Thermal Academy Where every kcal counts
Reading paths

Three ways through the academy

The faculties run in the order the physics does — generation, distribution, use, recovery. Your job runs in a different order. Each path below is the same 75 lessons re-sequenced for one reader, with a line on why each lesson sits where it does. Start at the top, stop when the day's problem is solved.

The operator's path

You run the boiler house and walk the plant every shift.

Physics you can read off a gauge first, then the boiler, then the mains, then the traps — every lesson ends in something to check on tomorrow's round.

  1. A3What is steam?one pressure, one temperature — the gauge is your thermometer
  2. A2Pressure, temperature and the units India argues aboutgauge vs absolute, and why the +1 matters
  3. A8Flash steam explainedthe plume over the receiver, explained
  4. B8Boiler controls and safetythe three loops and the safety chain you test daily
  5. B4Boiler efficiency and the losseswhere the fuel goes — the stack and the O₂ dial
  6. B5Feedwater and deaerationthe feed tank is the cheapest heat exchanger you own
  7. B6Blowdown and TDS controlblowdown: exactly enough, and keep the heat
  8. B7Boiler water chemistry primereight ideas of water chemistry, held firmly
  9. C4Draining steam mainsdrain the mains where the water forms
  10. C5Water hammerwater hammer — read this before the walk to the valve
  11. C8Air ventingair: where it collects, where the vents go
  12. D5Steam traps: the complete schoolone job, four brains — the trap school
  13. G1Why steam traps failhealthy traps in guilty piping
  14. G2Trap surveys and trap managementthe survey that keeps them found
  15. D1Heating with steam: coils, jackets and exchangersstall — the most misdiagnosed fault in steam heating
  16. G3Stall and condensate pumpingthe pump that fixes it
  17. C9What a steam leak costswhat the hiss costs
  18. C7Insulation economicsthe flange tax
  19. G5Testing boiler efficiency on sitean efficiency test you can sign

19 lessons · about 180 minutes of reading

The energy manager's path

You own the fuel bill, the audit and the savings claims.

Price the kilogram first, then find the eight wastes, then prove what you saved — the money lessons in the order an audit runs.

  1. A12The steam formulae crib sheetevery formula on one page
  2. F1The true cost of steamthe honest ₹ per tonne — full and marginal
  3. B2Fuels and the price of a kilo of steamfuel to ₹ per 1,000 kcal
  4. F2The eight classic steam wastesthe eight wastes, ranked as audits find them
  5. F12The steam balancethe steam balance — step zero
  6. F3How a steam audit worksthe audit method: measure first, label M or E
  7. C9What a steam leak costsleaks by hole size
  8. C7Insulation economicsbare pipe and the flange tax
  9. D6Condensate recoverywhat a tonne of condensate is worth
  10. D7Flash steam recoveryflash recovery — the vessel and the consumer
  11. B6Blowdown and TDS controlblowdown heat, two stages
  12. B5Feedwater and deaerationevery 6 °C of feedwater is a percent
  13. F5Flash and condensate recovery schemescascade, recompress, recirculate
  14. F4Deep-dive: thermocompressors — fixed vs variable nozzlethe thermocompressor deep-dive
  15. F7Waste heat recovery beyond steamthe second harvest: stack, compressors, exhausts
  16. F8Proving the savingsM&V — savings that survive an argument
  17. F9Steam benchmarks by industrybenchmarks, with their health warnings
  18. G5Testing boiler efficiency on sitethe efficiency test day's four lies
  19. F13Back-pressure turbinespower as a by-product of heat
  20. F10Steam and carbon: CCTS awarenesscarbon follows fuel

20 lessons · about 187 minutes of reading

The designer's path

You size, specify and sign — consultant, project engineer, vendor.

The arithmetic lessons first, then each piece of hardware in sizing order, then the codes and the carriers — the specifier's sequence.

  1. A5How to read a steam tableread the table fluently
  2. A10How much steam does a process need?steam demand: warm-up vs running
  3. A11Heat transfer with steamQ = U·A·LMTD, and what air does to U
  4. C2Steam pipe sizingline sizing by velocity
  5. C3Pressure-reducing stationsthe reducing station in order
  6. C11Sizing condensate linescondensate lines carry flash — size for it
  7. D3How to select a control valve for steamcontrol valves by Kv, never by pipe
  8. D4Desuperheatersdesuperheating: one enthalpy balance
  9. D5Steam traps: the complete schooltrap selection and sizing
  10. D13Inside the shell-and-tube exchangerinside the shell-and-tube — the specifier's tour
  11. D10Safety valvessafety valves: vocabulary, sizing, installation
  12. C12Codes and materials for steam pipe in IndiaIBR scope, steels, schedules, joints
  13. B10IBR without tearsthe fence and the file
  14. B3F&A rating decodedF&A is a heat promise
  15. B9Steam accumulatorsaccumulators for peaky loads
  16. D1Heating with steam: coils, jackets and exchangersstall — design it out
  17. G3Stall and condensate pumpingNPSH and the pumping trap
  18. C6Pipe expansion and supportsexpansion: anchors, guides, loops
  19. F4Deep-dive: thermocompressors — fixed vs variable nozzlenozzle choice decides the recovery
  20. F11The pressurised condensate loopthe pressurised loop
  21. E6Steam, hot water, hot oil or heat pump?which carrier — the matrix
  22. E7What each carrier costs to runcarriers priced honestly
  23. E1Pressurised hot water vs steampressurised hot water
  24. E4Designing a thermic fluid systemthermic fluid systems

24 lessons · about 235 minutes of reading

Every lesson keeps its own Before this lesson line, so a path can be entered part-way. Progress ticks and certificates work the same whichever order you read in.