The Cleveland skyline would look different if it weren’t for what is below the downtown streets. Fifteen miles of underground piping form a closed loop that begins and ends at the Cleveland Thermal plant on Hamilton Avenue.
"We produce hot water, steam or chilled water from this central location and distribute it to all of the buildings through underground piping," explained Alexis Omillion the Director of Business Development of Corix, the company the owns Cleveland Thermal.
The system connects about 90 downtown buildings, supplying heating and cooling from one central source. Without the need for rooftop boilers, chillers and cooling towers, buildings gain valuable usable space — often with the best views in the city — while keeping operating costs down.
"You don't have the maintenance of your boilers, your chillers, your cooling towers and some of the most, costly and maintenance-intensive systems of these commercial buildings," Omillion said.
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