Boilers

Introduction
Boilers provide hot water or steam for industrial processes, for heating spaces and for hot water. A wide range of types and sizes of boilers meet the varied needs of industrial and other facilities. Most boilers have three main parts: a burner that converts the fuel to heat, a heat exchanger that transfers the heat to steam or water, and a boiler vessel. A chimney stack draws off the combustion by-products (flue gases), and the hot water or steam flows through a distribution system to its end uses. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the combustion process. Natural gas and oil are the most common fuels used in boilers. Propane, electricity, coal and biomass are also used. Electric boilers are generally found where combustion boiler fire hazards pose safety risks and where it is important to reduce air pollution. Figure 1: Boiler Configuration

Boiler life is approximately 25 years, so it is essential to consider both long-term fuel and maintenance costs along with initial capital costs when buying or retrofitting. Fuel costs for a new high-efficiency model can be up to 40 percent lower than for a conventional one. Over 25 years, this can be a great saving. In many cases, simply retrofitting an existing boiler can improve efficiency by 20 percent or more.

Measuring Efficiency

Boilers with heat outputs of 300 000 Btu/hr to 2 500 000 Btu/hr are rated by Thermal Efficiency.

We are interested in the steady-state Thermal Efficiency i.e., after the flue gas temperature has warmed up and reached equilibrium. Many combustion systems do not operate in steadystate equilibrium: they cycle up and down, taking a significant time to reach equilibrium, if at all. Nearly all transient systems are significantly less efficient than ones that operate in the steady state. Thermal Efficiency is a steady-state measure only and does not include the effects of heat loss caused by on-off cycling or transient operation. This measure is different from the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating, which measures the average efficiency of a system over a year. The AFUE rating takes into account the cyclic on/off operation and associated energy losses of the heating unit as it responds to changes in the load, which in turn is affected by changes in weather and occupant controls.

Standards and Regulation

In Canada, gas and oil boilers under 300 000 Btu/hr are regulated under the Energy Efficiency Act. No similar Canadian standards exist for boilers over 300 000 Btu/hr. In the United States, boilers over 300 000 Btu/hr are subject to standards under the National Energy Policy Act. Under this Act, large gas-fired boilers must have a steady-state Thermal Efficiency of at least 80 percent, and large oil-fired boilers must have a steady-state Thermal Efficiency of at least 83 percent.

Heat Losses in Combustion

Losses result from:
y

y y y y y

Dry flue gas loss: These heat losses are due to the temperature of the flue gases and are a function of excess air (which wastes energy by carrying heat up the stack) as well as the flue and combustion air temperatures. Hydrogen loss: This is caused by the latent heat loss due to the boiling of water vapour by the combustion of hydrogen in the fuel. Moisture-in-fuel loss: This is latent heat loss due to boiling of water in the fuel. Significant levels of water are found naturally in biomass, garbage and lignite. Casing loss: This is the radiant heat loss from the furnace casing. Incomplete combustion. Other losses: moisture in the air, air or flue gas leaks, or heat in the ash.

How Can the Combustion System Be Improved?

Flue gases are the single most important cause of energy loss. As much as 18 to 22 percent of available energy goes up the chimney. Heat radiation and convection from boiler walls raise heat loss another 1 to 4 percent. There are four main ways of reducing flue gas energy losses:

y y y y

by improving the efficiency of converting the fuel to heat (improved combustion system efficiency) by requiring less air for satisfactory combustion by ensuring that the boiler casing is tight, so that there is no air/heat entering or leaving the casing through leaks by improving the efficiency of transferring the heat to the steam or hot water (improved heat exchanger efficiency)

Operating practices such as blowdown cause other losses, as do inefficiencies in steam and hot water distribution systems.

Improved Combustion System Efficiency

New boilers generally incorporate several new technologies. These same technologies can also be applied when retrofitting older boilers. The most important new technologies are as follows.
y

Fan-assisted combustion: Originally, boilers and furnaces relied on natural draft, i.e., the buoyancy of the hot air in the flue, to draw the air into the firebox and up the flue. A draft hood limited condensation in the flue and ensured that the burner and flame were isolated from outside air pressure fluctuations by adding "dilution" air to the flue. At the same time, the dilution air lowered the vapour pressure at which the flue gases would condense and cause damage to the flue. However, efficiency was lost because of the loss of heated interior air up the chimney. Newer-technology fan-assisted burners eliminate the draft hood and are better at mixing fuel and air. As a result, excess air is reduced. Fan-assisted burners also diminish losses by reducing the amount of hot air going up the chimney. The fan also improves the heat transfer inside the boiler by improving combustion gas flow through the heat exchanger. Two types of fan-assisted systems are available: a forced-draft system uses a fan to blow the fuel and air mixture into the boiler; an induced-draft system has the fan located at the outlet end of the heat exchanger passages.

Motorized dampers: Motorized dampers stop heat from escaping up the chimney by automatically closing the flue when the boiler is idle. Electric ignition: Older gas boilers have pilot flames that remain lit whether the boiler is firing or idle. Electric ignitions or other intermittent ignition devices eliminate this waste of fuel. A control circuit energizes the ignitor and, if the burner does not fire on the first try, the ignitor re-fires until the burner is lit. Sealed combustion: Sealed combustion controls the combustion process more carefully by preventing boilers from inducing infiltration into the building. In a sealed combustion boiler, air is drawn directly from outside through a sealed venting system, ensuring that heated indoor air is not mixed with the outside air during the combustion

process.
y

Pulse combustion: Instead of a continuous flame, pulse systems create discrete, rapid combustion pulses in a sealed chamber. This intensely turbulent process results in a highly efficient heat transfer to the heat exchanger and allows for flue gas condensation in condensing boilers.

Condensing Boilers
High-efficiency condensing boilers feature additional advanced heat exchanger designs and materials that extract more heat from the flue gases before they are exhausted. The temperature of the flue gases is reduced to the point where the water vapour produced during combustion condenses back into liquid form, releasing the latent heat, which improves energy efficiency. With some 12 percent of the energy of a gas-fired boiler tied up as latent heat, this represents a significant energy-savings potential. A side effect is that this condensate is usually acidic and has to be piped to a drain. Modern condensing boilers have energy efficiencies of 90 to 96 percent. New conventional non-condensing models have energy efficiencies of only 70 to 85 percent. Many boilers over 20 years old typically operate at only 60 to 70 percent efficiency, making them good candidates for upgrading or replacement. A number of natural-gas-fired condensing boilers are available, but very few oil-burning ones are on the market. An important point is that for the water vapour in the flue gases to condense, the temperature of the flue gas must be reduced to below the water dew point of the flue gas. For this to occur, the return water temperature to the boiler proper must be below 60C. If there are no heat exchange surfaces at the back of the boiler below this dewpoint, condensing will not occur, and this energy opportunity will be lost, even if the boiler is a condensing boiler. In retrofit applications where you wish to retain your existing boiler, boiler efficiency can be improved by adding an economizer, which is a heat exchanger that utilizes the waste heat from the flue gas to preheat the boiler feedwater. A condensing economizer improves the effectiveness of reclaiming flue gas heat by cooling the flue gas below the dewpoint. The condensing economizer thus recovers both the sensible heat from the flue gas and the latent heat from the moisture that condenses. You do have to ensure, however, that the condensate does not enter the boiler, as the condensate is highly corrosive. Oil condensing boilers are more expensive, and it is much harder for them to actually achieve condensing because:
y

y y

Sulphur in the oil turns the condensed water into sulphuric acid that must be neutralized. The heat exchanger must be of very high quality to prevent corrosion by the acid. Oil has 50 percent less energy tied up in latent heat, compared with natural gas. The dew point for oil is low 47C compared with 60C for natural gas, making the water vapour in the flue gas very difficult to condense.

How Much Will I Save?

The cost of a high-efficiency boiler can be up to twice that of a conventional boiler. On the other hand, high-efficiency models often pay for themselves in less than five years when the high price of fuel and the long boiler life (25 years on average) are factored in. Table 1 shows how much can be saved by buying a high-efficiency condensing boiler instead of a non-condensing boiler. Table 1. Simplified Payback Analysis of New Gas-Fired Hot Water Boilers: A Standard Boiler Compared with a Condensing Boiler NonCondensing (Mid-efficiency) 2 100 000 Btu/hr 83 percent 79 percent $25,000 $9.14/GJ 2080 hrs $53,283 Condensing (High efficiency) 2 100 000 Btu/hr 95 percent 91 percent $50,000 $25,000 $9.14/GJ 2080 hrs $46,256 $7,027 3.6 years

Capacity Rated Thermal Efficiency Operating Efficiency* (see note below) Initial Cost Incremental Cost Fuel Price** Annual Full-Load Heating Hours*** Annual Cost of Fuel Annual Savings Payback Period

*Thermal Efficiency has been lowered by 4 percent to account for reheating after being off. **The price is from 2001, Source: Natural Resources Canada, Energy Use Data Handbook, 1990 and 1995 to 2001. ***Assumed: a two-shift cycle, 16 hrs/day, 5 days/week, at 50 percent load factor. Note: This assumes an installation where condensing can occur most of the time. This is a highly simplified scenario. Actual savings will depend on incoming water temperature, on-off duty cycle, maintenance, controls and other variables. Table 2 shows the potential payback period for replacing an older, inefficient boiler with a new, efficient one. Table 2. Simplified Payback Analysis: An Old Non-Condensing Boiler Compared with a New Condensing Boiler Old NonCondensing (Low-efficiency) Condensing (High efficiency)

Capacity Rated Thermal Efficiency Operating Efficiency* Initial Cost Incremental Cost Fuel Price** Annual Full-Load Heating Hours*** Annual Cost of Fuel Annual Savings Payback Period

2 100 000 Btu/hr 74 percent 70 percent NA $9.14/GJ 2080 hrs $60,133

2 100 000 Btu/hr 95 percent 91 percent $50,000 $50,000 $9.14/GJ 2080 hrs $46,256 $13,877 3.6 years

*This considers cyclic, off-cyle and heat air losses. **The price is from 2001, Source: Natural Resources Canada, Energy Use Data Handbook, 1990 and 1995 to 2001. ***Assumed: a two-shift cycle, 16 hrs/day, 5 days/week, at 50 percent load factor. Note: This assumes an installation where condensing can occur most of the time. This is a highly simplified scenario. Actual savings will depend on incoming water temperature, on-off duty cycle, maintenance, controls and other variables.

Purchasing Energy-Efficient Boilers

Information and databases to help in selecting smaller boilers (under 300 000 Btu/hr and generally designed for residential use) can be found on the ENERGY STAR and the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy Web sites. No comparable database exists for larger boilers. Financial and other consequences of buying a new boiler will be felt for more than 25 years the normal life of a boiler. Several factors should be considered for making a wise choice.

Timing
The best time to purchase a high-efficiency boiler is when new plant is being built, when new capacity is planned, or when a boiler has failed. For new systems and capacity changes, the type and size of the boiler are determined in the planning. Failed boilers must be replaced or repaired quickly. This is why it is always best to have a boiler management plan in place to ensure that a suitable model is available. A boiler management plan can be as simple as having written-out criteria boiler type, size, supplier and so on for both repair and replacement. Following are some other important points to consider when choosing the right boiler. Seriously consider condensing boilers. Condensing boilers extract heat from the water vapour as it condenses out of the flue gas. These boilers can be 95 percent energy efficient or higher. New, non-condensing models are only 70 to 80 percent efficient.

Where low-temperature hot water is wanted for example, for space heating a condensing boiler is the most efficient. Where high temperatures are wanted and there is no means to cool the return below the flue gas dewpoint, condensing is unlikely, so consider a midefficiency boiler. It is crucial to thoroughly discuss existing and potential needs with suppliers because of the higher cost of a condensing boiler. Long-term fuel costs and other factors must also be considered. Use a high-modulating boiler with excess-air control. The simplest method of controlling the flame is on-off firing. The fuel flow is either fully on or fully off. In a modulating boiler, the burner firing rate is matched to the required load. This is similar to an automobile accelerator controlling speed. Modulated firing results in fewer heating cycles and lower standby losses than on-off firing. On-off firing can cause short-cycling (frequent firing) and is inefficient. Short cycling occurs when a boiler quickly satisfies demand and shuts down its burner until more heat is needed. Modulating the firing rate results in fewer heating cycles and lower standby losses. If the boiler is firing at a 25 percent rate, the fuel will be in the boiler four times as long as it would at a 100 percent fire rate, so the same amount of fuel has four times as long to transfer its heat, resulting in higher efficiency. Excess-air control improves efficiency by reducing airflow to the burner when less air is needed at lower firing rates. Use a number of integrated smaller boilers instead of oversizing. Oversize boilers are commonly installed to handle peak demand and anticipate possible expansion. This is wasteful since oversize boilers rarely operate at peak load, and their part-load efficiency can be as much as 20 percent lower. Several smaller units can be more efficient and economical than a single large one. They can be staged (or sequenced) to operate at or near peak efficiency if piped and controlled appropriately. An added up-front benefit is lower installation costs since small boilers do not require a crane to be installed. For retrofitting, a multiple boiler approach can improve the seasonal inefficiency of large, old boilers. A small boiler can supply basic heating, and the large boiler fires only when necessary to supplement the heating during periods of high heating load. Consider cogeneration. The most energy-efficient system for supplying both heat and electricity is a cogeneration system. These systems generate both reliable electricity and heat while reducing emissions and saving money. A cogeneration system consists of a gas turbine or reciprocating engine and a heat recovery steam generator, which is a type of boiler. If an old boiler requires major improvements, this may be the time to replace it with a cogeneration system. To learn more about cogeneration, visit the Canadian Advanced Buildings Web site or the U.S. Department of Energy Web site.

Assess heat cascading. When steam heat is needed for one process and hot water for another, the heat exhausted from one process can be input to the next process. The heat finally exhausted should be at the lowest temperature that can be economically achieved. Assess the life-cycle costs, not just the first or up-front cost. Fuel costs are by far the most significant expenditure over the life of a typical boiler. For example, fuel costs would be more than 50 times the capital cost of the conventional gas-fired boiler in the example given in the How Much Will I Save? section. Considerable savings can be realized by taking into account all costs over the boiler's entire life cycle. Rated Thermal Efficiency is a good starting point, but it does not tell the whole story. Thermal Efficiency is a steady-state measurement that applies only to specific operating conditions. Real-world conditions are rarely the same as test conditions and can have a great impact on efficiency. This is especially true for condensing boilers whose efficiency is a function of the operating temperature. The Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating may apply. It measures the average efficiency of a system over a year and takes into account the cyclic on/off operation and associated energy losses of the heating unit as it responds to changes in the load. This in turn is affected by changes in weather and occupant controls. Boiler suppliers can help conduct life-cycle cost analyses to meet specific needs.

Operation and Maintenance Tips

A systems approach is the best way to save energy. This means looking at the boiler, the steam distribution system and the end uses together. Learn more about saving energy in steam and hot water distribution systems. Following are some common energy-saving tactics. Control excess combustion air. Controlling excess air is the most important tool for optimizing boiler efficiency. Too little air results in incomplete combustion, while too much air wastes energy, as the excess air is heated to the stack temperature. Reducing the excess air nearly always yields a greater increase in efficiency. This results from a reduction in the flue gas temperature due to reduced mass flow and consequent improved heat transfer through the system. Stack temperature and flue gas oxygen (or carbon dioxide) concentrations are primary indicators of combustion efficiency. A number of controls are available for monitoring and optimizing the air-fuel mixture. These range from simple, low-cost on-off control to more expensive automatic oxygen trim control. Burner size determines which is the right control. The burner should be adjusted only by qualified personnel, so work with a supplier to correct the air-fuel mixture. Train personnel. Have only well-trained, qualified personnel run, adjust, inspect and maintain boiler systems.

Keep the boiler clean. The fireside of the boiler tubes can accumulate deposits from burning fuel. This fouling can dramatically reduce heat transfer. Boilers that use solid fuels tend to foul much more than liquid- and gas-fuelled boilers. No. 6 (resid, heavy) oil has a greater fouling tendency than No. 2 oil. Natural gas boilers have a very low fouling tendency. The waterside of the boiler tubes can become covered with a mineral deposit, or scale. Scale causes the tube's temperature to rise, raising the flue gas temperature and reducing the efficiency. Scale buildup can be tested with an automatic sensor while the boiler is running and can be treated chemically. Boiler water should be tested daily in small low-pressure boilers and hourly in large highpressure boilers. A gradual rise in flue gas temperature usually indicates that a deposit is accumulating on either the fireside or the waterside. If flue gas temperatures are too high, clean the system and adjust the water chemistry and the air-fuel mixture. Large boilers often have soot blowers to clean fireside tube surfaces while the boiler is operating. Soot blowing can consume large amounts of energy, so it must be done carefully. Smaller boilers should be opened regularly for inspection and cleaning. Minimize boiler short-cycling losses. When a boiler is too big, boiler short-cycling losses may occur. An oversized boiler will turn on and off more often than a boiler that has been properly matched to the demand. Every time the boiler turns on, extra energy is required to heat it back up to steady-state. A number of staged (or sequenced) smaller boilers use an automatic controller to lower costs by efficiently shifting the load between boilers. Piping and controlling the multiple boilers correctly is necessary for saving energy. Minimize wasted blowdown water. Boiler water must be blown down periodically to prevent scale from forming on boiler tubes. This process can be wasteful if too much blowdown water is used. Automatic blowdown controls measure and respond to boiler water conductivity and acidity to ensure that only the right amount of blowdown water is used. For further savings, a blowdown waste heat recovery system that preheats boiler feedwater can improve the system's efficiency by approximately 1 percent. Use outdoor reset. Outdoor reset is used for hot-water building heating. In older systems, hot water arrives in the distribution system at the highest temperature the boiler provides. On-off controls regulate building temperature. Outdoor reset varies the temperature of the water in the distribution system in response to outdoor temperatures. When it is cold outside, the water temperature rises to match the heat loss from the building. When it is warm outside, there is less heat loss from the building, so the distributed water is cooler. Fuel consumption is reduced. Conservative estimates put savings at 10 to 15 percent. This can also be an effective way of increasing latent heat recovery for high-efficiency condensing boilers. Improve boiler insulation. A simple and cost-effective way of reducing heat loss through radiation and convection is by adding insulation directly to the outer walls of the boiler. Removable insulation pads will reduce losses and will not interfere with maintenance.