Utility Services


Exergetic Systems has the experience and expertise to make generic evaluations of all power plants on a utilities' grid. A typical application of this service resulted in identification of 2% improvement/unit for 5 units, and an average of 6% improvement/unit for another 4 units. These results were demonstrated in only two months!

This service performs the following tasks:
   ▪ Review P&IDs and available acceptance test data.
   ▪ Visits are made to key units involving an interview of plant personnel (engineers
      and operators) and pipe walk-downs.
   ▪ Collection of current plant data allowing for boiler efficiency computations.
   ▪ Simulations of all steam generators using the EX-FOSS program. Summary
      analysis is made of the 12 page EX-FOSS engineering report. Such
      summaries include the determination of unit "effectiveness" allowing caparisons
      between units (unlike the traditional heat rate parameter).
   ▪ HP and IP turbine efficiencies are complete with judgment made as to the
      turbine seal leakages, etc.
   ▪ Studies are made of all feedwater heater systems using Second Law analysis of
      irreversibilities, relative irreversibilities, the heater's susceptibility for inducting
      the turbine with liquid water, qualifying the highest maintenance heater in each
      unit, and for design errors.
   ▪ Summaries are made of relevant parameters for all units (e.g., turbine
      efficiencies, TTDs, heater problems, etc.).

The principle deliverables from this work are recommendations to plant performance engineers for long-term heat rate improvement.

In recommending to performance engineers, we have found that within many organizations such roles are either greatly diluted or completely missing. A group of experienced performance engineers have discussed such situations in a recent ASME paper: "What's Wrong with Thermal Performance Engineering".

To summarize our beliefs, the professional life of a performance engineer is not devoted to the management of energy flows, nor to the conservation of fuel per se. Our raison d'être is the generation of adequate electricity for society using minimum fuel. This two-sided livelihood does not result nor imply the closing of power stations to conserve fuel. Further the concept of unit heat rate, as the traditional tool of the performance engineer, does not address effective electric generation. For illustration, unit heat rate can be improved, most quickly, by doing those things which reduce power production. The increase of turbine extraction flow, the "creation" of steam consuming cogeneration processes, the use of auxiliary turbines for pump drives, the use of steam for space heating -all improve heat rate (lowering system heat rejection), but say little of electrical generation. Further, as is well established, unit heat rate cannot be used for comparisons between different plant designs. These types of philosophies are brought to bear in our Utility System-Wide Reviews.