Commercial Boilers: A Comprehensive Selection Guide  

Running a business is not only about managing the product that you sell or the service that you offer. If you are an involved entrepreneur, you are very familiar with the fact that running a successful business means that you need to juggle a number of factors and keep them in the air as long as possible. Some of these factors can be absolutely prosaic but undeniably essential. For example, every HQ building needs a reliable commercial boiler that will fulfill the needs of all employees.

While plumbing might not be your area of expertise, every self-respecting leader will want to be involved in setting up an office space as a home away from home. If you have never chosen commercial boilers before, don’t worry – here is a comprehensive selection guide that should give you all the information you need.

A Matter Of Size

The first thing that comes to your mind when it comes to installing a commercial boiler for the building is a matter of size. While smaller buildings and businesses such as salons, cafes, privately owned compartmentalized offices and community centers can deal with smaller, more compact systems, bigger establishments have an appropriately greater need for hot water and steam, and the boiler should have the capacity to fulfill those needs. Now, when it comes to the specific size of the commercial boiler based on the dimensions of the building, this can be calculated.

The capacity of the boiler is measured in BTU units, which is an abbreviation for British Thermal Units. As a manager or the CEO of the company, you should be familiar with the square footage of the building. Add up the square footage of all floors and multiply that number by 50. This will roughly give you a number of BTU units you require and this number directly determines the size and the capacity of the commercial boiler you need to seek out. In other words, one square foot should be accommodated by 50 BTU, and one BTU equates to 1055 J (joules).

Think About The Requirements

You should differentiate types of boilers depending on the requirements of your building. For example, if your business is something a bit more industrialized, you should consider purchasing a commercial gas boiler that turns water into steam, as it can fulfill a multitude of purposes. Primarily, it can keep the building warm in a very efficient way and they can also be used as generators to produce electricity. They have a wide range of applications in all types of industries that use steam, from food processing to agriculture.

The bottom line is – you should choose a type of commercial boiler system that will fulfill your needs, but which will also be energy-efficient. Thankfully, the sophisticated eco-friendly tech standards have entered this niche so one can easily look into products according to the grade system that has been established by the Energy Labeling Directive. As someone who runs a business, you’ll want the best possible performance of all energy-consuming apparatuses and devices for the lowest possible price at the end of the month, so select your commercial boiler according to this requirement!

Maintenance Costs

Now, if you want to have a commercial boiler that operates at peak efficiency, an apparatus that is as eco-friendly as it is impeccable in its performance, you will need to invest in regular maintenance. It does not matter what type of boiler system you have and the size does not matter, regular maintenance is obligatory for two reasons – safety and stable energy cost.  The boiler that is simply left unattended after the initial installation will surely break down, the costs of repairs will be steep (not to mention the potential damage to the building) and the price tag on the utility bills will spike.

When one takes these factors into consideration, the investment into the future through regular maintenance makes sense, plus – it is actually pretty affordable if you take time to find a professional with a sound reputation and a lot of experience. Of course, businesses can get opportune deals for maintenance plans, and the price of the package becomes more beneficial for you should you choose one that covers the longest time interval.

For example, a maintenance plan with the designated professional that covers the entire year is the most opportune. After you have signed it, you won’t have to keep this matter in the back of your mind throughout the year as the schedule and the maintenance itself will be taken care of for you. In addition, the entire maintenance team will be at your disposal in case of unexpected emergencies and malfunctions.

It is only natural that a task such as choosing the right commercial boiler for your business can be daunting and confusing as it is a part of a particularly specific niche, but it is definitely not an insurmountable obstacle. After all, it is not your duty to install this apparatus and connect it to the building’s pipe grid.

All you have to do, as someone who is intimately familiar with the nature of business as well as the number and habits of your employees, is to choose the right commercial boiler according to some basic info. A well-informed manager or a CEO of a company is much more adept at solving numerous problems and thus increasing the company’s chances for success. Even the most basic decisions matter.

Guest Contributor, Lillian Connors