Rules of the Game

Now that the introductory blog #1 is a thing of the past, it is time to get down to the work of informing while at the same time trying to be interesting.  So while I try to figure out what this blog should be, I will let you know what it’s not.

First, it’s not going to be political.  I am told that my political beliefs are vastly different and certainly inferior to everyone else’s.  So you won’t see any of my opinions whether they come from left field or from right field.  Matters that are political such as emissions, efficiency standards, global warming and the like will be dealt with factually and only as they apply to our business and the effects they have on us.  Furthermore, so that I don’t alienate readers, I intend to offer both sides of these issues if available.

Second, I’m a golfer so I foreswear to lay off any metaphors about sports in general and golf in particular.  For any blogger, this should be par for the course.

Third, though I am happily employed at E-Tech, this blog will not be one constant advertising blurb.  The idea here is to serve an audience of people interested in our field without forcing a steady diet of marketing mush.  On the other hand, don’t expect links to my competitors either!

Fourth, I realize that everyone has very little time these days because we are all busy with the work at hand.  So don’t worry about seeing this blog updated with new information to the point of tedium.  Right now, I’ll shoot for a frequency of semi-monthly or better. 

Finally, since I hope to entertain dialogue on issues so that all topics may be aired, discussed and answered, I will try to stay out of conversations unless they’re directed straight at me.  I only ask that you follow generally along with rule one: let us avoid politics ruling our discussions.  No yelling and screaming (or should I say, “NO YELLING AND SCREAMING”).

And lest I forget the purpose of this blog being to inform, in our haste to emphasize fuel savings in terms of dollars, there is always an associated benefit for the environment when we burn less fuel.  Here’s an example of that.

Pollutants avoided by energy recovery

Pounds of	Per kwh of electricity	Per MM/btus of Natural Gas	Per MM/Btus of Coal	Per MM/Btus of #6 oil (1% Sulfur)
CO2	1.48	115	200	170
SO2	0.016	0.0005	2.67	0.95
NOx	0.007	0.39	1.12	0.48

6 to 10 trees would have to be planted to offset each ton of CO2 saved.

As I look for any way to escape from this miserable heat Oklahoma (and other areas of the Midwest are experiencing), I leave you with a bit of wisdom, something I hope to impart with each post I do.

The purest treasure mortal times can afford is a spotless reputation. -William Shakespeare

How Do I Measure Efficiency

How Do We Measure Efficiency?

As you read this I will be on the briny sailing from New York City.  Having grown up around this wonderful city and taken for granted the Statue of Liberty so many times (I visited the monument only once in all those years), I have always wanted to sail past the Statue on my way somewhere and that time has finally arrived.  I’ll glance out at this wonderful symbol of America’s freedom with a deep respect for all those who have preceded me.

When I first got into this business lo these many years ago, boilers were not as efficient as they are now.  To add to that, there were still many boilers firing coal and heavy oils and because of the high sulfur contents of these fuels, flue gas exit temperatures from an economizer were relatively limited.  The old literature I remember when I first started spoke of efficiency gains from 5-8%.  Using the old rule of thumb that each 40 degree drop in exit gas temperature equaled one percent gain in efficiency you can see that boiler exhaust temperatures were quite hot back then.  Now we look more at 3-5% gains, this despite the fact that the predominant fuel being fired on package boilers is now clean-burning natural gas.

With the advent of natural gas also came the ability to squeeze out additional heat recovery through grabbing extra BTU’s available with condensing economizers.  For more detail see the following link: Condensing Economizer White Paper

 This was particularly true in the middle of the last decade when gas prices shot up to $14.00/dekatherm and higher.  With the vagaries of heat transfer, as latent heat is recovered, the rule of thumb of a 40 degree drop in gas temperature being equivalent to one percent efficiency gain goes away.  Jamie Tighe put together for me the following graph that illustrates this better than I can write it.

Note that as the gas temperature goes down from 300 to 135 degrees F., the slope of the curve is consistent but at approximately 135 degrees F., the water dew point is reached and true condensation occurs and the curve flattens out.

I do hope this is helpful to all of you.

And finally, my saying for this blog is vacation related:

We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.  ~Erma Bombeck

Can We Talk?

I know, I know. Heat recovery is not among the usual topics for casual chat, but I’m going to assume that you’re here because you either know something about the subject or want to know something about it. Great. That’ll work for me.

So let me start by introducing myself: Bob Hanson, sales manager for E-Tech Engineering. I’ve been in the heat recovery business in one way or another for more than 32 years and, putting modesty aside for the moment, I have walked around the heat recovery block more than a few times (albeit slower with each passing year!).

Over the years I’ve worked with all of the OEM boiler companies and I’m a card-carrying member of the American Boiler Manufacturers Association, or ABMA.

I’m proud to have built a lot of long-term relationships within the industry and I’m always pleased to serve as a “go-to” guy for anyone who has a question about heat transfer or heat recovery equipment. If a question should come up that I can’t readily answer (it does happen, I admit), I’m in the fortunate position of being able to walk down the hall and get that answer from some of the brightest and most resourceful engineering brains in the business.

Now something more about those guys and the work they do. Custom-designed heat transfer equipment and economizers. That sums it right up, with the operative compound modifier right at the front: custom-designed.

We sort of invented a word to describe what we do at E-Tech: Greengineering. Because we tailor our designs to a client’s very specific heat recovery goals and specifications, we’re able to provide them with solutions that achieve the greatest efficiency possible for their boiler system. The result is not only maximized fuel efficiency, but also minimized emissions.

I’m not just saying that. E-Tech General Manager and Chief Engineer Jamie Tighe actually went so far as to invent an entirely new heat transfer unit — the ThermoCharger — to meet the precise needs of one particular client.

The ThermoCharger worked so well for that client that we’ve applied for a patent on it and have added it to our full lineup of heat recovery solutions. And it is a full lineup. As far as I know, we’ve never met a boiler system that we couldn’t maximize for more efficient fuel consumption with one or more of our economizer designs.

I’ll be talking a lot about fuel efficiency in this blog, and the government actions at every level that are bound to push this industry to ever-cleaner, ever more efficient solutions. I’ll be talking about those solutions, too. Not just ours, but those industry-wide.

I hope you’ll stick with me for the discussion and chime in with your comments. I already know what I think. I want to know what you think, too.

So please check in regularly, and we’ll talk.