History of District Heating in the United States

| Chronological List of District Heating Systems in the United States |

District Heating in Akron, Ohio

TheAkron Steam Heating Company was incorporated in 1927 as a subsidiary of the Northern Ohio Power & Light Company. This company was consolidated into the Ohio Edison Company in 1930. The city built a waste-to-energy plant in 1980 and took over the steam system.

Akron Thermal took over the city-owned Recycle Energy System plant in 1995 and switched from burning trash to coal, wood products and natural gas. After they filed for bankruptcy in 2007, the city contracted with Akron Energy Systems LLC to run the system.

The system is currently operated by Akron Energy Systems.

1947 Map of Akron Steam Heating System

References
1927 "Incorporate Steam Heating Company," The Akron Beacon Journal, February 1, 1927, Page 17.

1929 "The Akron Steam Heating Company," Proceedings of the National District Heating Association 20:185-186 (June 1929)

1929 "Steam Main Construction in Akron, Ohio," Proceedings of the National District Heating Association 20:322-327 (June 1929)

1941 Report of the Public Utilities Division to the Securities and Exchange Commission with Respect to the Holding Company System of the Commonwealth & Southern Corporation and Its Subsidiary Companies, as to Compliance with Section 11(b) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935
Page 134: Ohio Edison

1943 "Controlling Steam Consumption at Elizabeth Park Housing Project, Akron, Ohio," Proceedings of the National District Heating Association 34:76-77 (June 1943)

1947 "Ohio Edison Company Installs l6 Inch Steam Line in Akron, Ohio,” Bulletin of the National District Heating Association 33(1):7-11 (October 1947) includes the map shown above.

1947 "Heating Plants of Ohio Edison Company Being Enlarged,” Bulletin of the National District Heating Association 33(1):29 (October 1947)

1948 Oct 14

1949 Jan 75

1953 July 12

1958 Jan 93

1973 "Shredded Solid Waste A New Boiler Fuel," District Heating 59(2):14-16 (October-November 1973)

1980 "Ohio Edison to sell steam heat system," The Plain Dealer, June 6, 1980, Page 18.
Youngstown Thermal Corp. a subsidiary of Energy Systems Management Corp., of Coral Gables, Fla. Steam heat system in Springfield to close November 1. Ohio Edison, which provides electricity to 830,000 customers in 36 Ohio counties, also operates a steam heat system in Akron. That plant will be taken over by the city once Akron's new garbage-burning energy recycling plant been in successful commercial operation for 90 days..

1983 "2 steam systems Edison abandoned thrive today," The Plain Dealer, October 19, 1984, Page 10
The Youngstown system was sold in 1979 for $1. million to a private group of investors, Youngstown Thermal Corp. At that point, Ohio Edison was down to 190 million pounds of steam per year in sales and was charging about $14 per 1.000 pounds, said Carl E.Avers, Youngstown Thermal president. Today the company is selling about 560 million pounds of steam and has cut the price to about $9.50. Avers said. In Akron, where Ohio Edison has headquarters, the downtown steam system was sold to the city for r $1. Steam is generated by the city's new rubbish-burning plant.

2007 "Akron Thermal's tiers of ownership complex," The Akron Beacon Journal, June 28, 2007, Page A1 | Part 2 |