University Campuses Save Money With Modular Steam Boilers

Check out a few colleges and how modular steam boilers have helped them save money and improve their energy efficiency.

Duke University

Duke University has long been a leader in academics, but it’s also become a leader among universities in reducing its environmental footprint. Part of that process included replacing the coal-fed boilers at its East Campus Steam Plant with 15 of Miura’s smaller, modular steam boilers. Instead of 95 percent of the steam produced for the campus coming from coal, more than 85 percent now comes from natural gas.

Environmentally, this resulted in a significant reduction of both CO2 and NOx emissions. The new modular steam boilers also produce 35 percent more steam with much less water, which is one way the university is saving money as a result of the switch.

The new modular boilers can also start producing steam in less than five minutes — something that wasn’t possible with the older coal-fueled boilers. When the university’s needs are high, more boilers can be started within minutes to meet the needs. However, during times when fewer students are on campus, all 15 boilers don’t need to run, which saves money.

Finally, Duke was able to fit its 15 modular steam boilers into its existing steam plant without any expansion or renovation. This helped the university save money while making the transition to modular steam boilers as seamless as possible.

University of Arkansas

The University of Arkansas also made the switch to modular steam boilers, installing six of Miura’s natural gas steam boilers to handle the needs of its 350-acre campus. Not only does the university experience the typical high demand for energy in the mornings when students are first waking up, they are also challenged by wide-ranging temperatures and the sometimes unpredictable weather of Arkansas. These factors made it inefficient for the university to continue to use older boilers.

The school immediately benefited from the on-demand nature of Miura’s steam boilers, as the boilers can be started up quickly as needed and then go offline when needs change throughout the day. Having six boilers also makes it easy for the University of Arkansas to cope if one goes down. Of course, Miura boilers provide critical operational information on a digital screen, as well as remote monitoring, to identify any potential issues.

Most importantly, the University of Arkansas has already saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by using more efficient boilers. The school can expect to experience those same savings every year for as long as they use modular steam boilers.

Texas Southern University

Texas Southern University replaced its old fire-tube boilers with four Miura boilers, and aside from getting more efficient boilers that are better for the environment, they actually created more space for other projects. The university has also benefited from the financial relief of its new boilers. Texas Southern saw a reduction in its natural gas consumption from $1.2 million per year to $400,000 per year. That’s 66% savings, on top of increasing the amount of steam produced.

Having four boilers also paid off for Texas Southern during an unusually cold winter. On cold mornings, they were able to start up all four boilers and quickly warm up the entire campus. The on-demand nature of Miura’s steam boilers then made it easy to switch off a couple of the boilers when need decreased so that there’s no energy waste while the boilers are idling.

Having modular steam boilers will also save Texas Southern money as they expand the campus. The school’s new boilers already produce more than enough steam for every building on campus, and so no changes to the steam plant will be necessary as they add more buildings to the campus, making campus expansion both easier and cheaper.

Interested in equipping your university with a modular steam solution? Contact Miura today to learn more about our reliable, safe, and efficient boiler systems. Contact Us