Abstract
MR. H. L. PIRIE, in a paper presented at a joint meeting of the Institute of Fuel and the Institute of Heating and Ventilating Engineers on December 1, discussed the suitability of British coal and its derivativesfor heating and hot-water supply. Selection of fuel must be dependent entirely on the purpose in view, available supplies and apparatus. Gas andelectricity may be regarded as coal derivatives and present certain advantages over both coal and coke for specific requirements. Nevertheless, fuel and appliances must be considered together if efficient performanceis expected. Open fires, continuously burning stoves, hot-water boilers, central heating boilers and steam boilers all require special types of fuel. Mr. I. Lubbock, at the same meeting, assessed the advantages of fuel oil for heating and hot-water supply. Summarily these are: comparatively small space occupied by plant and fuel, rapid and easy filling of storage tanks, which, by suitable piping may serve two or more widely separated boiler houses, cleanliness, lack of smoke, flexibility of supply to meet the needs of varying atmospheric conditions, elimination of standby losses, automatic control, and thermal efficiency. Admittedly, gas and electricity may possess in many cases similar advantages, but they should all be taken into account in fuel selection. Fuel oil is moreover suitable for widely different types of installation. For example, it is now extensively used in office buildings, cinemas and theatres, churches, factories, hotels, trains, garages, flats, and houses, and the types of boiler which it is possible to install in these places are of necessity highly divergent. It is not claimed that fuel oil is better in every case than any other fuel, but it is claimed that oil as a fuel for central heating and hot water should be considered on its own merits in relationto other fuels.
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Fuels for Heating and Hot-water Supply. Nature 141, 967 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/141967b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/141967b0