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What to Consider when choosing a Heat Source
Such as: Gas Boiler, Propane Boiler, Oil Boiler, Gas Hot Water Tank,
Electric
Hot Water Heaters, Tankless Water Heaters and others
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Energy costs rise year after year! Cost of a barrel of Oil is expected to
rise by 30 to 40% this year. Actual cost for Propane, Natural Gas, Electricity and Pellets
are all going up too! So - you get the picture.
What does this mean for you?
Less money in your pocket and more in, well, you know where.
What can you do about this?
Get a high efficient heat source now!
First, let's look at the heating costs for a house with a heat loss of 65,000
Btu for a recent full heating season with several different heat sources.
Cost of Propane $1.75 and Electricity of .12 per kilowatt.
(Actual Propane Usaged was 1,250 gallons.)
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Heat Source
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Gallons / Kilowatts
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Annual Cost
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Savings (Notes)
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Electric Storage Tank
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36,425 kilowatts
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$4,038
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You would spend more than $2,091 to heat your house
with an electric tank than our most efficient boiler!
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Gas Storage Tank - Gravity Vent
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1,700 gallons
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$2,975
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You would spend more than $1,028 to heat your house
with an gas tank than our highest efficient boiler!
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Gas Storage Tank - Power Vent
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1,525 gallons
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$2,668
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You would spend more than $725 to heat your house
with an gas tank than our most efficient boiler!
Also, Can cost about $50 per month - read below *
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Cast Iron Boiler - Older Hi Mass
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1,675 gallons
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$2,931
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You would spend more than $985 to heat your house
with an older Cast Iron Boiler than our most efficient boiler!
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Cast Iron Boiler - New Med Mass Gravity Vent
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1,412 gallons
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$2,471
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You would spend more than $524 to heat your house
with an new Cast Iron Gravity Vent Boiler than our most
efficient boiler!
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Low Mass Boiler - New Hi Efficiency Direct Vent
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1,112 gallons
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$1,946
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The best way to heat any house with a btu Heat Loss of
Greater than 30,000 to 40,000 btu. Will save the most money
now and more money in the future as energy prices go up.
Pay Now or Pay More Later!
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Now let's take a look at some Heat Sources you have to choose from.
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Heat Source
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Burn Efficiency
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Tank Loss (Daily)
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Flue Loss (Daily)
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Combustion Loss
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Steady State
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Effective Efficiency
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Electric Storage Tank
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99.50%
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8 to 10%
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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90.5%
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Gas Storage Tank - Gravity Vent
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80%
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8 to 10%
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72% to 80%
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15%
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N/A
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37% to 45%
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Gas Storage Tank - Power Vent
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80%
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8 to 10%
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0%
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15%
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N/A
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55%
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Hi Efficiency Gas Storage Tank - Power Vent
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up to 95%
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8 to 10%
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0%
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0%
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N/A
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86% *
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Cast Iron Boiler - Older Hi Mass
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75%
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N/A
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N/A
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15%
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20 to 24 min
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40 to 47%
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Cast Iron Boiler - New Med Mass Gravity Vent
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84%
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8 to 10%
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0%
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0%
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5 to 6 min
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64%
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Cast Iron Boiler - New Direct Vent
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84%
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8 to 10%
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0%
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0%
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5 to 6 min
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77%
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Low Mass Boiler - New Direct Vent
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84%
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N/A
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0%
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0%
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1 to 2 min
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83%
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Low Mass Boiler - New Hi Efficiency Direct Vent
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95%
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N/A
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0%
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0%
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1 to 2 min
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94%
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Burn Efficiency
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This is the steady state efficiency of the burners -
this assumes at least an 8 to 24 minute burn rate for
Cast Iron Boilers and 2 to 3 minutes for Stainless Steel
Cooper Low Mass Boilers.
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Tank Loss
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This is the actual per day heat loss from the tank into the space where the tank is located.
(Note: If the tank heat loss is into a non heated space or an unwanted heated space -
this number should be considered. If the tank is in a location that is also heated,
then this number should not be considered).
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Flue Loss
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Loss only to gravity vent tanks - 3 to 4% per hour depending
on flue size. The bigger the flue size - the higher the heat loss.
Also, the higher the btu of the tank - the higher the heat loss.
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Combustion Loss
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This is due to the amount of inside air that is required to
furnish the burners with oxygen in an average house with average
insulation. This will be higher in tighter houses and lower in
looser houses.
(Example - an average 80,000 btu gravity vent boiler
would require 4 times additional make up air from outside per
hour than a similar direct vent heater.)
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Steady State
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Steady State Efficiency measures how efficiently a furnace converts fuel to heat,
once the furnace has warmed up and is running steadily.
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Actual Efficiency
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This takes all the above in to consideration.
(For Example - if you think that a gas storage tank
has an efficiency of 80% - you would be wrong - it is more
like 37 to 45%. Terrible! Ugh! And would be 50% less
efficient than a low mass direct vent high efficiency boiler.)
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* One of the best efficiency tanks that a lot of companys sell - can use up to
$50 or $60 per month in electrical. What? The tank needs a lot electric for it's igniter when
it is heating. Why? Not sure - but this is what we found out from clients that were using
the tank's for solar systems and they could not figure out why there electrical went up in the winter
so high. And - the reason - the tank. Then one contacted mfg of tank and found out it will use
between 4.7 to 5.2 amps when heating. In the winter - this can mean from 12 to 16 hours a day. Ugh!
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