Block-modular boiler houses: advantages and disadvantages

BMK is a steam or water heating boiler house of partial or complete factory readiness, consisting of one or several modules. The boiler room configuration is absolutely any, depending on the Customer’s technical specifications. That is, the defining characteristic of the BMK is the unit assembly of boiler room systems in the factory before being sent to the installation and construction site.

Is BMK a capital construction project?

Do not forget that despite the fact that the block boiler house is delivered by transport, it has all the characteristics and is a capital construction object, and requires obtaining a construction permit after passing the project examination. Otherwise, the developer is threatened with huge fines, inspections by state construction supervision and local authorities.

Block-modular boiler houses are used for heating, hot water supply, and steam production for technological needs. The BMK can serve one or more buildings, an entire district or settlement.

Block-modular boiler houses are also called “transportable boiler units TKU (BKU)”.

In what cases are BMKs built:

Block-modular boiler rooms are installed if the building for which the boiler room is intended for heating does not have built-in or attached rooms that meet the requirements of building codes for the design of boiler rooms in such rooms.

If possible, placement on a plot of land in compliance with all requirements of construction and environmental standards and regulations.

If it is necessary to build a boiler room in a short time. This is especially true when a block boiler house must supply heat or steam to a newly constructed facility (residential complex, production workshop) in the winter.

The design of block modular boiler houses includes the same steps as for stationary boiler houses.

Installation of block-modular boiler houses is carried out directly on site, from factory-ready units.

The construction of block-modular boiler houses usually takes from 30 to 60 days, depending on the power and number of modules. If only one module of a block boiler house is installed at the site, then it will be ready for start-up within 5-7 working days.

The main advantages of block-modular boiler houses:

Possibility of installation and safety in earthquake-prone areas;
high speed of installation at the customer’s site;
the possibility of modernization and reconstruction of the boiler room by adding or replacing boiler room modules;
the boiler room, although it belongs to capital construction projects, can be dismantled and transported to another place (TKU);
the boiler room can operate without maintenance personnel and be fully automated, with a high-quality dispatch and telemetry system.

The main disadvantages of block-modular boiler houses:

If it is possible to place a boiler room inside an existing building or premises, the cost of capital costs for the construction of a BMK is 25-35% higher;
limitations in the thermal power of the boiler room due to the maximum overall dimensions of modules, components and assemblies (boilers, pumping stations and other elements);
short distances for servicing equipment inside the boiler room, due to the need for dense equipment layout;
the need to allocate a plot of land for installing a boiler room.

To optimize the costs of building a boiler house before starting design and construction, it is necessary to carry out a thermal and technical calculation and a feasibility study for the construction of a boiler house, which will allow:

Determine the required power of the boiler room;
determine whether there are advantages of a block-modular boiler room over a stationary one in a particular case;
optimally select boilers and equipment by comparing their characteristics and cost;
determine the cost of capital and current costs for the production of 1 MW of thermal energy;
determine the payback period of the boiler room.

Since boilers from different manufacturers have different dimensions, before design and construction it is important to determine the minimum dimensions of the boiler room without loss of reliability and quality.