When a boiler fails in a government building, regular operation can be interrupted, which is certainly concerning.  So, when that occurred within a town hall building recently, crews had to act fast to correct the problem.  In this case, that meant putting a temporary propane tank in place to operate new twin-boilers.

The old boiler was a single unit, which was nearly fifty years old.  When it failed, due to an interior crack, the whole system was offline.  The new system of duel boilers will help to make the space more efficient, but will also prevent the full scale shutdown from recurring.  The boilers are going to alternate, so that they equally share the load.  On particularly cold days, both can be utilized.  Even that level of improved efficiency wasn’t good enough for the owners, however, and they will soon swap the propane for a natural gas supply.

The two new boilers are being installed in place of one large, old boiler. There will be piping considerations and system auxiliaries to be accounted for. With higher efficiency boilers being installed, there comes the need for more advanced controls. Temperature and pressure sensors installed strategically can make- or break a systems functional performance. The Ultra Electronics Company manufactures inexpensive, but highly accurate RTDs, which can be used to measure inlet and outlet temperatures of the boiler. Meanwhile a pressure sensor like the NoShok 100 can be placed in the system, and integrated with controls for pumping, to maintain proper system pressures. By controlling the boiler water temperature and resetting based on return temperatures, boiler efficiency can be obtained, while saving energy.

The new system will likely be far more efficient, while reducing the risk of whole system failure because of a malfunctioning boiler.  After a short span of time, the new boilers will have paid for themselves with energy savings.