate and mechanical technical leader at Henderson
Engineers in Lenexa, Kan.

https://www.ashrae.org/

ASHRAE Journal - December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - December 2021

Contents
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - Intro
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - BB1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - BB2
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - Cover1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - Cover2
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - 1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - Contents
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - 3
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - 4
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - 5
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - 6
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ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - 8
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ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - Cover3
ASHRAE Journal - December 2021 - Cover4
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