Some fun with a definition

Tim McElwain

The new requirements for September on boilers discusses a term "inferential load" I have tried to get a definition of this term and also what application it would apply to. The answers I have been given are mixed so lets have some fun here and see what say the folks here.

JStar

Hmm

Rule of thumb? Gut feeling? Shrug...



The phrase gives the impression of uncertainty.

Harvey Ramer

of, pertaining to, by, or dependent upon inference

A loose definition that could mean many different things depending on the context it is used in.

Mark Eatherton

Leave to the bureaucrats to come up with a term...

that one of the industry FINEST doesn't understand, nor can THEY give an explanation of its meaning....



In speaking with an employee of a local gov't this weekend, I told him that government in general was broken, and asked him if we should start at the top and work our way down to the local level, or start at the local level and work our way to the top to fix it. He said we need to start in the middle and go both directions FAST...



No kidding.



Inferential load. The load implied...? Maybe they are hinting at global warming. The implications are HUGE ;-)



Maybe its a misspelling, and its supposed to be influential loading. Which makes more sense than inferential.



I do not know, and I am paid to write about things hydronic, and I have no freakin idea what they are trying to get across.



Typical bureaucratic BS.



Trying to justify their jobs by using big words that no one understands.



ME

bill_105

Umm..

Was there a typo and someone meant "differential load"?

SWEI

Inferring

Earlier this year I read both the DOE pub and several articles covering the new regs. They appear to crafted a phrase which covers outdoor reset but also allows for other methods of load anticipation.



From http://www.achrnews.com/articles/120154-new-residential-boiler-standards-effective-sept--1



According to the standards set by EISA, manufacturers must equip each gas, oil, and electric hot water boiler, other than a boiler equipped with a tankless domestic water heating coil, with automatic means for adjusting the temperature for the water supplied by the boiler to ensure that an incremental change in inferred heat load produces a corresponding incremental change in the temperature of water supplied. Water or steam boilers will no longer be allowed to use standing pilots.



For a boiler that fires at one input rate, an automatic means that allows the burner or heating elements to fire only when the means has determined that the inferred heat load cannot be met by the residual heat of the water in the system.



The standards also state that, when there is no inferred heat load with respect to a hot water boiler, the automatic means described must limit the temperature of the water in the boiler to not more than 140˚F. The boiler must be operable only when the automatic means described above is installed.



Boilers that are manufactured to operate without any need for electricity or any electric connection, electric gauges, electric pumps, electric wires, or electric devices are not required to meet these rules.

Robert O'Brien

Seems pretty straight forward

What's the load at any given moment? Who knows? But you can infer it from the outdoor temp or the rate of change of boiler temp etc.

bob_46

Infered

I think you nailed it Robert .

It sounds like they are encouraging a return to Powerpile gravity hot water or steam .

As unreliable as the electric utilities have become this may be a good thing.

Mark Eatherton

On this same subject....

Didn't our government just approve the minimum operating efficiency of 80 to 82% for boilers and furnaces?



Here's an interesting article.



http://www.dvpe.net/articles/Boiler_Efficiency.pdf



I suspect this article will raise some counter arguments from the steamsters of this board.



ME