Control Mechanisms Boiler selection crucial for efficient HVAC functioning ating, ventilation and air-condi- Pete‘ ton seo for around 31 per cent of the ener- gy consumed by commercial and resi dential buildings, according to industry estimates. With the growth in the infra- structure sector, rapid urbanisation and increase in commercial enterprises, HVAC systems are becoming an integral component of modern infrastructure. While the current market penetration of such systems is fairly low, standing at around 3 per cent, these systems are likely to witness significant growth in the next few years. Hence, the deployment of high perfor- mance HVAC equipment, along with constant monitoring, upgrading and suitable building design, is important. It can considerably reduce the amount of emissions and energy wastage, thereby leading to energy as well as cost savings. In an HVAC system, the heating system is used to maintain the temperature at an acceptable level through the use of thermal energy. Ventilation maintains an adequate composition of gases, con- trols odours and removes contami- nants from occupied spaces. The air- conditioning component of the system controls both air temperature and air humidity. The crucial aspect in HVAC systems is the control systems that need to be deployed for the HVAC sys- tem to operate as efficiently as possible. The controls help in the safe operation of the equipment, as well as judicious use of energy. An area that presents considerable scope for maximising the efficiency of HVAC systems is the proper use of boil- ers in heating systems. Boiler opera- tions are characterised by myriad loss- es, which tend to reduce the efficiency of heating systems. However, the usage of heating controls can considerably improve the performance of boilers, thereby improving the efficiency of heating systems. Heating systems Heating in an HVAC system can be car- ried out either by heating the aif within space or by heating the occupants directly through radiation. HVAC sys- tems use different heating systems, which can be differentiated by the type of heating equipment used. The differ- ent types of heating equipment that are usually deployed in heating systems are furnaces, heat pumps, space heaters and boilers. Furnaces are generally used for heating purposes in residential and small com- mercial buildings. The sources of heat generation in furnaces include natural gas, fuel oil and electricity. Heat pumps serve the function of air heating with controlled temperatures. Both heat pumps and space heaters heat the space directly by transferring heat from the outdoors to indoor conditioned spaces, as a result of which no distribution is required. Boilers are oil, gas or coal based with steam and/or water piping to distribute heat in the system. A boiler is a self-contained low-pres- sure appliance for supplying steam or hot water. There are two broad cate- gories of boilers - steam boilers and hot water boilers. The heated water mayserve to preheat coils in air handling units, as well as reheat coils and local radiators. Additional uses of boilers include heating of service water and other process needs, depending on the type of the building. Some HVAC systems make use of steam boilers rather than hot water boilers, because steam is required for condition- ing needs (humidifiers in air handling units) or for process needs (sterilisers in hospitals, direct injection heating in laundries, et). Boilers are further classified into two groups on the basis of their combustion efficiency levels. The combustion effi- ciency calculations considera boiler eff- cient when it has low levels of unburnt fuel and does not require much extra air for combustion. The first group includes fire tube steel boilers, water tube steel boilers and cast iron boilers. These boil- ers have combustion efficiencies ranging from 78 per cent to 86 per cent. The sec- ond group encompasses condensing boilers, which can achieve combustion efficiency levels of 95-96 per cent. In fire tube steel boilers, the hot gases from the combustion chamber pass through tubes surrounded by water. Fire tube boilers can be designed in different configurations, the most common desi- gns being horizontal return tubular (HRT), firebox, scotch and vertical. Fire- tube boilers with capacities up to 70 mil- lion British thermal units per hour (mmBtu per hour) are available. The major problem associated with these boilers is water leakage due to corrosion. ‘The fireside of the tubes can also be sub- ject to the build-up of scales and deposits when the boiler is fired with solid or oil fuel, which adversely affects boiler effi- ciency and causes the tubes to overheat. Water tube boilers consist of many dif- ferent tubes with water circulating inside. Tite tubes are surrounded by hot combustion gases and heat exchange takes place between the combustion gases and the tubes, and finally with the water. Packaged water tube boilers range from small, low-pressure units of around 10 mmBtu perhour to very large, high-pressure units with steam outputs of around 300 mmBtu per hour. Cast iron boilers are used in small instal- Jations of 0.35 to 10 mmBtu per hour. The boilers are composed of precast stations, which make the field assembly of these units easier than that of fire tube or watertube boilers. These boilers can also be constructed in varied configurations like vertical sectional, horizontal section- al and one piece. However, for similar capacities, cast iron boilers are more expensive than fire tube or water tube boilers. The most common problem with cast iron boilers pertains to cracking due to overheating or thermal shock. Condensing boilers extract heat from flue gases, which results in the conden- sation of the moisture present in the flue gases. Condensing boilers general- ly make use of a larger heat exchanger, or at times a secondary heat exchanger, which enables them to extract more heat from the fuel and minimise stack losses, which is a major source of ineffi- ciency in boiler systems. The common- ly used fuel for condensing boilers is natural gas. These boilers are available in capacities of 0.3-2 mmBtu per hour, and they can be connected with modu- lar installations, Heating controls ‘There is significant scope for increasing the efficiency of HVAC systems and real ising energy savings by adopting and implementing proper controls corre- sponding to each of the three compo- nents of the HVAC system ~ heating, ventilation and air conditioning. The function of the controls is to ensure that the HVAC system operates properly, reli- ably and efficiently With respect to heating, the controls are of two types. The first category compris- es controls that increase energy efficien- cy by reducing on/off cycling of boilers. ‘These comprise deployment of modu- lating flame boilers, step-fired boilers and modular boilers. In modulating flame boilers, the heat input to the boiler can be modulated continually to be synchronous with the heating load requirement. Such boilers have a threshold turndown ratio, below which the boiler cycles off. The turn- down ratio for the majority of such boil- er cent, but in some cases it can be as low as 10 per cent. ‘The heat input to step-fired boilers changes in a phased manner; it is usual- ly high, low, or off. The capacity of step- fired boilers can reach the proximity of the required heating load. ‘The efficiency of the heating system can be enhanced by assembling smaller ‘groups of boilers into a modular plant. Such a system can be modified as per the heating requirement. In some instances, when the heating load is high, the capacity of the existing system can >be augmented by installing a new boiler online and vice versa when the heating load decreases. In this manner, the heat- ing system can be both augmented and made efficient. ‘The second type of controls are those which enhance boiler efficiency during operation. Oxygen trim systems repre- sent one such set of controls. The use of these systems helps adjust the amount of combustion air to achieve a higher level of combustion efficiency. However, such systems are cost-effective only for large boilers accompanied by modulat- ing flame controls. Conclusion ‘The deployment of HVAC systems is ass- ciated with significant energy consump- tion and costs, which can be curtailed through making modifications in build- ing design, along with the installation of | proper control systems. Various types of boilers are frequently used as heating sys- ‘tem equipment. Each type is suited for a particular building capacity and. design and presents its own set of issues and | challenges. Hence, deploying the correct. boiler type, along with relevant control mechanisms, is the key to making boiler- based heating systems efficient. m |