$135,685.00. That’s the amount of the rebate earned by Berner Foods in Dakota, IL from their gas utility, NICOR, for their installation of a HeatSponge condensing economizer on a 400 HP firetube boiler.
Berner Foods’ application was ideal for the installation of a fully condensing HeatSponge economizer. Where economizers limited to preheating boiler feedwater are limited to the amount of energy they can recover because of the higher incoming water temperature the availability of a large amount of cold water allowed for the ability to utilize a fully condensing economizer design and dramatically increases the potential heat recovery.
Tony Ranallo of Boilersource provided the on-site support to both properly size and install the HeatSponge condensing economizer as well as providing the coordination with NICOR Gas on obtaining a rebate. Access to the “Bruce” online rating software was invaluable in assisting all parties in quickly and easily selecting the optimum economizer for the application. The result was a dramatic and documented increase in efficiency of the boiler system. In addition to the rebate, the condensing economizer provides for an annual reduction in fuel use of 15,242 mmbtu, which equates to an estimated savings of $ 83,830.00.