Hot on the Trail of More Efficient Boiler Burners
Before: The old burners lost efficiency over time.
After: The high efficiency JBEX burner installed.
The Newtown, PA campus of Bucks County Community College, established in 1965 on the former esate of Stella Elkins Tyler, relies on steam heat provided by two large boilers installed in decades ago. The original burners that were firing these boilers grew obsolete over time and the parts needed to keep them running reliably became very difficult to find. By 2018, it was clear that it was time to upgrade to new, more efficient burners.
BCCC consulted 3B Services, a local mechanical contractor for a solution that would accommodate their needs and budget. 3B, in turn, contacted Jared Schmoyer, a Mechanical Systems Specialist with Combustion Service & Equipment Company (CS&E), a distributor of HVAC systems located in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA.
Since the college’s operating budget was tight and costs were a concern, the decision was made to keep the two existing Superior Boilerworks boilers and replace only the old burners so that the infrastructure could remain intact but heating efficiency could be maximized.
The main campus of Bucks County Community College (BCCC), located in Newtown, PA, utilizes steam heat provided by 2 Superior Boilers powered by Webster boiler burners.
Jared recommended Webster Combustion’s JBEX burner as the most reliable and cost-effective choice. At the first on-site meeting with 3B, he made the case for Webster, filling the contractor in on the benefits and cost savings, which were significant on both the capital equipment and the performance payback.
Webster’s JBEX boiler burner is a high efficiency, low excess air burner that incorporates a unique high swirl firing head to improve commercial boiler combustion efficiency. The JBEX is often chosen for cost-sensitive applications like hospitals, schools and universities, because it can achieve boiler horsepower ratings in the 200 to 1,750 HP range using less fuel and electricity than conventional burners.
JBEX burners are also compliant with modern emission regulations. According to Jared Schmoyer, “...once you replace the burners, you now must become emission compliant and with that in mind, they (BCCC) also liked the idea that hey, we’re helping out the atmosphere a little bit, we’re lowering our NOx, getting a little more up to date with our emissions.”
Other key selling points of Webster boiler burners include excellent technical support, ease of maintenance and the fact that they are manufactured in the United States.
The BCCC job was awarded in August of 2018 and the new burners were installed in the Summer of 2019.