Slash Your Heating Bills!
(Page 3 of 6)
December 2005/January 2006
By Paul Scheckel
Professional maintenance. To keep your heating system operating smoothly and safely, you will need to have it cleaned, tuned and adjusted annually if it’s oil; every two years if it’s gas. Here are a few things a technician can do during that service:
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- Remove any excess soot. On oil-heating equipment, even an eighth of an inch of soot on the heat exchanger can increase fuel consumption by 8 percent.
- Test the efficiency. Nothing runs at 100-percent efficiency, but if the service technician cannot bring the efficiency up to at least 75 percent, then ask about the costs and benefits of equipment upgrades or replacement.
- For a forced-air system, balance the supply and return ductwork. This adjusts the airflow to and from each room for maximum efficiency.
Repair ducts in forced-air systems. Unless ducts are perfectly sealed and insulated, they waste valuable energy and compromise the quality of your indoor environment. Studies of homes across the United States have shown that a modest investment in duct repairs (often about $200) can achieve average annual heating energy savings of 17 percent.
Heat passing through ducts will be readily lost to colder areas because ductwork often runs through unheated spaces, such as basements and attics, and through the interior of outside walls. Air leaks in the supply side of the ductwork allow conditioned air to move into unconditioned spaces, while leaks in the return side can suck air from places such as the attic and basement, circulating this potentially lower-quality air throughout your house. Small leaks can lead to large increases in energy costs, poor delivery of conditioned air, as well as a dusty house and decreased comfort.
A technician can test for air leaks in your ductwork. Typical repairs include sealing all seams with UL-181-approved foil tape or mastic, which meets industry standards for air ducts. Do not use regular cloth duct tape - studies have found that it fails after about six months. Another professional method for repairing ducts is to spray a sealant called Aeroseal into the ductwork. As the product finds its way out of leaks, it expands to seal the hole. After sealing, the ducts should be wrapped with at least R-5 insulation. (R-values measure resistance to the flow of heat; the higher the R-value, the better the insulator.)
Equipment improvements for boilers. Things that a professional heating contractor can do to improve the efficiency of your boiler include:
- Install a time-delay relay that allows water to circulate before the boiler comes on. In warmer weather, the warm water already in the boiler may be enough to heat the house.
- Install adjustable radiator vents or valves on hot water or steam boilers so you can shut off heat in unused rooms.
- Install a modulating aquastat on your boiler to automatically adjust the boiler water temperature based on the outside temperature.
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