Startup Hopes to Make Your Steam Radiator Less Noisy, More Efficient
The radiator. (Photo: Radiator Labs)
Now that winter is coming, there are a lot of annoying things that make us miserable (looking at you, slow-walking tourists), but perhaps there's nothing more aggravating than the steam-heated radiators commonly found in pre-war apartment buildings. They’re loud, annoying and very inefficient.
Marshall Cox, a graduate student from Columbia University, hopes to change that with his new startup called Radiator Labs. The company is currently piloting a thermal insulated helmet-like device that fits overs existing steam heat radiators and controls the heat output using a fan. Users can control the temperature using an app.
The startup is backed with $200,000 in funding and is based at NYU-Poly's Hudson Square incubator that focuses on green startups.
Mr. Cox said the affordable device (it's priced at $300) is very environmentally friendly. He told DNAInfo that 30 percent of heat released from the radiators is wasted because of the outdated technology that is difficult for landlords to fix.
“Once that coldest space becomes comfortable, the majority of the building has been vastly overheated, and the only available solution is to open windows,” said Mr. Cox. "Sometimes it can cost astronomical sums of money to keep one horribly cold room warm."
Although it's not a permanent solution to the crotchety old devices, it's something that could alleviate the wintertime blues.
