One of the key benefits of the IoT is how it can be used in the boiler room to help reduce or eliminate unscheduled downtime. The technology enables boiler operators and maintenance technicians to gain visibility into what is happening in the boiler room even when they are off-site.
Robust IoT solutions monitor key equipment performance indicators, and if one goes outside the acceptable range as specified by the OEM, an alert notifies authorized users on their mobile devices. An operator or technician who is notified can log in to the boiler system dashboard and view live data along with trending information to immediately start troubleshooting the issue.
Having real-time data available to operators and maintenance technicians through their mobile devices speeds up their response time. They no longer have to frequent the boiler room to look at gauges if they are elsewhere on company grounds or off the premises. This freedom helps operators and maintenance personnel discern and respond to identified issues accordingly.
Trend reports generated by an IoT solution make a facility or energy manager's job easier. Evaluating trend data over time can help identify ways to optimize boilers throughout the company from a fuel and efficiency standpoint. By regularly reviewing and acting on information detailed in the trend reports, equipment settings can be adjusted seasonally or as needed to eliminate inefficiencies and waste.
Insights and improvement opportunities
IoT-connected boilers can provide remote monitoring and value-added insights into many KPIs such as stack temperature, flame signal strength, oxygen level and boiler on/off cycles per hour, just to name a few. When using analytical methods coupled with the intelligence of the OEM, this information can give technicians better insight into when the boiler system needs their attention, thereby preventing or reducing unscheduled downtime.
Trending and reporting capabilities made available through IoT solutions capture boiler system anomalies, even when there is no one in the boiler room to witness them. Similar to an electrocardiogram that graphs the activity of a heart, an IoT trend report records the intricate details of a boiler system's performance. This capability enables facility personnel to examine what is happening in the boiler room at any given time, especially if there is a boiler failure or occurrence.
For example, viewing trending information about the oxygen level of a boiler's exhaust gas provides a user with insight into its overall burner health. If the oxygen level is trending low, the combustion process can become fuel-rich because there is insufficient oxygen for all of the fuel to burn. This condition can cause high levels of carbon monoxide to be generated, along with other dangerous outcomes.
In addition to oxygen level, there are more than 250 other points on a boiler system that can be monitored. The value of collecting information for all of these data points over time is in helping to ascertain component life and predictive maintenance.
Manufacturers that employ data scientists and use IoT sensors to tap into the intelligence of their equipment can successfully study the raw data and make correlations between data points at a high level, ensuring the data is consistent enough to be accurate, while also seeking to understand the outliers.
Is your boiler room IoT-ready?
In general, for a boiler room to be IoTready, a facility needs a compatible gateway device to communicate with a boiler control system. The gateway device also needs to have a means to communicate with the cloud (e.g., cellular capability).
Some advanced controls are IoT-ready. If a boiler system does not have an advanced control system, and the boiler pressure vessel is in good shape, upgrading the controls can ready a boiler system for IoT.
To remain competitive in today's marketplace, a company must fully embrace IoT, effectively utilizing the data collected from connected devices for increased reliability, improved safety, greater flexibility and reduced operational costs.
For more information, download the white paper titled "IoT-powered Solutions for the Boiler Room" at https://info.cleaverbrooks.com/paper.
