AMI Ever Green Installed at Bates College - Case Study

REAL WORLD RESULTS B ates 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 a bout carbon neutra lity 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. Steam Pipe Fittings Rarely Insulated While the piping in the college’s hot water distribution systems is well insulated, the fittings generally are not, explained Alan Kelley , Mechanical Services Manager at Bates. He acknowledged that uninsulated fittings can be a significant source of energy waste, but says installing covers on the fittings is both time- consuming and difficult. “The reason fittings are left bare is that the standard product for insulating them is expensive and just plain difficult to deal with,” he said. “Once you wrap the blanket around a valve you have to literally wire it on, which requires special tools. When you need to remove it to ma ke a repair or fix a leak, it rarely gets put back on as it is such a pain to replace.” Auburn Manufacturing, Inc. Develops an Easier Way to Insulate Fittings Similar stories like those of Bates’ Alan Kelley and other managers of steam and hot water distribution piping systems were the impetus for Auburn Manufacturing, Inc. (AMI) developing a more effective way to insulate valves, flanges, pipe fittings and other hard-to-get-to components. AMI has a 30-year history as a maker of textiles used in custom-made removable fla nge and valve in sulation pads. They recently developed its patent-pending Ever Green™ Cut ‘n Wrap™ insulation kit. Each “kit” contains a 4 ft. x 8 ft. modularized insulation cover and rolls of double sided hook and loop fastener. The main difference betw een the new insulation cover and other insulation blanket systems is the ease of installation. “You simply measure and cut the insulated material to size, wrap the exposed valve or fitting and secure with the supplied self-sealing hook and loop attachment systems,” explains Kathie Leonard, President and C EO of Auburn. “Installation takes only minutes per valve or fitting. And, since they ar e reusable, Cut ‘n Wrap blankets are ideal for those valves and fittings that require periodic maintenance or inspection. We were able to demonstrate through outside testing that heat loss can be reduced by at least 85% and emissions by up to 1,000 lbs/sq.ft/yr by using the kits.” Early Prototype Feedback Very Favorable Kelley recalled the first time he saw the Cut ‘n Wrap product. “It was in the very early stages of development, prior to the demonstration project,” he said. “Auburn requested permission to install an early prototype kit on a small section of a steam line in our main steam plant. They were looking for our input; they wanted to know how the product looked; how it felt; how flexible it was; and would it meet our temperature needs. As it turned out, it met all our needs.” Auburn continued work on perfecting the Cut ‘n Wrap insulation kit, manufacturing it from industrial-grade, coated fabric and industrial-grad e insulation media. Both materials are rated for at least 500°F continuous service and were developed to provide many years of effective thermal insulation. “The thermal textiles we use to manufacture the product are considered the safest in the industry,” said Auburn’s Leonard. “They are used for some of the most extreme temperature applications in the world.” Bates Welcomes Demonstration Project With the prototype kit in hand and in-house testing showing that the insulation could easily and significantly reduce heat loss, Auburn’s next step was to gather real-time data through an actual o n-site demonstration. Having already established a relationship with Bates College, Auburn offered to install the insulation kit, on a variety of valves and fittings. Kelley, who is Bates Co ll ege Re duces Energy W aste and Ca rb on Emissions with New Ev er Green ™ Cut ‘n Wrap™ Insulation Kits Bates Colle ge was founded in 1855. The campus has over 80 buildi ngs including this one, Pettengill Hall. Inside these walls, one will find students taking courses in African American Studies, Anthropology, Classical and Medieval Studies, Economics, Politics and Psychology.

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AMI Ever Green Installed at Bates College - Case Study