§ 2-11 Installation Design.
RCNY § 2-11
(a)General considerations.
(1)All equipment and apparatuses, in addition to complying with the requirements of the department, must also meet the requirements of other agencies, such as the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals, the Fire Department of New York, and the New York City Department of Buildings. Compliance with any requirements of either New York State or federal rules and regulations that may be instituted and not covered here is required. In the absence of any regulatory provisions, consideration must be given to recommendations published in the standards of nationally recognized organizations. These organizations include the American National Standards Institute, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Gas Institute, Underwriters' Laboratories, and the National Fire Protection Association, and the recommendations of equipment or apparatus manufacturers.
(2)The design engineer must estimate the heat demand before selecting a boiler or boilers. When application is made for an installation for a new structure or for a replacement boiler (when the boiler maximum heat input rating size is increased by more than 20 percent from the previously filed application of record), the analysis and calculations for estimating the heat demand must be submitted in a form acceptable to the department. This must be done in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the 2009 ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, or as required for the New York City Energy Conservation Code, as codified in Chapter 10 of Title 28 of the New York City Administrative Code, and as accepted by the department.
(3)For dual-fuel installations using #6 or #4 fuel oil as a back-up fuel for natural gas, design requirements set forth by the department must be followed. However, these installations must still meet the #2 fuel oil emission standards and must be held to the most recent performance requirements.
(b)Fuel burners.
(4)A burner must be sized such that, when fired with a boiler, the fuel delivery rate is within 80 percent and 110 percent of the maximum heat input rating of the boiler.
(c)Fresh Air Requirements.
(i)Mechanical ventilation must be designed such that 226 cfm @ 94F is provided for each million Btu per hour for up to 30 percent excess combustion air. Larger fan capacities would be needed for installations operating with greater than 30 percent excess combustion air. In all cases, where the combustion air is not ducted directly from the outside to the burner air intake, the room in which the burning equipment is located must be maintained at a pressure not less than outside atmospheric pressure. Exhaust fans are acceptable for ventilation provided the net ventilation is greater than or equal to the amount required for combustion.
(ii)When mechanical ventilation is not utilized, the minimum requirement for combustion air entrance must be a louvered opening in a wall to the outside air. The louvered opening must have a net free area of 86 square inches for every one million Btu per hour (based on the maximum heat input rating) and must never be less than the average internal cross-sectional area of the chimney. In addition, the net free area of the louver must be increased in size equivalent to the opening of a barometric damper or dampers, when provided, for bypass air. When necessary, a metal grate over a vault below the sidewalk may be permitted as long as the net free area requirement is met and suitable drainage facilities are provided. The net free area when the actual louver efficiency is unknown must be based on a maximum efficiency of 60 percent for both motorized and fixed metal single vane louvers and 50 percent for fixed metal double vane louvers. Where the efficiency of the louver can be demonstrated by the manufacturer to be greater than the above, the greater value may be used. The area of the louver is to be based on the inside frame dimensions and not the outside or nominal dimensions. The louver must be so constructed or suitably located or protected (i.e., cinder blocks, metal bars) so that it cannot be crushed or deformed since this would diminish the free area. Furthermore, any reduction of free area due to protective devices must be considered. Screening over louvers, if provided, must be not smaller than 1/4 inch mesh and must be readily accessible for cleaning.
(iii)When ducts are required to provide fresh air, they must meet the same minimum requirement for cross-sectional area as specified in subparagraph (ii) above. Note that a louver is not required where ducts are utilized to provide ventilation, although, consideration should be given to protective devices and any diminution of free area resulting from same. Access ports must be provided for the purpose of cleaning and observing conditions within the duct(s). All access ports must be ample size, but not less than 8 × 8 inches. A tight metal fitting cover must be provided for each port. All ports must be closed when not in use. (A) Access ports for cleanout must be located to allow accessibility to all duct sections and must be placed at intervals to allow for safe and reasonable access to all sections of the breeching for the purposes of cleaning. The number of clean-outs must be determined by the configuration of the duct lay-out. Every duct must be provided with at least one access port for cleanout. (B) Access ports for observation purposes must be provided within one diameter of all internal dampers. (C) One access port may be used to serve both functions if suitably located.
(iv)Motorized louvers or motorized dampers in ducts must be provided, on installations where the maximum heat input rate of the boiler(s) is 7.0 million Btu per hour or greater which must close off the admission of combustion air during burner-off periods.
(d)Control devices.
(e)Draft Regulators.
(5)A draft control must not be required where an acceptable boiler assembly is designed and installed according to the manufacturer's requirements, and a positive pressure exists at a location in the chimney within three diameters of the chimney outlet.
(6)A boiler must be provided with acceptable control device(s) so as to maintain adequate draft (positive or negative as required) necessary for proper gas flow both to supply sufficient combustion air and exhaust combustion gases under all normal load and atmospheric conditions.
(7)Oil-fired equipment, including dual-fuel installations, must be provided with a smoke alarm and combustion shutoff. This equipment must conform to the following specifications as well as applicable sections of the Air Pollution Control Code: The requirements of the above paragraph must not apply to a temperature controlled dual-fuel system (as set forth below) when the maximum heat input rate is less than 4.2 million Btu per hour. A temperature controlled dual-fuel system must comprise a fuel burning installation capable of burning natural gas and #2 fuel oil. The system must be designed and must operate such that the fuel burned will normally be gas except that when the outdoor temperature drops below 20°F, the equipment will automatically switch to #2 fuel oil and when the outdoor temperature rises above 25°F, the equipment will automatically return to natural gas operation.
(v)The smoke alarm must be provided with a suitable metal grid or equivalent, which meets the manufacturer's recommendations, calibrated so that when placed in the light path of the detector it will cause a response equivalent to an air contaminant as described in subparagraph (ii) above. This calibration must be indicated on the grid holder or frame. This grid must be securely fastened by means of a welded link chain of suitable length to the body of the detector. Provision must be made to temporarily hang the grid in front of the sensing element of the detector to facilitate proper adjustment of the light source and calibration of the instrument.
(vi)The installation of the smoke alarm must be such that (A) it is wired to function at all times and (B) it includes means necessary for sealing the breeching to prevent blowout of combustion products when necessary.
(vii)If two or more units of equipment are connected to a single flue, one air contaminant detector may be used if installed to monitor all of the units. This arrangement, however, will result in the shut-down of all units of equipment upon activation of the combustion shutoff.
(viii)The combustion shutoff automatically halt the operation of equipment within two minutes of continuous emission of an air contaminant of a density which appears as dark or darker than 20 percent opacity, unless the system is continuously staffed and supervised. The combustion shutoff must be designed such that once it has been activated, the equipment cannot resume normal operation without manual reset. (Amended City Record 3/15/2017, eff. 4/14/2017)
