The certification qualifications for fired heaters are currently specified in the Alberta “Power Engineers Regulation” (PER), and in particular in schedule tables in the last few pages. Some essential points to note are:
a. In Alberta regulations, fired heaters may be classified as (i) Power Plants, (ii) Heating Plants, or (iii) Thermal Liquid Heating Systems depending upon their application, size, capacity and operating pressures. These classifications, in turn, determine the type and level of certification specified in the regulations for supervision. In addition, some types of fired heaters and services do not correspond to the three classifications above, or have less than the minimum kW ratings in the schedules – in either of these cases the heaters may not require certified operators.
b. When considering the capacity of fired heater equipment to determine certification requirements, it is important to note that, unless the heaters are connected to common heat medium headers, the heaters are assessed individually, and therefore the highest capacity and operating pressure heater(s) determine the level of certification required. This is different from steam systems, since steam boilers are typically connected in common systems of piping headers and therefore the combined heating surfaces and operating pressure are used to determine certification requirements .
c. In some cases, again depending on location and operational conditions, the certification required to supervise some fired heaters may fall within the provisions of “AB-528 Requirements for Reduced Supervision of Power Plants, Thermal Liquid Heating Systems, and Heating Plants”. This document specifies the criteria under which pressure equipment may qualify for a reduction in the level of supervisory certification required in the PER.