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1. FUEL EFFICIENT
Efficiency matters. When you’re weighing the options between what boiler is going to best suit your needs, the efficiency rating is one of the most critical factors you should be considering. Efficiency is of the most importance when it comes to reducing costs over the course of your boiler’s life cycle. In regard to savings, the initial price of your boiler pales in comparison to the operating costs incurred over its life span. With the potential costs of fuel, water treatment, and maintenance, you want to make sure that your boiler is saving money by running as efficiently as possible.
A Clayton Steam Generator is capable of consistently producing excellent efficiency ratings even when operating below the full firing rate, averaging 83% without an economizer. How are we able to maintain such a high level?
The answer comes from three features of our unique design, the first of which is that the Clayton Generator is the only 100% true counterflow boiler on the market. The Clayton design has water enter the boiler at the top of the unit, where it begins to spiral down at a controlled rate, moving towards the burner that is mounted at the bottom of the boiler. As the water is circulated downward, it comes into contact with the heat rising from the burner, both of which are controlled in perfect harmony with one another. This results in a true counterflow path that provides optimum heat transfer.
Secondly, process is further aided by the staggered spacing of the feedwater coil. Rather than using a traditional linear spacing, which allows combustion gases to pass quickly between the sections, the feedwater coil utilizes staggered spacing. This ensures that combustion gases are forced to take a turbulent path, causing it to come into contact with much more of the coil’s surface than in a traditional design, promoting better heat transfer.
The final feature comes from our space saving design. A smaller unit means a lower exterior surface area, which in itself doesn’t sound like much of an efficiency feature. However, this smaller surface area results in a much lower percentage of both convection and radiant heat loss. In a traditional boiler set up, radiation losses will typically range between one and two percent, whereas with a Clayton the losses amount to less than half a percent per hour at average firing rates.
When it comes to choosing your next boiler, you can count on Clayton Industries and its highly efficient design to provide you with the lowest operating costs, all while providing the steam you need.