Kaiser Permanente

Ageing Hospital Boiler System Receives Much Needed Upgrade

The boilers at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Fontana, California were about 15 years old, and did not meet current emission standards. The client wanted new boilers that were high efficiency with a dual fuel capability, using natural gas as the primary fuel but with the ability to easily switch to a diesel oil backup. They were specified that the boilers should be low-maintenance.

DB Sales reviewed the options and recommended that the client retrofit three existing, 500 horsepower, firetube boilers with Webster’s model HDRMB Ultra Low NOx burners. The integral TEMP A TRIM™ control system on the HDRMB uses a temperature sensor and a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) to maintain consistently low excel air levels as the air coming into a boiler room changes with temperature. The result is additional fuel and energy savings, lower total emissions, and better repeatability.

The package put together by DB Sales also included a Siemens master panel. The 10 inch touch screen on the master panel interface is used to sequence the boilers and as a data aggregation center.

The design has been fully implemented and is running great. Kaiser is very pleased with the retrofit; they now have a very reliable, high efficiency, low NOx system that meets the current emission standards.