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The general subject of boiler room practice may be considered from two aspects. The first is that of the broad plant economy, with a suggestion as to the methods to be followed in securing the best economical results with the apparatus at hand and procurable. The second deals rather with specific recommendations which should be followed in plant practice, recommendations leading not only to economy but also to safety and continuity of service. Such recommendations are dictated from an understanding of the nature of steam generating apparatus and its operation, as covered previously in this book. It has already been pointed out that the attention given in recent years to steam generating practice has come with a realization of the wide difference existing between the results being obtained in every-day operation and those theoretically possible. The amount of such attention and regulation given to the steam generating end of a power plant, however, is comparatively small in relation to that given to the balance of the plant, but it may be safely stated that it is here that there is the greatest assurance of a return for the attention given. In the endeavor to increase boiler room efficiency, it is of the utmost importance that a standard basis be set by which average results are to be judged. With the theoretical efficiency obtainable varying so widely, this standard cannot be placed at the highest efficiency that has been obtained regardless of operating conditions. It is better set at the best obtainable results for each individual plant under its conditions of installation and daily operation. With an individual standard so set, present practice can only be improved by a systematic effort to approach this standard. The degree with which operating results will approximate such a standard will be found to be directly proportional to the amount of intelligent supervision given the operation. For such supervision to be given, it is necessary to have not only a full realization of what the plant can do under the best operating conditions but also a full and complete knowledge of what it is doing under all of the different conditions that may arise. What the plant is doing should be made a matter of continuous record so arranged that the results may be directly compared for any period or set of conditions, and where such results vary from the standard set, steps must be taken immediately to remedy the causes of such failings. Such a record is an important check in the losses in the plant.

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