The most frequently asked question by companies purchasing boilers is: “How many tons of boiler should I buy?” This wizard calculates the required boiler capacity, boiler operating pressure and approximate fuel consumption by considering the steam, hot water and thermal oil consumers in your facility one by one. Machines used in the field for milk, food, oil, textile, garment, laundry, feed, poultry, greenhouse, poultry, hotel and building heating come ready-made; You can add your machine that is not on the list yourself.
How to calculate boiler capacity? (5 steps)
- List the consumers. List each machine that uses steam, hot water, or thermal oil, with its number and capacity.
- Find the peak requirement of each machine. In indirect heating (exchanger, coil, jacket) the steam flow rate is the heat load divided by the heat of evaporation; In direct steam injection, the steam mixes with the product and the condensate does not return.
- Practice simultaneity. Batch machines operating in sequence (dye machines, autoclaves, CIP) do not peak at the same time; the total peak is less than the plain sum of the machine peaks but does not fall below the average.
- Add boiler room allowances. Line (distribution) losses increase the steam consumption of the deaerator itself and the steam that the blowdown boiler must produce.
- Select the pressure and growth allowance. Boiler operating pressure is found by adding line allowance to the machine requiring the highest pressure; 10–20% share is sufficient for lines to be added in the future.
Formulas
hfg: heat of vaporization at usage pressure, h″: saturated vapor enthalpy, hbesi: feed water enthalpy. The wizard calculates these values based on pressure, not with a fixed coefficient, but with the international steam table IAPWS-IF97. Deaerator vapor is found from the mass and energy balance.
How many kcal, how many kW, how many m³ of natural gas is 1 ton of steam?
There is no fixed answer: it depends on the boiler pressure and feed water temperature. 1 t/h steam for typical conditions:
| Condition | thermal power | natural gas | imported coal | Lignite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 bar(g), feed water 80 °C | 677 kW · 582,000 kcal/h | ≈ 77 Sm³/h | ≈ 118 kg/h | ≈ 187 kg/h |
| 10 bar(g), with deaerator (105 °C) | 650 kW · 559,000 kcal/h | ≈ 74 Sm³/h | ≈ 114 kg/h | ≈ 179 kg/h |
| 6 bar(g), cold feed water 20 °C | 744 kW · 640,000 kcal/h | ≈ 84 Sm³/h | ≈ 130kg/h | ≈ 205 kg/h |
Fuel values are calculated with typical lower heating value and boiler efficiency (natural gas 8,250 kcal/Sm³ · 92%, imported coal 6,000 kcal/kg · 82%, lignite 4,000 kcal/kg · 78%). You can use the boiler fuel consumption tool with your own values.
Why should the boiler be chosen according to the peak, but should not be too large?
The boiler must accommodate the peak steam drawn by the machines at the same time; Otherwise, the pressure will drop and product quality will deteriorate. On the other hand, the boiler chosen to be too large just in case will start and stop frequently at low load, its efficiency will decrease and the investment will be wasted. In the field, boilers are often seen operating at less than half of their capacity. The wizard therefore shows peak and average consumption separately and recommends keeping the growth margin moderate.
Capacity calculation by sectors
To open the wizard directly with your industry: Dairy Factory Steam Requirement Calculation · Tomato Paste Factory Steam Requirement Calculation · Oil Factory Steam Boiler Capacity Calculation · Dye Shop Steam Requirement and Boiler Capacity Calculation · Ironing Steam Boiler Capacity Calculation for Garment · Laundry Steam Requirement and Boiler Capacity Calculation · Feed Factory Steam Boiler Capacity Calculation · Chicken Slaughterhouse Steam Boiler Capacity Calculation · Greenhouse Heating Calculation: How Many kcal/h Does a 1 Decare Greenhouse Require? · Poultry Heating Calculation: How Many kcal/h Does a 12×100 Poultry House Require? · Hotel Hot Water Requirement Calculation and Boiler Capacity · Heating Boiler Capacity Calculation: Factory and Building Heating
Use the steam boiler capacity (t/h ↔ kW) tool to convert a known steam flow rate into thermal power.
The results of the wizard are preliminary estimates; Boiler selection should be finalized with on-site exploration and engineering calculations. contact us for free pre-engineering support.