A. Kaupp, e-mail: webmaster@kaupp.

net
Page 1

Boiler Efficiency

Issue The quality of a boiler is also judged by its

system efficiency (η). But different norms of
how to calculate η, make comparison
difficult and confuse the issue.

Learning • Understanding different methods to

Objectives calculate system efficiencies
• Knowing the difference between the
lower and higher heating value of a fuel
• Appreciation for the difference between
the indirect and direct method of
measuring the system efficiency
• Establishing a list of losses
• Understanding the basic mathematics
behind efficiency calculations
• Converting between norm efficiencies
Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 2

1. Definition of system efficiency

A boiler is an equipment that is sold with a guaranteed system
efficiency. Some people call it design efficiency to distinguish it
from the operational efficiency.

For instance saying a boiler has a guaranteed efficiency of 83 %

means 17 % of the energy input in the boiler (mostly fuel energy)
is lost and was not used to generate steam. The trouble with this
practice is that there are several norms how to determine and
calculate efficiencies. Based on the norm efficiency the same boiler
may have at least two design efficiencies.

Any consultant involved in boiler testing should therefore have at

least some understanding how thermal efficiencies based on
measured data, are calculated. This lecture will give an overview.

The most basic equation everybody agrees is

E out
Efficiency = η =
E in

where
Adsorbed heat = Eout = The energy the feedwater has picked up
Energy Input = Ein = The energy going into the boiler.

There is no disagreement of what “adsorbed heat” means. It is the

energy needed to convert feedwater entering the boiler at a specific
pressure and temperature to steam leaving the boiler at a specific
pressure and temperature. This includes the energy picked up by
the blow down and not converted into steam.

Disagreement among national norms exist of what is considered an

“energy input”. Unfortunately any fuel has two widely published
energy contents:
• The Higher Heating Value (HHV), also called Gross Calorific
Value (GCV)
• The Lower Heating Value (LHV), also called the Net Calorific
Value (NCV)

The functional relation between HHV and LHV is

LHV = HHV − mH 2 O ⋅ 2.4425

Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 3

where mH 2 O is the mass of water (in kg) generated by one kg of

fuel during the combustion process.

9 H + xH 2 O
mH 2 O =
100

with

H= weight percent of Hydrogen in the fuel

xH2O = weight percent of physically bound water in the fuel

It is assumed that all water is evaporated at 25 ° C (the temperature

of the system boundary). As will be explained in lecture 4, a fuel
contains physically and chemically bound water. The physically
bound water can be driven off by drying the fuel, while the
chemically bound water is formed through the reaction of Oxygen
with the atomic Hydrogen of the fuel. Contrary to common believe
and the notation in the American norm, there is no molecular
Hydrogen(H2) or Oxygen(O2).

The LHV is always smaller than the HHV. Table 1 gives an

overview of how much LHV and HHV differ.

Table 1: HHV and LHV in MJ/kg

Fuel type HHV MJ/kg LHV MJ/kg % change
Light fuel oil 44.003 41.255 6.24
Coal A 21.693 20.236 6.72
Wood, very dry (10% H2O) 17.739 16.308 8.07
Wood, freshly cut (70% H2O) 5.913 3.808 35.61
LPG (90% Propane) 50.250 46.256 7.95
Carbon 34.095 34.095 0
Bagasse (50% H2O) 9.855 7.974 19.08

A detailed assessment of fuel properties including their energy

content is given in lecture 4.

Be aware that the adsorbed heat is a measured value and does not
depend on the fuel energy input (LHV or HHV). How much heat
Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 4

can be adsorbed by the feedwater is a matter of boiler design and

operation.

Example: Assume 1 ton of light fuel is fired in a boiler and the

adsorbed heat has been measured as 36,500 MJ.
Using either the HHV or LHV as energy input we
have
ηHHV = 36,500/44,003 = 82.95 % (1)
ηLHV = 36,500/41,255 = 88.47 % (2)

Consequently this boiler if tested by the German norm will be

advertised with a design efficiency of about η = 88%. because this
norm uses the LHV for calculation, while the same boiler sold by
an American company would have an η = 83% because the
American norm uses the HHV as a basis for the energy input. Due
to the very large difference internationally known boiler
manufacturers report both efficiencies in sales brochures. Another
method to avoid any misunderstanding is to report the rated
capacity in MW and the associated fuel consumption based on a
given HHV or LHV of the fuel.

Note 1: Calculating the thermal efficiency directly as suggested

in equation (1) and (2) would require to simultaneously
measure the fuel flow, the steam flow, and the
feedwater flow. The procedure does not only involve to
measure flows (kg/h or m3/h) but also to record the fuel
temperature and pressure of the steam and feedwater.

In particular with solid fuel fired boilers it is impossible

to measure the fuel flow correctly. The direct method is
therefore very seldom used to determine the efficiency
of a boiler in the field. It is used as a confirmation of the
measured losses if fuel, feedwater and steam meters are
installed.

Note 2: Most performance testing and commissioning of smaller

and medium sized boilers is done by the indirect
method measuring the losses and calculating the
efficiency as

η HHV = 1 −
∑ Losses (3)
E in
Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 5

This is the preferred choice, because the method is

based on the measurement of losses, and shows
opportunities to reduce them. The HHV of the fuel is
used as the relevant energy input.

Note 3: In case of a performance contract, verification of fuel

cost reduction should be done by the direct method.
This implies that performance contracting of solid fuel
fired boilers is complicated due to difficulties in
measuring fuel flow.

Note 4: The correct derivation of the efficiency equation for the

indirect method is
E out E in − ∑ Losses ∑ Losses
Efficiency = η = = = 1−
E in E in E in

In the case of hot water boilers, that may have stack gas
temperatures below 90 oC, we observe system
efficiencies of larger 100 % if the LHV is used as
energy input in the direct method calculation. It is
therefore recommended to avoid the LHV as energy
input, because it would violate the Second Law of
Thermodynamics which says the energy output of a
system(boiler) cannot be larger than the energy input. In
other words it is not possible to create energy in a boiler

2. The Losses
Using the direct method one does not have to list losses, because
they don’t enter the calculation. With the indirect method an
agreement off what we consider a loss must be reached. The most
logical way to do this is to draw a system boundary around the
boiler and declare all energy flows (except steam) that leave the
boundary a loss. A sample list of losses is

1. The chemical energy of unburned carbon monoxide (CO) in the

stack gas
2. The sensible and latent heat of the dry stack gas and the water
in the stack gas
3. The radiation and convection losses from the boiler surface
Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 6

4. The blow down losses(Optional. Some norms don’t consider it)

5. The sensible heat losses of the residue (ash)
6. The unburned carbon losses (LOI) in the residue
7. All other combustible gases and solids in the stack gas such as
Higher Hydrocarbons (Cn Hm), H2, and solid carbon (C)

Only losses 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 are measurable without too much

effort and complications. One mainly tries to reduce losses 2 and 6.
Loss 6 is important in solid fuel fired boilers. There are a few other
losses, such as steam used for oil preheating and atomization in
larger installations fired with “Bunker C” oil.

3. The “% fuel savings” concept.

All our efforts to reduce energy consumption should be expressed

in terms “% fuel saved”. In case the efficiency of a boiler is
determent and measures are recommended to increase efficiency
from an “as is” situation ηold to an new improved efficiency ηnew
the percent savings if fuel consumption are given as

ηnew − ηold
% fuel savings = • 100
ηnew

In the literature you may find all permutations of this equation such
as

ηnew − ηold ηold − ηnew

S1 = • 100 S2 = • 100
ηnew ηold

ηnew − ηold ηold − ηnew

S3 = • 100 S4 = • 100
ηold ηnew

A definitely wrong but often used approximation is S = ηnew - ηold

Note that S1 = - S4 and S2 = -S3

Let us assume that the as is situation is given as
Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 7

E out
ηold =
E in

Reducing losses means for the same level of energy output Eout less
energy input Ein is needed. Consequently

E out
ηnew =
E in − ∆E in

where ∆Ein is the amount of energy saved. A positive number.

Applying equation S1 will lead to

∆E in
S1 = • 100
E in
Consequently S1 is the only correct equation. A positive number
means fuel savings while a negative number means additional fuel
consumption. In lecture 13 it will be explained that the above
equation cannot be used to calculate fuel savings from reduction of
blow down or condensate return, since both are not considered
losses.

4. The loss concept and energy savings

Many times the loss is expressed in “% fuel energy” lost.
Unfortunately this expression has an ambiguous meaning. Consider
the case where CO losses are referenced as “0.5% of the fuel
energy”. For most people it means that if the HHV of a fuel is 42
MJ/kg then 42 •0.005 = 0.21 MJ of energy are lost through
incomplete combustion per kg of fuel fired. Another logical but
nevertheless not always correct conclusion would be that 0.005
•1kg = 5 gram of fuel are needed to compensate for this loss.

Assume η = 1−
∑ Losses
HHV f

Isolate the CO loss from the sum of all losses

LCO + ∑ Losses
Consequently η = 1 −
HHV f

Assume the CO loss is given as percentage fraction, xCO of fuel

energy
Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 8

xCO • HHV f + ∑ Losses

Consequently η = 1 −
HHV f

Or η = 1 − x CO −
∑ Losses
HHV f

It has been shown that the percent of fuel savings in improving the
efficiency from ηold to a larger ηnew is given as

ηnew − ηold
% fuel savings = • 100
ηnew

Using this equation with ηold referring to a CO loss of xCO and ηnew
referring to no CO loss will result in fuel savings of

x CO
% fuel savings = • 100
ηnew

It is therefore important to recognize the difference between the

phrases
• “ The loss is equivalent to x % of the fuel energy”, or
• “The loss is equivalent to x % of the fuel
In the literature the phrase “ The loss is equivalent to x % of the
fuel energy” is overwhelmingly used, and therefore this percentage
figure must be divided by the boiler efficiency to derive the all
important “percent of fuel savings”

5. The PPM concentration concept

Some gas species are measured in ppm or mg in stack gas.
Examples are concentrations of CO, NOx or soot in the stack. The
term ppm refers to parts per million in volume units. One volume
percent equals 10,000 ppm. Soot or solid particle concentration of
Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 9

stack gas is measured in mg per volume unit of stack gas. In order

to compare these numbers it must be clearly stated to what excess
air or % oxygen level of the stack gas these numbers refer to. An
example is given. As a convention concentrations of these species
are referenced to 3% oxygen in the “dry” stack gas. Refer to lecture
9 for details.

Example:
A manufacturer claims the solid particle load is 200 mg @ 3%
oxygen while another one claims 300 mg @ 10 % oxygen. To
express the given concentration of “200 mg @ 3% O2” in terms of
“??? mg @ 10 % O2” use the following equation:
21 − x1
Cnew =
21 − x 2

where
x1 = the smaller % O2
x2 = the larger % O2
21 − 3
In the above case Cnew = 200 • = 327 mg
21 − 10
Consequently the boiler referenced at 200 mg @ 3% O2 is more
polluting than the boiler referenced at 300 mg @ 10% O2.
In particular in the environmental impact assessment of a boiler it
is important to reference measurements of environmental pollutants
correctly to a base level expressed as “ ??? mg @ % O2” or “ ???
ppm @ % O2” in the stack gas.

6. Summary
Operational efficiency testing or commissioning of boilers requires
that you clearly state the following:

• The method used to determine the efficiency (direct or indirect)

Commissioning and purchasing of boilers Page 10

• The norm and technical guidelines applied to calculate the

operational efficiency (national norms or your own)
• A description of the system boundary and its reference
temperature (usually 25 oC)
• The type of measuring equipment used.

Note that the objective is to identify opportunities to reduce energy

losses and express the potential in terms of “Percent of Fuel”
saved. It is therefore not so important what norm or technical
guidelines one uses to calculate an operational or design efficiency
as long as the relative improvement in efficiency is correctly
assessed.