How to Improve Combustion Efficiency with Profire Controllers
By Robert ParkerJanuary 9, 2026
Improving combustion efficiency boils down to tuning systems, managing excess air, and maintaining system sensors. It’s important to maintain combustion efficiency so that it doesn’t negatively affect your operating cost. Poor combustion efficiency will affect equipment life and emissions performance. Small improvements can reduce fuel use, limit service calls, and help facilities meet strict environmental rules. These gains require accurate air-fuel control and stable burner operation.
Profire controllers support that work. They manage air and fuel inputs, verify safe ignition, and keep the flame steady under changing load conditions. This creates consistent heat output while protecting equipment.
The sections below explain how burner management systems (BMS) and combustion control systems (CCS) help increase efficiency. They also show where operators can focus their efforts.
What is Combustion Efficiency?
Combustion efficiency measures how effectively a fuel source is converted into usable energy. For industrial heaters, this means maximizing the amount of usable heat produced from the fuel.
Optimal efficiency occurs when fuel burns completely with the right amount of air. Too much or too little air disrupts this balance, leading to energy waste, unburned fuel, and higher emissions. In heating systems, these losses can also appear as elevated stack temperatures and increased flue gas.
Achieving a stable flame and a balanced air-fuel ratio (AFR) is essential for minimizing these losses. Profire controllers help maintain this balance by safely running purge and ignition sequences and regulating air and fuel inputs. This ensures the burner stays tuned under various operating conditions.
Improving efficiency in your combustion system changes daily operations in many ways.
Lower Fuel and Operating Costs
Systems with modulating control run smoother than heaters that cycle on and off. Modulation reduces fuel use, limits thermal stress, and extends component life. Many sites report noticeable fuel savings after upgrading to a Profire controller and completing a proper tune-up.
Easier Emissions Compliance
Facilities must meet limits for NOx, CO, O₂, and excess air. In regions like California, NOx caps can fall below 20 ppm. These conditions have increased the use of forced-draft equipment and precise combustion control—both core features of Profire PF3100 and PF2200-FD systems.
More Reliable and Safer Operation
A tuned flame reduces vibration, mechanical stress, and the chance of component fatigue. Better stability leads to fewer nuisance shutdowns and a safer operating environment.
How Efficiency Challenges Differ by Industry
Oil and Gas: Upstream, Midstream, Downstream
Fired heaters, separators, and treaters use a lot of energy. Even slight efficiency gains lead to measurable savings. Operators often deal with variable gas quality, wide turndown ratios, and strict emissions rules.
Profire systems help maintain a steady AFR and support standards such as NFPA 85 and API 556.
Optimization Tips: Use modulating BMS setups to keep the AFR balanced across firing ranges. Add oxygen trim when fuel quality shifts with supply or seasonal conditions.
Biogas: Landfills, Digesters, and Wastewater
Biogas brings moisture, low-BTU swings, and contaminants that affect flame stability. Without steady control, methane destruction efficiency drops and compliance becomes harder.
Optimization Tips: Choose a CCS that can adjust to changing BTU content. Combine O₂ and CO monitoring to stabilize the flame and reduce unburned hydrocarbons. Dual-curve AFR mapping helps adapt to seasonal variations.
Optimizing Heating in Chemical and Petrochemical Plants
Heaters and reformers drive high energy demand in these environments. Poor tuning increases excess air and stack losses, while raising emissions risk.
Optimization Tips: Use multi-channel control for air, fuel, and trim. Keep sensors calibrated so readings remain accurate. Predictive maintenance can catch fouling or misalignment early.
Managing Ash and Fuel Quality in Bioenergy Systems
Biomass and biochar systems deal with ash, moisture, and inconsistent fuel quality.
Optimization Tips: Use forced-draft burners with precise modulation to optimize performance. Waste-heat recovery can capture additional value from flue gas. Digital monitoring helps track system changes in real time.
Several conditions shape how efficiently a heater operates:
Air-Fuel Ratio (AFR): Tune at different firing points to avoid rich conditions that create soot or lean conditions that waste heat.
Burner Type & Condition: Forced-draft burners allow tighter AFR control, although any burner performs better when kept clean and aligned.
Fuel Quality: Low-BTU or wet gas affects stability. Consistent, dry gas supports more accurate tuning.
Ambient & Seasonal Effects: Temperature and humidity shift air density. The PF3100’s A/B curves make it easy to switch between the pre-configured maps for summer and winter.
Draft & Air Infiltration: Use dampers or airplates to manage excess air. Keep doors and viewports sealed to limit heat loss.
Instrumentation Accuracy: O₂, CO, and stack-temperature sensors must be calibrated and installed in proper locations to provide useful data.
How Profire Controllers Enhance Flame Stability And Emissions
Profire controllers give operators direct control over the variables that influence flame stability and emissions.
PF2200-FD: A forced-draft platform with fixed fan speed and single-channel modulation. It offers consistent tuning for many standard heater applications.
PF3100: A multi-channel system that manages air, fuel, and O₂ trim. Its A/B curves allow operators to switch between summer and winter maps with minimal downtime.
Both systems use properly configured PID loops to eliminate hard cycling, reduce wear, and maintain low firing rates once temperature or process load is met.
Effective Strategies To Optimize Combustion Performance
1. Tune the Air-Fuel Ratio
Start at full fire and adjust toward the desired stack values. Recheck performance at partial loads. The PF3100’s AFR mapping and O₂ trim can adjust AFR automatically as conditions change.
2. Manage Excess Air
Balance airflow with stack dampers or secondary airplates. Keep viewports and doors sealed, so infiltration doesn’t dilute the flame.
3. Maintain Sensor Accuracy
Calibrate O₂ and CO analyzers often. Verify probe placement and integrate readings with trim logic for more consistent control.
4. Plan for Environmental and Fuel Variability
Use seasonal A/B curves when temperatures swing. Tune in spring and fall and verify BTU content in regions known for gas variability.
5. Follow Proactive Maintenance
Clean burner internals and flame arrestors regularly. Fix alignment issues before flame impingement or carbon buildup occurs. Schedule annual or semi-annual service, depending on site conditions.
Common Issues to Watch For
Operators often see performance issues when they:
Add too much “safety air,” which lowers efficiency
Skip sensor calibration
Delay routine maintenance
Tune only for a specific O₂ reading, instead of overall stability
Each region presents unique environmental factors that can influence equipment performance and maintenance. Here’s what to consider:
Alberta and Western Canada: Wide seasonal swings in temperature and humidity affect air density and fuel vaporization. This often requires biannual tune-ups to maintain proper air-fuel ratios and prevent seasonal inefficiencies.
Bakken: Extreme cold can cause fuel viscosity changes and ignition challenges, while dust intrusion impacts air-inlet filters and combustion air quality. Frequent air-inlet cleaning and biannual seasonal tuning are essential.
Marcellus and Utica: Stringent emissions regulations make precise O₂-trim control critical for reducing NOx and CO. Operators often prioritize continuous monitoring and fine-tuning to stay compliant.
Permian: High ambient temperatures and dust storms accelerate wear on combustion components and sensors. Regular inspection and tuning help maintain stable combustion and prevent overheating.
California and Similar Climates: Low-NOx mandates drive the adoption of forced-draft burners with CCS (Combustion Control Systems) for optimized air-fuel mixing and emissions reduction. Tuning focuses on tight excess-air control to meet regulatory limits.
ROI of Modern Control Systems
Upgrading from on/off or pneumatic controls to modulating Profire systems reduces mechanical stress, lowers fuel use, and improves uptime. Manual and pneumatic systems drift over time and lack the safety interlocks that modern controllers provide.
Sites that convert to Profire systems and follow consistent maintenance have reported fuel savings as high as 50%. Forced-draft conversions alone often deliver around 20% gas savings.
FAQs About Combustion Efficiency
What does “automated shutdown safety” mean in a BMS?
“Automated shutdown safety” automatically shuts down burners when unsafe conditions occur, such as flame or pilot failure, airflow loss, abnormal fuel pressure, valve errors, over-temperature/pressure, sensor or power failure, or incomplete purge.
How does flue-gas analyzer integration help?
It enables precise emissions tuning and lets O₂ trim adjust in real time based on actual flue-gas data.
How often should a burner be tuned?
At least annually, though many facilities do spring and fall tune-ups to account for seasonal changes.
Can natural‑draft systems match forced‑draft efficiency?
No. Natural draft relies on passive airflow, while forced draft actively controls air-fuel ratios for better efficiency and emissions performance.
Choose Profire for Better Efficiency
Improving combustion efficiency is an ongoing process of tuning, cleaning, and measuring. Profire controllers give operators the control and automation needed to keep heaters running smoothly. They also help meet safety and emissions standards. A seasonal tune-up or combustion audit can help identify the next steps toward better performance.
