I have a Weil-McLain gas furnace (which works perfectly) which I
estimate to be about 20 years old. Not surprisingly, the cost of
heating (hot water baseboard) is climbing and now runs over $3,000 per
year to heat my 3,300 sq. ft. home. I'm wondering how much I could
save (percentage) by installing a new furnace? Also, which brand or
brands would be preferred? In the alternative, would it be advisable
to switch to oil, a heat pump or some other arrangement. Suggestions
greatly appreciated.

If you have baseboard hot water its a boiler not furnace and a 20 yr old
unit might be 80% efficient. A new regular unit maybe 83%. Get a price
on a condensing boiler 94-96% and run your numbers.

Dunno about relative prices in your area, but IMHO prime contenders
would be condensing gas and ground-loop heat-pump. (Oil gets pretty
demanding about regular service or makes a real mess, and max eff is
significantly lower than max for gas.) I'll wager that your gas unit is
at or below 60% eff on seasonal basis, mostly because of huge full-time
opening to draft-hood, so you can guess what 92% would do for you.

Regardless, you first want to find the installer you trust most to
steer you straight and do a good job.

And ... you might be amazed how much you'd save, with increased
comfort, by first finding and eliminating losses. Stuff like sealing
leaks, clock t-stat, vent damper, etc., etc.

J

The links I found for condensing boilers were all in the UK. Any
suggestions for those in the U.S.? Also, I checked with Weil-McLain
and they said that my boiler is probably operating at 81% efficiency
vs. 83%-84% for newer models. Obviously, not a cost-effective swap.

Weil mc Lain has Condensing I believe, Lennox does, I just took out a
weil mc lain and put in a new Weil of 83%. But there are many condensing
units out to pick from here.

wrote:
... In the alternative, would it be advisable
to switch to oil, a heat pump or some other arrangement. ...

Oil may cost you more than gas. It all depends on the cost in your
area. In most situations gas is going to cost you less. This year the cost
of gas is going up a lot, but in most areas it is still cheaper to use than
oil. In any case you need to plan for the next 20 years not just this year,
which will be half over by the time you get a replacement.

Gas prices are artificially high this year due to the problems in the
gulf. Things should be closer to normal next year. Few people with the
opportunity to use gas choose oil.


--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Ng may be artificialy high, but we are not increasing production to keep
up with demand from n.i.m.b.y . groups opposing new drilling. Importing
LNG is now considered an investment companies are will to pay to
develop. The trend is up, maybe more than oil, but both are not going
down long term.

wrote in message
oups.com...
The links I found for condensing boilers were all in the UK. Any
suggestions for those in the U.S.? Also, I checked with Weil-McLain
and they said that my boiler is probably operating at 81% efficiency
vs. 83%-84% for newer models. Obviously, not a cost-effective swap.

Munchkin is made in New England. Very small for the power they pack.

http://www.htproducts.com/products/munchkin/

We just had one install in one of our buildings and I'm impressed with how
well it works. Ours is a 200,000 Btu unit. Very quiet also.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
m...

wrote in message
oups.com...
The links I found for condensing boilers were all in the UK. Any
suggestions for those in the U.S.? Also, I checked with Weil-McLain
and they said that my boiler is probably operating at 81% efficiency
vs. 83%-84% for newer models. Obviously, not a cost-effective swap.

Munchkin is made in New England. Very small for the power they pack.

http://www.htproducts.com/products/munchkin/

We just had one install in one of our buildings and I'm impressed with how
well it works. Ours is a 200,000 Btu unit. Very quiet also.


The Knight heating boiler is a better product, IMO.

www.knightheatingboiler.com

Thats interesting the Knight goes to 98.6% efficency on low temp
instals.