What to look for in a home heating system and see if you can cut heating costs even if your home heating system is relatively new. Here are a few common reasons to upgrade your boiler or furnace:
- Cut fuel costs with a high efficiency boiler or heat and hot water system
- Cut greenhouse gas emissions
- Replace an older boiler or furnace which is no longer reliable or has failed
- Improve home comfort
- Expanded use requires more heat or hot water output; a home addition is an example (although boilers are frequently oversized)
- Improve comfort and efficiency with pools or spas
- Improve home resale value
Maintaining Your Heating System:
The Thermostat
Thermostat settings, because they have such a direct effect on furnace heat, must be inspected and adjusted on a regular basis. When heat is too high or too low, the furnace may work inefficiently. The thermostat is a crucial component in maintaining desired amounts of heat.
Today's oil furnaces are more than just hot air!
- Modern oil furnaces range in efficiency from 81% to 95%. Some of the innovations found in today's oil furnaces include:
- Low-mass combustion chambers and sophisticated heat exchangers, which together improve heat transfer
- Solid-state or microprocessor-based controls, which result in more reliable operation
- High-pressure flame retention burners, which result in clean, efficient comfort
MAINTENANCE & CONSERVATION
- Maintain your heating system. Have it checked by a professional at least once a year and change the filters regularly.
- Adjust thermostats; keep it 65 degrees during the day and 55 degrees during sleeping hours or when the house is unoccupied.
- Replace old thermostats with programmable thermostats.
- Open drapes and blinds on the south side of your home during sunny days, close them at night and on cloudy days.
- Do not block registers and hot water radiators.
- Place foil-covered cardboard between cast iron hot water radiators and the wall to reflect the heat into the room and away from the wall.
- Install storm doors and windows. The space they create makes an excellent insulator.
- Have adequate insulation throughout the house and around your water heater. Seal cracks and holes around windows and doors.
Mass Oil Council Says:
Winter of 2011-2012 – So Far Warm is the Word
Right now homeowners are benefiting from a winter that is on track to be 20% warmer than last winter. February can certainly be cold, but consumers are saving money now because of Mother Nature. There are still simple things homeowners can do to improve energy efficiency and save additional money.
If you haven’t done so already, get a heating system tune-up.
