Turndown ratio

Turndown ratio refers to the width of the operational Multipath ultrasonic meters often have a stated turndown
range of a device, and is dened as the ratio of the maxi- ratio of 50:1.
mum capacity to minimum capacity. For example, a device with a maximum output of 10 units and a minimum
output of 2 units has a turndown ratio of 5. The term is 2 Boilers
commonly used with measurement devices and combustion plant like boilers and gasiers.
Boiler turndown ratio is the ratio of maximum heat output to the minimum level of heat output at which the
boiler will operate eciently or controllably. Many boil1 Flow meters
ers are designed to operate at a variety of output levels
- they are literally turned down. As the desired temIn ow measurement, the turndown ratio indicates the perature/pressure point is approached, the heat source is
range of ow that a ow meter is able to measure with progressively turned down. If pressure/temperature falls,
acceptable accuracy. It is also known as rangeability. the heat source is progressively turned up. If a boiler
It is important when choosing a ow meter technology application requires it to operate at a low proportion of
for a specic application. If a gas ow to be measured its maximum output, a high turndown ratio is required.
is expected to vary between 100,000 m per day and Conversely, in applications where the operational condi1,000,000 m per day, the specic application has a turn- tions are not expected to vary signicantly (for example,
down ratio of at 10:1. Therefore the meter requires a a large power plant), a low turndown ratio will be suturndown ratio of at least 10:1. For example: if the me- cient.
ter had an advertised maximum ow of 2,000,000 m per If the heating plant is only working at a small fraction of
day then the required turndown ratio would be 20:1.
its maximum and the turndown ratio is too low, at some
The turndown ratio of each type of meter is limited by point the burner will still need to be shut o when the detheoretical considerations and by practical considerations. sired pressure/temperature is achieved. This in turn leads
For example, orice meters create a pressure drop in the to a rapid reduction in temperature/pressure, requiring
measured uid proportional to the square of the velocity. the boiler to restart. Cycling frequency can be as high
[1]
Therefore the range of dierential pressure can become as 12 times per hour. This is undesirable, as ue gases
too large and compromise accuracy. It can also create are purged during both the shut-down and start-up phases,
process problems such as hydrate formation, and in the leading to energy losses and therefore ineciency. Addicase of measuring the discharge of a compressor, there is tionally, typical startup times for boilers are in the order
of one to two minutes, leading to an inability to respond
a limit to how much pressure loss is acceptable.
to sudden load demands.[1]

1.1

Typical turndown ratio of various me2.1 Typical turndown ratios for various
ter types
boiler types

The examples are here for gas ow, but the same meter
types can be used on liquids as well, with similar turndown ratios. Note that meter manufacturers state their
products turndown ratiosa specic product may have
a turndown ratio that varies from the list below.

Electricity
As there are no combustion losses associated with electricity, nor delays in system startup, is it unusual to have
any means of modulating down the energy supply (i.e.,
turndown ratio is 1).

An orice plate meter has a practical turndown ratio of

3:1.
Gas
A Turbine Meter has a turndown ratio of 10:1.

Gas boilers can be designed for turndown ratios of 10-12

while some
Rotary positive displacement meters have a turndown ra- with little to no loss in combustion eciency,
[2]
However,
typical
gas
burners
may
achieve
a
ratio
of
35.
tio of between 10:1 and 80:1, depending on the manufac[3]
turndown
ratio
is
5.
turer and the application. Diaphragm meters are considered to have a turndown ratio of 80:1.
In the search for increased eciency, even very small gas
1

boilers have modulating burners these days. In practice

only boilers with fan assisted fuel/air circulation will have
the modulating feature. The fan also mixes gas and air
more thoroughly, so achieving more ecient combustion.
If the boiler is of the high eciency condensing type, high
turndown ratios are feasible and the higher the turndown
ratio, the more ecient it will be.
Every time a gas/oil boiler stops, it has to be purged
with cold air to remove any combustible gases that may
have accumulated in the boiler before restarting. (This
to prevent possible explosion.) This cold air takes heat
from the boiler every time this happens. Higher turndown
ratios mean fewer stops and starts and hence fewer losses.
Oil
Oil burning boilers can achieve turndown ratios as high as
20,[2] but typically only 2 to 4 with conventional burner
designs.[3]
Small domestic vaporising (i.e. burning kerosene or 28
second oil) burners do not modulate at all and are relatively inecient. Boilers using the pressure jet type of
burner, i.e. with a fan, (usually with 35 second oil) can
achieve a turndown ratio of 2, while the rotary cup type
burner can achieve 4.[3] Condensing oil boilers are fairly
unusual; the condensate from the combustion of oil is far
more aggressive than gas, mainly due to sulphur content.
These days oil companies are reducing sulphur content of
oil on environmental grounds, so this may change. However due to problem of mixing the oil and air, turndown
ratios of greater than four are uncommon.
Coal
These days mechanised coal boilers only occur in large industrial plant due to the convenience and easy availability
of gas. Theoretically coal burning plant can have quite a
high turndown ratio, and in the days of hand ring coal
boilers this was common.
On systems where coal is burned on a grate, turndown
ratio must be greater than 1 due to the fact that a sudden
reduction/cessation of the load can leave many tons of
burning fuel on the grate.

References

[1] Cleaver-Brooks Reference Center - Boiler Basics.

[2] Upgrade Boilers with Energy Ecient Burners (PDF).
US Department of Energy. January 2012. Retrieved 2
July 2014.
[3] Boiler Eciency and Combustion. Spirax Sarco. Retrieved 2 July 2014.

REFERENCES

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