First steam district heating (Lockport)
Primera red de calefacción urbana de vapor (Lockport)
- Date
- 1877 · confidence medium
- Place
- Lockport, New York, United States
- Credited to
- Birdsill Holly
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Holly distributed steam from a central boiler through underground pipes to buildings in Lockport for heating. It gave rise to district heating systems, today the basis of cogeneration.
Holly is credited with the first commercial system (1877), although hot-water networks already existed in the Middle Ages such as Chaudes-Aigues (France, 14th century).
What it led to
- New York's steam network (1882)
- district heating across Scandinavia and Eastern Europe
- combined heat and power