Boiler In a Box
Boiler in a Box units are a great solution for facilities that need extra steam in a time of high demand. Here's how they work and the advantages they have over other boiler operating systems.
A CUSTOM BOILER IN A BOX SOLUTION FOR AN AIR BASE
An air base located in Virginia came to Powerhouse looking for an extensive, but temporary, steam solution for their entire facility as they transitioned their operations over to natural gas. With a unique need for both a long term timeline and a decreasing load over the lifetime over the project, Powerhouse was tasked with developing a custom boiler build that the base would end up operating for 13 years.
The Problem
This project kicked off when the air base commenced the process of decommissioning their existing steam plant as part of the transition over to utilizing natural gas for their operations. Difficulties arose, however, when the necessary natural gas connections were not installed for a number of portions of the facility in time.
As a result, the air base contacted Powerhouse to help develop a temporary boiler solution that would be powerful enough to run a significant portion of the facility, while gradually decreasing output until the eventual phase-out of steam power. This wrinkle of slowly reducing output posed a problem, due to the fact a single boiler was unlikely to meet both the top-end and low-end performance requirements. Fortunately, Powerhouse’s ability to develop custom solutions produced an effective result.
The Solution
Based on the need to gradually reduce output from 500 HP to 100 HP over the lifetime of the contract, Powerhouse manufactured a custom solution of three custom containers housing five 100 HP Cleaver Brooks boilers, all interconnected by a centralized Feedwater System. This unique configuration of these custom Boiler in a Box solutions allowed for the air base to gradually phase out individual boilers as their steam power needs eventually decreased.
The Results
Thanks to the flexibility that Powerhouse’s solution provided the base, the air base was able to successfully transition over operations to natural gas without service interruptions over a 13 year period. After this time, Powerhouse purchased back several of the custom boilers to be repurposed for future projects.
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