BleepingComputer.com: Home fuel saving!

Last winter with the high prices of fuel oil and having cold floors we did some major upgrades. To start we replaced the 40+ year old furnace, was a very good quality cast iron beast that out lived it time. We installed a Buderus boiler with computer control and the touted blue flame gun. The Buderus caused a new issue cold floors, the boilers stack temp is very low compared to the old units which caused a drop in the basement temps, that lead to painting the walls with DryLoc then installing two inch foam board on the walls. The results were an increase in basement temps from the very low 50's to pretty constant 62 degrees and warmer floors, after comparing the year before's fuel usage the upgrades saved us 40% on fuel.

Sure is a big difference in the physical size of the boilers isn't it
That's one heck of a savings on the fuel bill

We are very pleased, the actual size of the boiler is not a heck of a lot different. The Buderus I call the mini Volkswagen, with its blue color and being roundish shape kind of fits.

Phil

If I remember correctly, I was watching an episode of This Old House and they went on a tour of the factory. It was very impressive.
I just installed a 95-98% efficient gas furnace in my mom's house and I'm anxious to see the results

I was considering a tankless water heater for my place, but my plumber buddy talked me out of it

The tankless makes a lot of sense if you are running a boiler with the computer control, the computer control idles the bloiler down to 70 degrees when heat is not needed. It will fire and heat the the tank to what ever setting you like the idle back down. I have the computer on mine and will be going tankless as soon as the one I have now dies, it is about seven years old. Without the computer the boiler stays at its preset temp all the time so you do not realize any savings.

garmanma, on Dec 11 2009, 11:18 AM, said:

I've got a tankless water heater at my home. I really like it. I opted NOT to have the remote temp. control installed. Factory preset is 120 degrees F. I don't need it any hotter and I don't want it any cooler, and if the hot water isn't running, there is no heating going on so no need to turn it down or off when away as it's already off. The electric versions are okay for small stuff, but if you are talking apartment, house, etc., you want natural gas or liquid propane depending on your situation. The water heater that came with my house was electric with a tank. The electric bill really plunged when that was taken out even though we switched to an electric stove. Propane at my place is used only for heating water and the furnace. Water heater doesn't use much. I could go for years without filling the propane tank if it weren't for the furnace.

Here's the catch though with this style heater: 1) you cannot run too many hot water things at once, you need to reschedule so you're not running the washer and the shower at once, for example and 2) if you stay in the shower for long periods of time because you don't run out of hot water, you'll lose all the fuel savings you gain by heating the water only as you use it. 3) When it's colder outside, hot water flow is slower. You need to study the flow rates and temperature increases to know if the particular water heater is right for your situation.

Note: I have read that a tankless heater should not be installed in conjunction with a tank.

Orange Blossom: Interesting input thanks, we are running an oil fired setup and my sweetie likes hot water. The boiler top temp is set at 170, but like I said it drops to 70 without demand. Our 40 gallon hot water heater is set at 160 and is super insulated, I have accidentally switched it off and had hot water over 30 hours later so maybe we should follow your lead and keep it.

Phil

Just curious,

What type of foundation do you have, is it a crawl space or full basement??

How did you attach/ install the foam to the foundation walls?? (adhesive like liquid nails or ferring strips etc)

Did you have to cover the foam per building code?? (drywall or other)

I know this is an old topic but like I said I'm curious and may do this myself.

sickass, on Apr 19 2010, 02:49 PM, said:

We have a full basement, the walls were treated to two coats of Dry Loc. I used PL construction glue, so far so good no loose panels. The increase in the basement temp and the first level floors since the install is just great, we had quite a few single digit days this past winter. Doing wash is now comfortable not a rush to get up stairs and walking around the formerly freezing kitchen floor is no longer noticed. The new German boiler is so cheap to run compared to the Becket retention head burner that our bills are nearly cut in half. I attribute the majority of the savings to the boiler and the comfort to the insulation. I took me about 5-6 evenings and a fair amount of cleanup from sawing the foam but so well worth the effort.

Phil

I'm going to do this, its a great idea. I just graduated and have lint in my pockets right now, but this project is going to the top of the list, thanks for the reply.

Do you Damn Yanke.......... I mean fine Northern Gentleman insulate your ceiling? What about double hung windows? Considering the age of your house Phil, unless you have installed them recently, you could knock a sizable chunk of change off that heating bill by replacing the windows. It's about $150 bucks per window, but you realize the savings in two ways, well three if you folks use air conditioning.

1). The windows are (or at least WHERE in tax year 2009) 100% tax deductible on you nasty federal taxes. In many states they are also deductible on the state return.

2). The insulation factor of the double paned windows is amazing. Storm windows don't even begin to compare. So you save cost on heating and cooling bills.

3). They are all "e-treated" now to block out the UV rays which in the summer time serves to keep the whole house cooler, yet doesn't lower the temps in the winter.

Just a thought. The process of changing them out is quite simple and I could walk you through it. The beauty of it is, unlike replacing a furnace, you can do it one window at a time, or one room at a time, and spread the cost out. Also, each window you do makes a difference RIGHT NOW. If it takes you a summer, or a year to replace all the windows, each one you do starts saving you energy immediately upon installation.

This post has been edited by DeathStalker: 19 April 2010 - 11:27 PM

DeathStalker, on Apr 20 2010, 12:25 AM, said:

Way ahead of you lad! Triple pane gas filled vinyl windows, 8" Corning in the up stairs ceiling, 1" silver back foam under the new vinyl siding that was about three years back. The hole in the ground was the only thing that was left! We missed out on ALL the deductions!!!

LOL. I missed the deductions on the windows myself. When I moved into this 45 year old house 7 years ago, the first things I did were to blow the attic and replace the windows.

didn't have to worry about siding though. I have all brick covering cement block. Best r-factor. Don't even have to worry about insulating the exterior walls.

Well you certainly are sitting pretty. One last thing though. Now that you have sealed all the holes that your money was seeping out of, make sure you install a few Carbon Monoxide detectors in the house, especially one near the furnace. You may be a yankee, but I don't want to lose you to carbon monoxide poisoning lol.

Seriously, when houses get all sealed up leaks in systems that weren't so bad when there was a good bit of breeze blowing through can become deadly.

DeathStalker, on Apr 20 2010, 09:37 PM, said:

Ok I have two Carbon monoxide and six smoke, my other half would not be without!

Phil