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Why Return Condensate to the Boiler?

If you are in charge of maintaining the boiler system at a commercial property then you have plenty of things to do. One of those things is putting together the best condensate return system possible. The best condensate return systems will have various pieces of equipment installed that help to move the condensation created by the boiler. It’s best to return the condensate to the boiler in such a system and we will discuss the reasons why in this post.

Below is a list of reasons why you should have condensate returned the boiler that helped create it:

  • Reduce the costs of sewer system disposal
  • Improve energy efficiency of the boiler
  • Meet all environmental regulations
  • Reduce the cost of chemicals
  • Reduce the cost of make-up water

When condensate does not get returned to the boiler, the system in place must make up for this by adding untreated, cold, raw water to it. This water has to be prepared for the boiler, which costs quite a bit of money. When preparing water for the boiler it must be prepared chemically.

Returning condensate to the boiler is vital in keeping operating costs as low as possible. Condensate still contains roughly 16 percent of total energy in steam vapor and it all depends on the pressure of the steam. Some might think that 16 percent is low but any percentage of steam is a good percentage to use to your advantage.

So, why do companies like to return condensate to the boiler? One of the biggest reasons is high energy costs. In order to save money on energy and gas you should attempt to return close to 90 percent of the condensate created by the boiler. You can reach this number if your company does not utilize direct steam injection for any of the applications.