>Mechanical Matters®

Welcome to Mechanical Matters®, an 'E-ZINE' publication brought to you from Jimmy Veteto, Solutions Provider, S.M. Lawrence Company, Inc.  Please take a time to read this great article as it pertains to your building's most important investment, your mechanical systems.  We are building mechanical solutions that matter every time by design.  

"Leave the Mechanical Matters® to us."

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Are you thinking of replacing a boiler this year?  If so, think 'modular'. 

As I walked out of the house this morning with my coffee and briefcase in hand, I was reminded that summer would soon come to an end.  This crisp, cool air was a nice reminder that Fall is on its way, and these summer blues would soon be a conversation piece.  Now, I know that we are still in September and we will see a few more warm days this year, but like death and taxes cold weather is inevitable. Despite all the rumors of 'global warming' I can promise you we will all be dipping into our savings account to pay the upcoming gas bill.

Most you reading this are property managers, and like clock work you have already scheduled your boiler inspections.  If you haven't we are just a phone call away.  However, if your inspections have been completed and the technician walked into your office like a weary jury, what would be the verdict?  Are we going to make it through another winter, or is time to replace the ole gas guzzler...natural gas guzzler that it?  If so, then its time to think 'Modular'. 

Last year S.M. Lawrence Company was asked to provide a quotation to replace a boiler for the Commercial Appeal.  After talking with Benny Waller, Maintenance Director at the largest circulated newspaper in the Mid-South, I discovered a dilemma.  It was September, cooler weather was around the corner, and Benny needed a new boiler for the administration building.  MLGW (Memphis Light Gas & Water) had condemned his old 125 horse Cleaver Brooks after many years of dedicated service.  The dilemma was that it was September and a new Cleaver Brooks had a 12 week lead time. Ouch! Our solution: A Modular Boiler System. 

We called T. J. O'Brien Engineering to talk about our options.  They suggested that their PK (Patterson Kelly) line of boilers would be the perfect fit.  Patterson Kelley is the leader in Modular Boiler systems.  After calculating our heating loads we discovered that not only could we design and install a system that would have a tremendous savings in gas consumption, but we could have the entire project completed in 5 weeks.  Patterson Kelly keeps these smaller boilers in stock so lead time was much sooner than the competition.  We installed three (3) PK boilers as shown below:

These 3-PK boilers range in efficiencies of 85% on high fire and 90+% on low fire.  We installed modular controllers with outdoor air reset.  The idea is that based upon the load required, each boiler will fire as needed.  Therefore on days when heating demand is lower, this system will only fire one boiler and then the next if the demand increases.  By doing this we have reduced the costs of gas consumption and short cycling of the boilers.  Eliminating short cycling alone can have an estimated energy savings of 15%.  This project has a ROI (Return on Investment) of 4.5 years.

So as you can see modular boilers can $ave!  Since the Commercial Appeal project we have taken this approach to the FedExForum where we have added two smaller PK boilers to their boiler systems.  These two additional PK 'condensing boilers' will operate during the off peak hours of operation to maintain the loop temperature.  Also, when heating demand is low we will eliminate short cycling the larger 350 horse boilers.  As you can see in the picture below, we have just commenced this project.  To learn more about a 'Modular System' for your building please contact me at anytime.  Also, if you are interested in seeing these boilers in action, tours are given upon request at either the Forum or the Commercial Appeal.

For more about 'Modular Boiler Systems' please read the article below by Ron Wilkinson with Engineered Systems.

-Jimmy Veteto, 901.378.7655

jimmyv@smlawrence.com

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The process was time-consuming, but it didn't cause the closure of the building. Business went on as usual.

DO MODULAR BOILERS SAVE ENERGY?

There is no question that modular boiler installations save energy over existing old, inefficient boilers. But do they save energy over new models of the traditional fire-tube designs? The answer is a qualified -yes--the array saves energy by improving combustion efficiency and reducing jacket (skin) losses.

Although boiler heat transfer varies considerably for different designs, modular boilers generally provide higher combustion efficiency through closer control of the flame/coil interface. In addition, modular boilers reduce jacket losses because each one loses heat through the jacket only when it fires, and each one fires only as it is required.

Therefore, jacket losses are approximately proportional to load. For a large boiler, jacket losses are nearly constant regardless of load, and this reduces their low-load performance.

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To read the entire article by Ron Wilkinson, please click on the link below:

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