Accurately Predicting Boiler-Controller Energy Savings: Commonly used test method tends to overpredict

摘要

With growing concern about fossil-fuel consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions has come increased interest in add-on boiler controllers. This article demonstrates how a commonly used method of testing these devices often overpredicts energy savings and proposes an alternative method that avoids the error. Available from multiple vendors, the controllers block boiler calls for heat during times of low demand. The reduction in number of boiler cycles eliminates purge losses that occur during burner startup, but also broadens the operating-temperature band of a boiler and reduces the average water temperature in the heating system.