Check out the new Q & A BLOG accesed from the home page to see questions from other trainees and Ken's answers
NFPA 85 and ASME CSD-1 are now incorporated into the laws of most states. Contact NFPA to get the latest version of the boiler safety code for boilers larger than 12.5 mmbtuh. Contact ASME to get the latest version of "Controls and Safety Devices for Automatically Fired Boilers" which applies to smaller boilers. These Standards now contain operating and maintenance requirements that you must know.
KEH recently reviewed a steam trap study for a VA hospital which revealed about 51% (248 out of 458) steam traps had failed. Estimating the amount of steam lost by those traps that were blowing through indicated 13,034 pph of steam wasted by those traps. At today's rates that's a loss of about $91 per hour! The summer plant load was about 16,000 pph. Do what Ken recommended, go to that trap seminar and pay attention to your steam traps.
I'm told that variable speed drives on chillers can take advantage of colder cooling tower water. Retrofit machines have produced substantial savings (30%) in power according to York. Also, newer chillers with magnetic bearings are producing chilled water for less than half a kilowatt per ton. compare that to earlier centrifugals at 0.75 kw/ton and reciprocating units at 1.5 kw/ton!
In one University condenser water system enginers discovered the pumps generated much more head than required. By replacing the ten 250 horsepower pumps with "right-sized" 150 HP pumps they saved the University $300,000 in operating costs.
Be certain your energy program includes an evaluation of the potential losses associated with a power outage. A South Carolina maunfacturer lost 80 million pounds of product, about 8% of annual production as the result of one interruption. see "Energy Management for the 21st Century," Energy User News, November 2001
Check out the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium web site.
Latest key physical, safety and environmental data on refrigerants is covered in an article entitled "Refrigerant Data Summary." see Engineered Systems, 2001.
For a good description of using Ultrasound technology for leak detection and other applications, check out this page on the U.E. Systems web site.
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