Full Description

The planned expansion at the Iron Range Interpretative Center in Chisholm, Minnesota, cal' ed for a new energy plant to heat both the existing facility (originally with electric heat) and all future expansion stages. The first one of these will be the Science and Energy Center, followed by other attractions, and eventually, a 100+ bedroom hotel.

The State of Minnesota has a track record of successfully promoting use of indigenous fuels in public buildings through monetary incentives. In this case, the moral obligation alone would have been enough to design the energy plant for peat and wood firing, since it will be a working energy exhibit, visible to visitors viewing the other exhibits.

The energy plant has two 6.7 million Btu/h (2 MW) hot water boilers installed in January 1985, and space for a third one. The boilers are of Scandinavian design, equipped with mechanical sloping grates and entirely made in North America. The fuel handling system has a truck unloading pit that doubles as a fuel storage and drag conveyors to supply the boilers with fuel. The heat is piped to the other buildings through a twin-pipe hot water system.

Units: Dual

Citation: Symposium, ASHRAE Transactions, 1985, vol. 91, pt. 2B, Honolulu, HI