EcoRenovator - View Single Post - How to efficiently use a gas furnace/boiler

benpope · 01-27-11, 02:34 PM

I have seen that same thing on the energysavers site, Piwoslaw, but I couldn't find anything about how to actually do any of it. Finding anyone around here (southern US) with the expertise to help me is next to impossible. The most knowledgeable boiler tech I have spoken to said he had never heard of putting an outdoor reset on a home boiler. *Doph!* He had never done any energy retrofitting on boilers and tried to convince me that retrofitting for efficiency was a bad idea. The nerve! He did show me how to safely de-rate my burner so that it burns around 100k btu instead of 175k. That, along with setting the aquastat to a lower temperature, seems to have saved some gas, thought I don't know how much. Mine is an old coal boiler converted to natural gas, so it could use the smaller burn chamber, better seals, and a more baffles. There is an advantage of having an 80 year old boiler with a 70 year old gas conversion though; it means that there is no chance of voiding the manufacturer's warranty

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01-27-11, 02:34 PM	#8
benpope Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Little Rock, AR Posts: 95 Thanks: 16 Thanked 13 Times in 12 Posts	I have seen that same thing on the energysavers site, Piwoslaw, but I couldn't find anything about how to actually do any of it. Finding anyone around here (southern US) with the expertise to help me is next to impossible. The most knowledgeable boiler tech I have spoken to said he had never heard of putting an outdoor reset on a home boiler. Doph! He had never done any energy retrofitting on boilers and tried to convince me that retrofitting for efficiency was a bad idea. The nerve! He did show me how to safely de-rate my burner so that it burns around 100k btu instead of 175k. That, along with setting the aquastat to a lower temperature, seems to have saved some gas, thought I don't know how much. Mine is an old coal boiler converted to natural gas, so it could use the smaller burn chamber, better seals, and a more baffles. There is an advantage of having an 80 year old boiler with a 70 year old gas conversion though; it means that there is no chance of voiding the manufacturer's warranty .