Anyone who has been to one of those old
apartments
in
New York
has seen and suffered.
They are
metal
radiators
, nice, but inordinately large and noisy, mostly located under the windows.
They are steam powered, have no thermostat, and are so hot that it is not uncommon to see the windows open even on the coldest winter days.
When you discover one in your room, you know you have two options: heat roast or freeze.
Steam heating systems were created in the 19th century.
The New York Steam Company began in 1882 to offer its services in Manhattan from stations located in the basement and it is still a common heating system to the point of originating one of the most recognizable images of the city.
The clouds of steam coming out of the sewers are not leaks, but are usually due to external water that boils when it comes into contact with the pipes.
Today, Consolidated Edison operates the largest commercial district heating in the world, serving more than 100,000 commercial establishments and residences in the area from Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan to 96th Street. In addition, many buildings they have their own individual systems.
Almost 13.5 million tons of steam flow each year and it is estimated that 70% of the island's buildings are heated using this type of facility.
The energy waste is so great that a 2016 local law requires large buildings to undergo an energy audit.
At least 23,400 blocks have been reviewed due to this standard.
But all this does not explain why the architects of the early twentieth century decided to put in the houses those pots, so apparently unsuitable for the spaces they occupy.
Apparently that particular fact can be attributed to
the great epidemic of 1918,
the so-called Spanish Flu, as
Dan Holohan, an expert on the history of heating systems and author of 19 books on the subject,
explained to
The New York Times.
including
The Lost Art of Steam Heating
(1992).
“I first detected it while doing research for my books on engineering from the 1920s. The authors mentioned the need for 'fresh air in motion' and warned that both boilers and radiators had to be much larger because it was mandatory to maintain the windows opened by order of the Health Board ”.
The problem, Holohan said, is that those sources did not explain why the constant movement of fresh air was so vital that it had to be imposed with municipal regulations.
The 1918 flu pandemic was the most serious in recent history.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, it killed 50 million people worldwide and they state that "500 million, or a third of the world's population, were infected with this virus."
Approximately 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic.
The health authorities deduced that the air circulation would prevent the transmission of the disease.
In the same way that it is happening today, cities were quick to move all activities, from classes to trials, to open spaces.
In winter the need for fresh air did not diminish.
According to Holohan's investigation, the New York City Board of Health mandated that windows remain open at all times to provide ventilation, even on the coldest days.
So the engineers came up with heating systems designed for this extreme situation.
The radiators were designed to keep apartments warm on the coldest day of the year with all windows open.
Although the
Spanish flu
subsided in 1920, engineering standards dictating excessive radiator sizes were maintained.
Those pots are, therefore, the last vestige of that pandemic, practically forgotten until the arrival of covid-19.