Increasing Efficiency

Heatec has introduced its StackPack economizer, which is designed to boost thermal efficiency of hot oil heaters by five percent or more. The increase in efficiency reduces the amount of fuel burned by the heater to maintain the same temperature. The decrease in fuel usage saves money on fuel costs. Less efficient heaters benefit with greater savings.

The StackPack economizer is a heat exchanger that mounts in the exhaust stack of a hot oil heater. It uses hot exhaust gases to preheat hot oil (thermal fluid) before it enters the heater. This lowers the amount of heat needed to bring the fluid to a set temperature. As a result, the burner burns less fuel.

Field tests made on new heaters by Heatec Service Manager Ron Henry indicate the economizer boosts thermal efficiency by at least five percent. According to calculations made by Director of Engineering Robert Wilfong, boosting thermal efficiency from 80 to 85 percent should reduce fuel usage by approximately 5 1/2 percent.

Older heaters in use for many years, having lower thermal efficiency, should benefit even more. According to Wilfong’s calculations, raising efficiency from 50 to 55 percent could reduce fuel usage as much as nine percent.

For a typical stationary plant using 17.6 million Btu a day, boosting heater efficiency from 80 to 85 percent would reduce fuel usage by nine gallons of No.2 fuel oil a day. At $1.75 per gallon, fuel expenses should decrease by $472.50 a month.

Heatec’s next goal is to test economizer efficiency in field-retrofit applications. Heatec expects those results to confirm or exceed results found during factory testing. The StackPack economizer is avaiable as an option on new heaters or can be retrofitted to Heatec and other heaters.