Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are considering replacing our old heating system. The house is a 3 bedroom ranch style in NY.
I tried reading on this topic but it's impossible to find specific recommendations.
We don't need extreme solutions, just a reliable furnace at a reasonable cost.
Some companies push these "on demand" systems without a conventional boiler. Is that a better solution overall than the traditional one?
We are considering replacing our old heating system. The house is a 3 bedroom ranch style in NY.
I tried reading on this topic but it's impossible to find specific recommendations.
We don't need extreme solutions, just a reliable furnace at a reasonable cost.
Some companies push these "on demand" systems without a conventional boiler. Is that a better solution overall than the traditional one?
The On Demand system typically uses less energy because it only heats when needed rather than keeping a reservoir tank full of water hot. I think they're cool, but the payback takes some time. If you don't mind spending the money on the front end and getting a lower energy bill plus the neat factor it might be worthwhile.
Personally I like the gas fired units that function as both a water heater and a boiler for the heating system with a tank. They're efficient, reasonably priced, and very functional.
With the tankless combination units I just find that you have to get one way oversized in order to have enough hot water on those days when two people want to shower while another does dishes and the heating system is calling for heat.
Does that mean that we need to convert from oil to gas? (no natural gas is available, so that will be propane...)
I don't know, but there seem to be so many solutions for gas (and electrical) but only a few for oil.
Does that mean that we need to convert from oil to gas? (no natural gas is available, so that will be propane...)
I don't know, but there seem to be so many solutions for gas (and electrical) but only a few for oil.
Alright, I'm stumped. I didn't realize we were talking about an oil fired unit. I'm a construction manager that now works on healthcare projects but worked on high-end homes for several years before that and grew up in a family that owned a plumbing and heating shop. But I've never installed an oil fired unit. I see Weil-McLain makes some units that look like they'd fit your application, but I've got no experience on this one to offer.
Peerless and Burnham also make traditional style boilers for oil.
A friend recommended System 2000 from Energy Kinetics. This one is supposed to be the most efficient oil burning unit on the market, but it's a sophisticated tankless type. It's expensive to install but supposed to repay for itself in the long run. Don't know how reliable it is over the years.
Up here in heating oil country, there are not many options without going full tilt space age technology. My last house I put a Weil-McLain gold boiler in, and it performed very good. I did like the feature that allows you to get to the fire box by them mounting the burner on a hinged front cover. No need to disconnect oil lines, or electronics to clean out the fire box after a thorough cleaning from top down.
The house I live in now has a wet based cast iron New Yorker (1950's) that works flawlessly for heating, but like most boilers that make heat, they don't do so well on making hot water inexpensively. That's where the oil fired water heater comes into play. Very fast recovery on a forty gallon stand alone. With a hot water coil in a boiler you can pretty much expect the boiler to keep running to the last hot water faucet is closed. In the summer I simply shut the boiler off, saving quite a bit of wasted fuel not having to keep a maintained heat range just for hot water.
Peerless and Burnham also make traditional style boilers for oil.
A friend recommended System 2000 from Energy Kinetics. This one is supposed to be the most efficient oil burning unit on the market, but it's a sophisticated tankless type. It's expensive to install but supposed to repay for itself in the long run. Don't know how reliable it is over the years.
It’s always good advice to put in a boiler with a contractor you trust and who is knowledgeable and comfortable with the equipment they install.
There are many good boilers out there, and Energy Kinetics stands out because the company is family owned and has been in business since 1979 and System 2000 has an extensive track record of longevity and energy savings, plus a lifetime limited warranty. One of their oil boilers called the 90+ Resolute is rated as Most Efficient by Energy Star. The boilers are also so much quieter than other oil boilers and make lots of hot water very efficiently. It's not a tankless style boiler though, it uses an external flat plate heat exchanger to make hot water and stores it in a highly insulated storage tank. Any boiler purchase should include an energy efficiency control for all your zones, and the system manager is a proven energy saver and also has a lifetime limited warranty. If you’re making a decision to buy a boiler and the better system carries a premium, the savings with a boiler like System 2000 can actually pay for that price difference quickly (even with today’s low fuel prices).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
