Bacharach has been providing advanced combustion analysis equipment and technical support to engineers,
HVAC contractors, and boiler maintenance specialists around the world for over ninety years. To be sure that we
are providing our customers with the tools that they need, we talk to our customers, we listen to our customers,
and we ask questions.
In the past only two important questions needed to be answered:
Can I get better fuel efficiency? and Is the
equipment operating safely?
Today, you are faced with more complex questions than ever before, with a new question at the top of the
list:
Will my combustion equipment meet environmental regulations?
T h e re is no doubt that environmental legislation has changed the way we all must evaluate combustion eff i c i e n c y
and safety. As the leading manufacturer of electronic and mechanical combustion testing instrumentation, Bacharach has
developed this catalog to help you to answer many of the demanding technical questions which you face every day.
The questions answered here are the questions that we have received from professionals like yourself. The charts and
graphs have been designed to make your job easier. We have attempted to answer every question as thoroughly and clearly
as possible. If you have further questions about how Bacharach can help you to maintain efficient, safe, enviro n m e n t a l l y
sound combustion equipment operations, please call Bacharach at 412-963-2000 or send e-mail to: [email protected].
C O M B U S T I O N A N A L Y S I S
CA-1
What is combustion?
Combustion is the act or process of burning. For com-
bustion to occur, fuel, oxygen (air) and heat must be
present together.
CA-2
What is combustion efficiency?
Combustion efficiency is the calculation/measurement,
in percentage, of how well your equipment is burning a
specific fuel. Complete combustion efficiency (100%)
would extract all the energy available in the fuel.
H o w e v e r, 100% combustion efficiency is not re a l i s t i c a l l y
achievable. Various combustion processes produce com-
bustion efficiencies from 0% to 95+%.
Combustion efficiency calculations assume complete
fuel combustion and are based on three factors:
1. The chemistry of the fuel.
2. The net temperature of the stack gases.
3. The percentage of oxygen or CO
2
by volume
after combustion.
If your calculation shows that your equipment is losing
25% of the heating value of the fuel through stack
losses, your equipment is running at 75% efficiency.
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Introduction
1
Combustion Analysis Q&A
1
Combustion Safety Q&A
5
Environmental Q&A
7
Technology Q&A
9
References
10
Glossary
11
Quality Plus Service
12
1
