How much does a steam boiler cost? Demystifying the factors affecting price

March 26, 2021

When talking to boiler demanders, they always ask us, how much does a gas-fired steam boiler cost? As you might imagine, it is a difficult question to answer. Given different brands, types, sizes and other factors, the prices of boilers are also different.

We understand that when you buy a steam boiler, you need to know the price range of the steam boiler you are looking for. In this article, we will discuss various factors that affect the price of the steam boiler, so that you can purchase a boiler clearly!

Below we will outline all the costs included in a steam boiler, mainly including three aspects:

1. Initial cost

2. Operating cost

3. Hidden costs.

Factors affecting boiler price-initial cost:

1. Structure/quality (including boiler body).

Does the boiler supplier use high-quality raw materials or lower-quality materials to save costs? Does the boiler supplier use a two-pass structure with less consumables but low thermal efficiency?

2. Customization (including auxiliary machines and related accessories)

The steam boiler is a complex system. A complete steam boiler system needs to be equipped with many auxiliary equipment, including chimneys, blowdown expansion vessels, pipelines, deaerators, water tanks, instrument valves, water treatment, sub-cylinders, economizers, burners, Water pump, electric control, etc. The selection standard of these auxiliary machines is low configuration, standard configuration or high configuration, which directly affects the level of boiler cost.

In general, the higher the initial cost of the boiler, the lower the operating cost. Conversely, the lower the initial cost of the boiler, the higher the operating cost.

Factors affecting boiler price-operating cost

1. Boiler design

The design of the steam boiler directly affects the thermal efficiency of the steam boiler, and the thermal efficiency of the steam boiler directly affects the operating cost of the steam boiler.

The steam boiler design that affects the thermal efficiency of gas boilers is mainly manifested in:

1. The thermal efficiency of the three-pass boiler structure is much higher than that of the two-pass boiler, because the three-pass boiler has one more heat exchange area than the two-pass boiler, and the three-pass boiler has more tube bundle areas and uses more materials than the two-pass boiler.

2. Some other boiler details: large-caliber corrugated furnace shell, internal and external double-threaded smoke pipes, aluminum silicate fiber and aluminum foil and other insulation materials.

2. Boiler auxiliary equipment

The design of auxiliary machinery can also affect the thermal efficiency of the steam boiler:

The high-efficiency economizer can effectively reduce the temperature of the flue gas tail. If a condensation recovery device is added, the gaseous water latent heat in the flue gas can be recovered. This will greatly improve the thermal efficiency of the boiler.

It's worth noting that: There is a saying that there are multiple return boilers on the market, which is actually a gimmick that includes condensers and economizers.

Regardless of the operating cost of the boiler, the calculation of the fuel cost is in the end, because the fuel cost of the boiler can account for nearly 90% of the total operating cost of the boiler. The above two factors that affect the operating cost are indirectly affected the boiler fuel utilization rate, and a more direct approach is to match a high-efficiency burner to make the combustion utilization rate reach 100%.

Compared with the design of a high-efficiency boiler, a low-efficiency traditional boiler purchased at a low price can easily waste its purchase price within a year.

The other boiler operation inputs are the boiler’s electricity costs (boiler burners and feed (supply) water pumps) and lighting power consumption), (water costs) boiler water consumption, labor costs, and boiler maintenance costs.

So how do you control other boiler operating costs?

1.The cost of electricity and water consumption of the boiler is directly linked to the related auxiliary equipment. When choosing the burner, water supply (make-up) pump, and water treatment, you should consider these costs. These costs should be carefully considered at the beginning of your choice.

2. Choose a boiler that realizes artificial intelligence, which allows the boiler to be controlled and adjusted by itself, reducing labor costs.

3. Suppliers who have perfect after-sales service, regularly train furnace workers and provide inspection-free services, which can eliminate potential failures and reduce maintenance costs.

Factors Affecting Boiler Price-Hidden Cost

Purchasing and using boilers is a complicated and time-consuming project, which consumes your time cost to a certain extent.

1.For the preliminary selection：you need to consider your space requirements；you need to find a professional engineer to calculate your maximum steam demand；you have to determine the output or capacity of the boiler according to the amount of steam used in the production process, which requires you to invest a certain amount of time and cost in the early stage.

2. After maintenance:after the boiler is purchased,you have to consider the issue of installation, and you have to consider how to repair the boiler if there is a boiler failure. These all require you to spend time and energy to maintain.

Conclusion

In fact, the smallest part of the total boiler investment is the initial cost. In the early stage, you may be more concerned about capital expenditure and maintenance costs, but operating costs will determine the company's continued health and survival. The best way to maximize investment year after year is to understand all the costs of boiler operation.

After the above introduction, I believe you are all clear about the hidden cost of an oil-fired gas boiler. Before buying a boiler, you should determine whether the value of the boiler provided by the supplier is directly proportional to the price. Then you got it.

If you want to reduce your time cost, energy cost, and want to put into production quickly, then you can contact EPCB, we can serve you from boiler selection to use, installation and maintenance, so that you can focus on other making-money things.