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Home  Knowledge  Boiler Efficiency & Combustion Efficiency

Boiler E ciency & Combustion E ciency

All boilers operate under the same fundamental thermodynamic principles and
therefore, just like any other piece of thermal transfer equipment, knowing the log
mean temperature difference (LMTD), in this case, between the furnace temperature
and the flue gas outlet then the theoretical efficiency can be calculated.

The UK steam market is primarily satis ed by the Shell & Tube (Fire tube) boilers the
e ciency of which is stated either as a percentage of ‘Gross Calori c Value (GCV) or
Nett Calori c Value (NCV)’ with NCV giving the higher e ciency percentage. But in
reality the two figures, whilst different values, mean the same.
Quoting boiler manufacturers e ciency gures is a little like fuel economy gures
supplied by car manufacturers they give you a comparison of maximum output
performance under laboratory conditions. Whether or not these are achievable in the
real world depends largely on the boiler operator. If the furnace and boiler tubes are
not kept scale and deposit free then the thermal transfer surfaces will be
compromised and you will never achieve the design output irrespective of how good
the combustion process is.

From the graph it can be seen that a scale thickness as little as 0.75mm (1/32”) of
Calcium Sulphate will result in an e ciency loss of 3% and an increase in metal
temperature of 60°C: e ciency losses due to scale of between 5% & 10% are not
uncommon with the root cause being the way chemicals are added and how the
feed and boiler water are monitored.
Likewise with combustion e ciency, if your steam requirements are variable and the
burner is incapable of matching that load variation due to lack of turndown capability
then again the boiler e ciency will suffer. The consequence of which is higher fuel
and energy costs.

It is not unknown for boiler e ciency and combustion e ciency to be confused, in

fact, Boiler Efficiency…relates to the thermal transfer of energy contained in the fuel
to the water in the boiler. Effectively it is a means of comparing one boiler
manufacturer against another.

Combustion E ciency…relates to the optimum balance of air to fuel in the

combustion process. To be e cient you need to maintain that balance throughout
the ring range of the burner under variable load conditions. Every time a burner
switches off it has to go through a purge cycle which represents wasted energy as
the purge air extracts heat from the boiler on its journey from the burner to the flue.

Measuring combustion e ciency is relatively straightforward you simply take gas

readings at the exhaust of the boiler and compare the results against the theoretical
ideal conditions.

Too little air in the mixture can cause smoking whilst too much increases the heat
losses through the chimney.

Boiler e ciency on the other hand relates to the overall e ciency of the boiler plant
and is a comparison between total energy input against usable energy output and is
a re ection on the mass of heat transfer area and its cleanliness. One might think
therefore that to improve the boiler e ciency it would be a simple matter of adding
extra heat transfer surfaces but there is a practical limit which follows the law of
diminishing returns and becomes uneconomical. The cost of the additional
equipment far outweighs the nancial gains of providing it. However, there is one
area that is worthy of investigation and it is that of the ‘Condensing Economiser’ and
its application on small steam plant.

Once purchased there is little that can be done to improve the thermal e ciency of a
boiler save for maintaining the cleanliness of the heat transfer surfaces and
extracting additional heat from the flue gasses.

However, combustion e ciency can be improved by replacing old burners with new.
To understand and explain the potential we have enlisted the assistance of Dunphy
Burners Rochdale, who have kindly provided the following explanation:

Combustion e ciency – the importance

of ue gas temperature and excess
oxygen
The ue gas temperature across a ring range will vary from boiler to boiler. A true
three pass design will generally have lower ue gas temperatures and a greater heat
transfer surface. Boiler insulation will also have an impact on radiated losses.

The factors affecting combustion e ciency are excess oxygen and turndown.
Combustion e ciency is dependent upon the ability of the burner to attain complete
combustion with a minimal amount of excess air/oxygen. It follows therefore that
the lower the level of excess oxygen the more e cient the burner. If this can be
achieved throughout the turndown range, then optimum fuel economy will result.

Combustion e ciency and carbon

reduction
The key to maximizing combustion e ciency (and minimise carbon reduction) is to
minimize the amount of excess oxygen by operating as close to stoichiometric
combustion (0% oxygen in the ue) whilst maintaining a minimum amount of CO.
The excess oxygen is dependent in part on fuel type but generally it is based on the
ability to accurately mix the fuel and air. Precision air/fuel ratio control maintaining
optimum O2 levels across the full turn down ratio with O 2 levels less than 2.5% at
high re and 4% at low re across a 10:1 turndown range can be achieved in
conjunction with axial air flow.

The graphs below provide an indication of the relationship between reducing excess
oxygen, and efficiency.
Turndown ratio
A measure of burner e ciency is turndown ratio. The turndown ratio is the
maximum possible output divided by lowest possible output achieved whilst
maintaining good e ciency in combustion. The e ciency improvements
attributable to high turndown ratios are more di cult to quantify and are often
ignored when considering overall boiler e ciency as e ciency is always calculated
at a point in time.

The ability of a burner to map a load will prevent cycling and minimize boiler
purging. It follows that the more variable and extreme the load, the greater the
savings that are achievable with a high turndown.

The graph below indicates the effect that turndown has on fuel savings.

REDUCTIONS IN FUEL COSTS FROM

DUNPHY HIGH TURNDOWN BURNERS
E ciency bene t of tting a variable
speed drive
The addition of a variable speed drive ensures that the electrical consumption of the
burners will be limited to the absorbed power of the motor. As turndown is
increased, the motor absorbed power will reduce by the inverse square law. The
main bene t of tting an inverter on an axial air ow burner however, is the increase
in turndown allowing 10:1on gas and improved control. Since fuel costs are often
twenty times electrical costs savings are substantial.

The bene ts of the unique axial air ow

The Dunphy burner is designed on the axial air ow principal which is a turbine
design concept and delivers signi cant energy performance improvements when
compared with other types of combustion equipment. Axial air ow uniquely
produces uniform air distribution to the burner head at ALL levels of ring including,
in particular, low fire operation.
The virtually perfect air distribution derived from the axial ow concept means that
there is no requirement for energy consuming and noise generating vanes and
splitters and ensures:

high efficiency across a wide turndown range

lower fuel consumption

inherently low NOx
symmetrical design of air flow is fundamental to accurate fuel air mix
no peaks or troughs of air distribution as the burner turns down the modulation
range associated with centrifugal fans
air flow is laminar and does not turn 90°C into the burner head
Inherently low noise (enhanced by the Monobloc construction of the burner).
The combustion air is taken over the motor to cool the fan eliminating the
requirement for a cooling fan reducing noise and electrical consumption.
All the burner components lie along one centre line reducing turbulence in the
burner head
There is no requirement for expensive acoustic shrouds.

Our aim in sharing our knowledge and

experience is hopefully to become one of
your solution providers. If you have a
problem we are here to help.
 Contact Us
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help.

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