With all the hype and stimulus money thrown in the direction of energy consumption, you’d think that conserving energy is a novel concept. All of a sudden we must create new technology to save precious Mideast oil, natural gas and electricity? Is the American consumer so forgetful and out of the loop that we are to believe this technology doesn’t already exist?
Baby Boomers surely recall the Oil Embargo of the early 1970s, but what about the automobile carburetor that allows a car to get 150 miles per gallon? Even the Honda Civic CVCC got 55 miles per gallon in the 1970s, but where did it go? The truth is folks, Big Business does not want us to know about anything that will “cannibalize” their market share.
For those of us who live in Northeast USA and most of Europe, we can expect colder seasons to bring with them higher consumption of heating fuel oil, natural gas and liquified petroleum gas (LPG). The majority of heating systems in these regions are forced hot water, while in other parts of the country forced hot air is preferred, as the furnace is often coupled with air conditioning due to the hot temperatures 3 seasons of the year.
New Hampshire is where I’ve lived most of my life and is where I have always practiced my trade. I cut my teeth, so to speak, on oil burner technology, having the privilege of working for 2 highly ethical family-owned fuel oil companies that had been around since the 30s. So had some of the heating equipment that they installed in the beginnings of oil burner technology. I found it curious that the older the equipment was the more durable it was, and some brands were more efficient than today’s models! General Electric made a down-fired oil burner/boiler that was 88% efficient! Timken Rotary burners/boilers were as efficient as the technology made in America today.
In my opinion, most boilers and furnaces made in America today should be outlawed, they are so fuel hungry! Single-Pass flue designs, such are American boiler designs, should be banned. The Europeans have us beat in boiler designs and have for years, but do you know that tariffs imposed by our government kept these designs from our marketplace until relatively recently? That’s right people, the U.S. Government (in other words, lobbyists) kept fuel consumption high in the Northeast by restricting free trade of efficient heating technology.
Buderus, a German company, has been making cast iron heating equipment since the early 1700s and is finally competing fairly with American manufacturers, now that their North American headquarters is based in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Their “Scotch Marine” boiler design has a triple-pass heat exchanger that retains the majority of heat it produces, while American designs can have more than twice the amount of heat leaving the boiler (and the building), right up the chimney. I just installed a Buderus G215/7 oil-fired boiler that had a 200 degree net stack temperature. The same size American boiler would have a 450 degree stack temperature!
If you are an owner of an inefficient American boiler design, or even a high efficient European design, there is hope for greater efficiency. A “temperature modulation control” can save as much as 30% on your fuel bill. For around $800, this easily installable control will monitor the outdoor temperature and as it drops the control will raise the boiler water temperature proportionately. In example: If your thermostat is set for 70 degrees and it is 60 degrees outdoors, then corresponding boiler water temperature will be maintained at approximately 100 degrees, all things being equal. Whereas, if it is 0 degrees outside, the control will demand a much higher boiler temperature say, 170 degrees. Conventional boiler controls have fixed temperature settings and if your fuel supplier is servicing your boiler/furnace, then you can probably expect that they have jacked the settings up to their highest settings – 180-200 degrees, 24/7/365! The higher the control settings the more fuel they will sell you! Tell me, where is the incentive for them to save you money on fuel consumption? None exist, my friends! An aside: there is no corporate incentive for the fuel company’s technicians who service and clean your heating equipment to do a good job either. Why that would mean you would spend less on fuel. It’s a true story.
Would you allow “the fox to guard the hen house” when it comes to fuel consumption with your heating equipment? I wouldn’t, especially given I am in the business of creating energy efficiency for my heating customers. I can’t begin to count the times I’ve arrived at a new customer’s building to find the temperature controls cranked up to their highest settings, even in the summer when there is no heating demand. This is unconscionable and should be made illegal through legislation, but I am not an optimist while lobbyists rule the day. Fuel companies are ripping off the unsuspecting consumer to such a great degree, and are free from regulation, that if the lid was blown off their scheme it would mean they would be required by law to make available to the consumer information on all available energy savings devices.
Remember the 150 mpg carburetor? Well, the same sort of energy efficiency technology exists for your boiler, but your fuel company will never tell you…unless legislation is passed demanding it! 2 Things must happen: Federal legislation must be passed outlawing single-pass heat exchanger boilers, and information on energy savings devices for heating equipment must be made available, proactievly, to customers of fossil fuel suppliers.
Contact me if you would like a free analysis of your heating system and to find out if a temperature modulation control is applicable to your system. Start keeping your money instead of handing it over to the likes of Exxon fat cats!
