Issue link: http://digital.corporatepress.com/i/1117861
18 MAY/JUNE 2019 FACILITIES MANAGER In addition to the cost savings realized through a 9:1 turndown, there is another benefit to upgrading, which is the reduction in required maintenance. Not only are multiple people no longer needed for a dual-fuel changeover, but operating and monitoring the systems are also simplified. Older systems require constant maintenance to ensure fuel efficiency and emission control. For example, many older systems include jackshaft linkage. Due to the complexity of these systems, they require constant fine-tun- ing and maintenance by highly skilled operators. Maintenance of an upgraded or new system is far less complex. Newer monitoring equipment also means fewer people are needed for hands-on examination of the system. Typically, with an older system, there was a boiler in each building—and that meant someone needed to be on location to monitor those sys- tems. e ability to house the entire system in one location, or to upgrade the system to monitor it from one location, results in lower maintenance costs. CAMPUSES MAKING THE CHANGES Higher education is becoming a competitive industry and, honestly, who chooses a college or university because of how new the boiler equipment is? e utility plant is seen as a cost, and universities generally choose to invest in new buildings or facili- ties that will help them attract students. But with environmental awareness now a prominent part of the international discussion, universities continue to see and leverage the value (both economic and otherwise) in going green. Here are a few examples: • A small, elite liberal arts college in Duchess County, New York, was working with old boilers that essentially could not fire. To fix the problem, the college chose new burners that were compatible with their old boilers, which saved a great deal of money, since they didn't need to replace the whole sys- tem. ey also replaced their vacuum condensate system for further modernization and efficiency. ey are now planning to buy a second burner and are interested in a solution that burns liquid wood. • A prestigious medical school outside of Boston invested in new burners. eir solution provider helped them with reli- able low life-cycle cost/best-value payback on their low-pres- sure steam boilers by providing three 800-horsepower (HP) burners and a feedwater system. e new burners use natural gas and No. 2 oil, and now the school is actively considering carbon-neutral fuels. • e campus heating plant main boiler at a large public-college campus in upstate New York suffered from several crippling issues. Working with a vintage 600-HP steam boiler, the burner had a triplex-nozzle system that was an issue from day one. e burner was low-fire, disastrous and unrepeatable when cycled, and caused uneven fires from the three nozzles, which would not hold a tune-up and constantly needed clean- ing and adjusting. Only one person in the boiler room could keep it running for more than a week. e college went with a proven installer who recommended a solution that holds a tune-up and remains stable with cycle repeatability in the lower firing ranges. • A medium-sized Christian college in Providence, Rhode Island, was interested in going far beyond Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements in order to reduce their emissions Monitoring panels and new boiler at the VA Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania. Photos courtesy of Preferred Utilites Manufacturing