According to Royal Decree 2060/2008 and its ITC-EP1
The boilers should be located in a room or enclosure, which meets the following requirements:
- a) Be of sufficient dimensions so that all maintenance, inspection and control operations can be carried out in safe conditions, with a distance of at least 1 m from walls or fencing. In areas where there are no safety elements or where handling or maintenance is not impeded, this distance may be reduced to 0.2 m.
- b) They must be permanently ventilated, with a continuous supply of air for both renewal and combustion, and comply with the specific requirements in relation to the fuel used.
If the boiler room or enclosure is adjacent to the outside (patios, plots, etc.), it must have openings in its lower part for air intake, at a maximum distance of 20 cm from the floor. The minimum total section of the openings, in both cases, will be given by the following expression S = Qt / 0.58; being S the net required ventilation section, expressed in cm2 and Qt the total installed heating power of the combustion equipment or heat source, expressed in kW.
S values of less than 0.5 m2 will not be allowed for rooms with second class boilers, nor less than 0.1 m2 for rooms with first class boilers.
In the case of insulated rooms, without the possibility of air intake by natural circulation, ducted air inlets shall be provided, with a minimum flow rate of 2.5 Nm3/hour per kW of total installed heat output of the combustion equipment Boilers that do not use combustion as a source of energy may reduce the ventilation of the room by half.
- c) Every boiler room or enclosure shall be completely clean and free of dust, flammable gases or vapors.
- d) In the boiler room or enclosure, all work not related to the apparatus contained therein is prohibited, and at all accesses there shall be a sign with the express prohibition of entry of personnel not related to the boiler service. Only the elements corresponding to its services can be installed, not being allowed the storage of products, with the exception of the fuel tank and the necessary ones for the service of the boiler.
- e) The operating manual for the boilers installed there and the procedures to be followed in the event of safety activation must be available.
In an easily visible place in the boiler room or enclosure, a table with instructions for emergency cases shall be placed.
Conditions for the location of Class I boilers:
First Class boilers may be located in an enclosure, but the space required for maintenance and inspection services shall be duly delimited by a metal fence 1.20 m high, in order to prevent access by personnel not involved in the service of the boilers.
For steam or superheated water boilers whose Pms x VT ≥ 10,000, the minimum distance that must exist between the boiler and the external risk is 5 m. Alternatively, a protective wall with the resistance indicated for second class boilers may be provided. The minimum distance indicated is understood to be from the outer surface of the pressurized parts of the boiler closest to the hazard and that hazard.
Site conditions for Class II boilers:
- a) These boilers must be located inside a room with two easily accessible outlets, each of them located on different walls.
In the event that the distances to own and external risks are greater than 10 and 14 m, respectively, it will not be necessary to have a protective wall.
- b) The protection walls of the room shall comply with the following conditions:
b.1 The height shall be at least one meter above the highest pressurized part of the boiler.
b.2 They shall be made of reinforced concrete with a minimum thickness of 20 cm and with at least 60 kilograms of steel and 300 kilograms of cement per cubic meter. In any case, walls with an equivalent bending moment may be used.
- c) Openings in the boiler room shall comply with the following conditions:
c.1 Doors shall be metal, with maximum dimensions of 1.60 m wide by 2.50 m high. They may incorporate lattice grilles for ventilation.
c.2 The minimum dimensions of at least one of the accesses shall be such as to permit the passage of boiler equipment and accessories (such as burners, pumps, etc.), with a minimum width of 0.80 m by 2 m high.
c.3 Boiler room doors shall open in the direction of exit from the room and shall be fitted with a device for easy opening from the inside.
c.4 All openings greater than 1.60 m wide and 2.50 m high shall be closed by panels, removable or not, one of which may be provided with a free door, suitable for service. The panels shall offer a resistance equal to that of the wall in which they are installed, which resistance shall be duly justified.
c.5 Protective wall openings for windows shall be located at least one meter above the highest pressurized point of the boiler.
c.6 Every door or ventilation opening located in front of a burner, containing the burner shaft, shall have an effective protection with a resistant module of 250 cm3, in order to be able to resist the possible impact of the burner in case of an accident.
- d) The ceiling of the room shall comply with the following conditions
d.1 The height of the ceilings shall never be less than 3 m above ground level and shall be at least one meter higher than the highest point of the boiler pressure vessels and at least 1.80 m above the boiler platforms, if any.
d.2 The roof of the enclosure shall be of light construction (fiber cement, plastic, etc.), with a minimum surface of 25% of the total of the room and shall not have above it habitable floors or premises of public concurrence; only the superstructures that support devices other than the boilers, which are considered to be part of the installation, such as feed water purifiers, Deaerators, etc., may be authorized, it being understood that such devices may not be installed on the surface occupied by the boiler.
Additional recommendations
In addition to the minimum requirements indicated by the current regulations for steam boilers, SINCAL, S.L. recommends the following:
Room:
- The room temperature should be maintained between 5ºC and 40ºC. If necessary, additional ventilation in addition to the minimum required by the regulations should be carried out to avoid a very high temperature inside the room. In case of risk of frost or temperatures below 0ºC, appropriate measures shall be taken to protect the installation.
- If the boiler is installed in coastal areas, maintenance intervals should be shortened, paying special attention to corrosion problems, not only of the boiler but also of the accessories and their wiring.
- The loads produced by the installation on the boiler room structure must be taken into account.
- Evacuation routes in case of emergency shall be clearly marked inside the boiler room.
Foundations and soil:
- Special care should be taken to ensure that the site where the boiler is to be located is completely flat and level. It must also have sufficient load-bearing capacity in the event that the boiler is located on a structure other than the ground.
- For the calculation of the foundation or supporting structures, the maximum operating weight of the boiler including all equipment, such as burner, pumps, etc., must be taken into account. The maximum operating weight corresponds to the weight of all equipment completely filled with water.
- Buried ducts running through the room must be properly covered with the necessary means to withstand sufficient loads for the work to be carried out in the boiler room (movement of equipment, etc.). They must also have adequate drains.
- All components must be installed correctly level.
- Vibrations induced by the different equipment must be taken into account for the design of foundations and load-bearing structures.
Ventilation:
- The ventilation inlet air must be completely free of foreign bodies and must not contain dust or corrosive elements (solvents, gases, etc.).
- Ideally, the ventilation openings indicated in the current regulations and detailed in the previous chapter should be located at the front and rear of the boiler. The usual wind direction in the area should be taken into account to maximize the ventilation effect. In addition, the ventilation shall be designed in such a way as to avoid a direct entry of cold air against the doors and the rear smoke box, in order to avoid condensation.
- If there is a risk of frost, the most sensitive equipment, such as water treatment, should be located further away from the installation to avoid direct contact with the cold outside air.
- When calculating the ventilation surface, the air consumption of other equipment such as air compressors will be taken into account.
Outdoor location:
- If the boiler is to be installed outdoors, all boiler components must have adequate weather and water protection features. SINCAL boilers are not protected against these inclemencies and adequate protection measures must be provided for all elements.
- Sensitive elements, such as the burner, electrical panel, motors, pumps, safety accessories, etc., must be adequately protected against rain and direct sunlight.
- Adequate lightning protection must be provided.
Evacuation of combustion fumes
The evacuation system for gases produced during combustion must comply at all times with current regulations. The following section contains different recommendations for this type of system, in order to ensure trouble-free operation. Failure to comply with current regulations and the following recommendations can result in serious problems for the boiler, such as lack of combustion stability or excessive vibration of the components.
The smoke evacuation system generally consists of the connection to the boiler and the chimney or smoke outlet to the outside.
- The gas evacuation system must be carried out in accordance with current regulations.
- The exhaust ducts must be made of non-flammable materials that can withstand the combustion temperatures, i.e. at least 350ºC. To determine the material of construction of the chimney, the composition of the gases, the structural resistance and the chemical resistance to different acid condensates must be taken into account.
- Flue gases should be routed through the stack in such a way as to minimize the path and optimize the gas flow (e.g. by using a direct outlet or reducing the number of changes of direction).
- Each boiler must have an independent chimney. The requirements indicated by the burner manufacturer and the characteristics of the location shall be taken into account. If it is desired to use a chimney common to several boilers, its design must be adequate so that the gas flow is adequate under all operating conditions. Likewise, the passage of gases from one boiler to another should be prevented. The draft and pressure conditions in the gas chamber of each boiler must be constant under all operating conditions.
- The joints between the different parts of the chimney should be made in such a way that the flow of gases is as smooth as possible, avoiding any surface that may alter or impede it. To minimize noise, sharp edges inside the chimney should be avoided, as well as reductions or extensions with angles greater than 30º.
- The chimney must have the inspection and measurement points indicated in the regulations in force. In the case of walkways or ladders, they must have adequate protection against falls.
- Any type of condensate must be evacuated from inside the chimney and must be treated according to current regulations.
- The chimney may be placed directly on the boiler only if the vertical and horizontal loads produced on it do not affect the steam boiler in any way. In this case, the base of the chimney must be placed directly on the floor or have suitable load-bearing supports.