Pat Dillon, part of Virginia Commonwealth University’s instrumentation and electrical services team, examining a new ABB swirl flowmeter installed in one of the campus buildings.

(ABB Communications: Zurich) -- The ABB flowmeters have reduced annual steam losses from 16 percent to 5 percent in the generation plant of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. They have also enabled the plant to recover more than $1.2 million a year in lost revenues.

The steam plant for the huge downtown campus generates steam for almost 60 buildings, including three hospitals, the governor’s mansion, and a museum. Three identical boilers produce about 180,000 tons of steam a year.

During the 2006–2007 fiscal season, the plant generated almost 19,000 tons of steam but billed the various departments and building occupants for a little under 16,000 tons, a discrepancy of 16 percent.

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