6 Factors Influencing The Cost Of A Boiler

In this article, I will share some of the factors that influence the cost of a boiler.

The cost of a boiler can either be expensive or cheap depending on specific features that I will share with you in this article.

As a rule of thumb, if one is thinking of purchasing a boiler, one should consider the different features of the boiler and its capacity.

If you want to know some of the things one should consider when choosing a boiler then you should read the article below.

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The factors I will discuss in this article will either make the boiler expensive or cheap.

Without wasting time, let me share what you should know about the cost of the boiler.

The cost of the boiler depends upon the following factors;

1. Operating pressure of the boiler

This is the first factor that influences the cost of the boiler.

When we talk about the operating pressure of a boiler, it’s one of the top features that is used to classify the two main types of boilers.

What you should know is that the classification of the boilers depends on different aspects that I discussed in the article below.

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The operating pressure of the boiler is what makes a boiler highly preferred or not.

A boiler operating under high pressure is going to be more expensive compared to the one operating under low pressure.

This is all because high-pressure boilers have unique features that tend to improve the working capacity of the boiler.

You can learn about the features of high-pressure boilers in the article below.

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The boilers operating under high pressure tend to cost more because they provide steam under high pressure which has all the necessary conditions needed for effective operations in the power plant.

You can read the article below if you want to know the advantages of using high-pressure boilers for you to understand why they are expensive compared to low-pressure boilers.

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What I am trying to let you understand is that boilers operating under high pressure are more costly than the ones operating under low pressure.

And this is all because of the capacity of the steam that can be generated from these boilers.

A steam of high pressure is considered to be highly charged compared to the one that is of low pressure.

2. Operating temperature of the boiler

When it comes to steam generation, heat is needed for that to happen and that is why the boilers have furnaces.

The operating temperature of the boiler also plays a big role when it comes to determining the cost of the boiler.

A boiler that operates under high temperatures is going to be an expensive one compared to the one that operates under low temperatures.

The higher the operating temperature of a boiler, the higher the amount of steam generated and proper steam qualities are obtained.

A steam generated having the right qualities is highly effective compared to a steam with the wrong qualities.

If the operating temperature of the boiler is going to be low, the steam produced won’t be effective.

The steam is likely to be of low pressure, the quantity of steam generated is going to be low, it’s going to be less thermally charged and this will all result in lowering the efficiency of the boiler.

I hope now you understand why the operating temperature of the boiler affects the cost of a boiler.

3. Method of fuel firing used in the boiler.

The method of fuel firing used in a boiler also affects the cost of the boiler.

There are different methods of fuel firing that highly contribute to the capacity of the boiler.

A boiler with an effective method of fuel firing is going to cost more compared to one with a less effective method.

For instance, a boiler with a hand fuel firing method is going to be less expensive compared to the one with a mechanical fuel firing method.

The boiler that has the hand fuel firing method as its main way of feeding the fuel in the furnace is going to be cheap because it doesn’t offer a higher operating efficiency compared to the one that utilizes the mechanical fuel firing method.

The operation of the furnace plays a big role when it comes to the overall efficiency of the boiler.

The hand fuel firing method used on a boiler signifies that the functioning capacity of the boiler is going to be low.

The boiler unit is going to be small and its efficiency is also going to be low.

A large boiler unit will need plenty of fuel to be fired at a go to be able to meet the heat energy demands of the boiler.

For a boiler that uses the mechanical fuel firing method (stoker fuel firing) is going to be expensive because it’s highly effective compared to the one that uses the hand fuel firing method.

The mechanical method of fuel firing is going to increase the capacity of the furnace, thus more heat energy will be produced which will be able to handle a large boiler unit and in turn high amount of steam is going to be generated.

Now you get how the method of fuel firing can affect the cost of a boiler in one way or the other.

4. The types of boilers

The type of boilers is also one of the factors that affect their cost.

Certain types of boilers are going to be more expensive than others because of their operating capacity and overall efficiency.

Generally, water tube boilers are going to be more expensive than fire tube boilers.

And this is all because of their differences in operating capacity.

Water tube boilers are known to be high-pressure boilers, which are highly effective, compared to fire tube boilers.

That is why water tube boilers are chosen to be installed and used in central power plants because of the high efficiency they can provide.

Fire tube boilers are going to cost less than water tube boilers because they don’t have high operating efficiency.

The amount of steam they generate and their qualities are lower when it’s compared to that of a water tube boiler.

The types of boilers that possess high operating efficiency are going to be expensive compared to the ones with lower operating efficiency.

5. Efficiency of the boiler

The efficiency of the boiler is the main selling feature of a boiler.

Anyone who wants to sell a boiler to you will first talk about its operating efficiency because that is what generally talks about the capacity of the boiler.

It’s obvious that a boiler with a high operating efficiency will cost more compared to the one with a lower efficiency.

A boiler with a higher operating efficiency is going to deliver a higher capacity.

It’s considered powerful and effective compared to a boiler with a lower operating efficiency.

It doesn’t matter the kind of boiler one may choose to purchase, if its efficiency is low it’s not going to deliver the required amount of steam under the right conditions.

So, this is the main takeaway from this part of this article, a boiler that operates under a higher efficiency is going to be more expensive compared to the one that operates under a low efficiency.

6. The amount of steam a boiler can generate

The amount of steam generated by a boiler is another factor that influences the cost of a boiler.

We need the boiler to generate steam for our processes to be one. The amount of steam generated should be able to meet our demands.

A boiler that generates sufficient steam is going to meet all the needs of the consumer and save more.

The amount of steam that a boiler can generate is mainly based on its evaporative capacity.

A boiler with a higher evaporative capacity is going to generate more steam compared to the one with a lower evaporative capacity.

So, a boiler with a higher evaporative capacity is going to cost more than the one with a lower evaporative capacity.

The boiler that generates a high amount of steam is going to cost more than a boiler that generates a low amount of steam.

Lastly…

The cost of the boiler depends on its operating capacity. The boiler with a higher operating capacity is going to be more expensive than the one with a lower operating capacity.

When it comes to the cost, it’s always clear which kind of boiler one should go for because of the cost.

But one should understand that there is more to a boiler than just its cost.

There are a lot of things one should check before choosing a boiler and it’s not just the cost only.