BOILER EFFICIENCY

A boiler installation costing $75,000 can easily consume over $400,000 in fuel every year it operates. Selection of a boiler with "designed-in" low maintenance costs and high efficiency can provide substantial savings and maximize boiler investment.

Efficiency is only useful if it is repeatable and sustainable over the life of the equipment. Choosing the most efficient boiler is more than just choosing the vendor who is willing to meet a given efficiency value. The burner technology must be proven to be capable of holding the air/fuel ratio year in and year out. Make sure the burner design includes reliable and repeatable features. Burners with high pressure drop design, quality fan and damper design, and simple linkage assemblies are easy to tune and accurately hold the air-to-fuel ratios. Burners with blade or louver damper designs and complex linkage assemblies tend to be harder to set-up over the firing range of the boiler and tend not to accurately hold the air to fuel ratio as the boiler operates.

Dividends paid back each year far outweigh any initial cost savings of a less efficient design. The most efficient boiler is one that not only starts up efficiently but continues to operate efficiently year in and year out.