With soaring electricity and gas costs it’s more important than ever that plant is running effectively to save money and avoid unnecessary closures and expensive downtime
If a boiler is not regularly monitored for efficiency, deposits including scale and bacteria that build up inside the appliance may go unnoticed. The link between the amount of gas the appliance burns and the monthly cost of that gas can easily be missed, especially if costs are increasing incrementally at the same time. “We are seeing an increase in the failure of metal pipework systems because they haven’t been maintained properly. Poor water quality is a hidden killer of systems,” explains Steve Warne, national sales manager at Ideal Heat Solutions. “Preventative maintenance plans that include the regular monitoring of water quality could extend the life of a system because it can detect issues early before they become truly problematic. When metal pipework systems begin to fail, plantroom equipment becomes less efficient and requires more fuel to run, which in turn increases costs.” An inefficient boiler can cost a lot more than a new boiler in the long term if it’s poorly maintained, which is why facility managers should be proactive, says Warne. “They should have heat meters on their appliances to monitor the efficiency of their plant and also ensure water quality is regularly checked. Having a planned maintenance and replacement schedule ensures plant is working at its best for as long as possible.”
A disaster plan is also essential to identify where temporary plant can be safely sited, how it can be connected to the existing system and where pipe work will run. This means that if plant fails completely facility managers are ready to act, which will reduce downtime to hours rather than days. Maintaining live systems is risky – you can never account for human error. It’s much safer to work in a plant room that is cold and has its power isolated. “By using a temporary boiler, you can eliminate that risk. If something were to go wrong while working on a live system, a facility could be forced to close. Taking plant offline and using temporary solutions can save time and money in the long run. On a large site where there may be underground pipework that can be difficult to access, we are able to break down the loads to take the site on and offline, helping to maintain the system and avoid having to turn off large parts of the network. This allows managers to keep their buildings and facilities running,” explains Warne. Heat exchangers in a boiler allow heat to be transferred between two fluids or substances, usually water and gas, without mixing the two together. Deposits can form a layer on a heat exchanger slowing down heat transfer making it less efficient and potentially causing it to fail completely. Ensuring the heat exchanger is cleaned regularly as part of a maintenance programme is essential. “We regularly clean the heat exchangers in our temporary boilers to ensure that when they are needed by our customers that they are working efficiently and not adding to any issues. We also monitor our temporary plant when it’s in situ so we can quickly respond to any issues that arise. We have our own maintenance schedules and we build resilience into them. “By building resilience into a maintenance plan, facility managers can be prepared for the worst-case scenario and have a strategy in place to avoid unnecessary closures and expensive downtime.”
