JCH
Member
We have an old oil-fired boiler (1970's?) that is so expensive to run that we've been using portable electric heaters in its place (yet still saving $1,000+ / year in the cost differential).
**Looking to get a permanent solution in place and am not sure where to start. Do I install a gas boiler? Condensing? Modulated? or a multi-stage Heat Pump?
Location: Victoria, BC
Blower-door test: 6.39 ACH
Average HDD/yr: 1066
Design temperature: -10C (14F)
Original 2x4 stucco framed house was was built in 1942, with 900 sq ft heated by an oil-fired boiler and cast-iron radiators (running around 180F). Uninsulated concrete basement walls, not directly heated, but used for office space. Main floor walls insulated 2 years ago with dense-pack cellulose.
A 180 sq ft addition was added on plus the 500 sq ft attic was developed about 20 years ago. Both areas have electric baseboards.
When the oil-fired boiler was in operation, a tech measured its efficiency at 69% based on flu-gas temperature. Its placard says 78,000 btu/hr.
Our current fuel costs are:
Oil: $1.36/Litre ($0.0356/MJ)
Gas: $0.0143/MJ
Electricity: $0.1034/kWh ($0.0287/MJ) - but will be increasing 20% over the next 2 years.
Based on the actual oil usage before we stopped using it, and on the jump in electricity usage after we became all-electric, the amount of Delivered heating capacity works out to 22,000 btu/h (6.4kW) including 40% oversizing.
What would you folks recommend??
**Looking to get a permanent solution in place and am not sure where to start. Do I install a gas boiler? Condensing? Modulated? or a multi-stage Heat Pump?
Location: Victoria, BC
Blower-door test: 6.39 ACH
Average HDD/yr: 1066
Design temperature: -10C (14F)
Original 2x4 stucco framed house was was built in 1942, with 900 sq ft heated by an oil-fired boiler and cast-iron radiators (running around 180F). Uninsulated concrete basement walls, not directly heated, but used for office space. Main floor walls insulated 2 years ago with dense-pack cellulose.
A 180 sq ft addition was added on plus the 500 sq ft attic was developed about 20 years ago. Both areas have electric baseboards.
When the oil-fired boiler was in operation, a tech measured its efficiency at 69% based on flu-gas temperature. Its placard says 78,000 btu/hr.
Our current fuel costs are:
Oil: $1.36/Litre ($0.0356/MJ)
Gas: $0.0143/MJ
Electricity: $0.1034/kWh ($0.0287/MJ) - but will be increasing 20% over the next 2 years.
Based on the actual oil usage before we stopped using it, and on the jump in electricity usage after we became all-electric, the amount of Delivered heating capacity works out to 22,000 btu/h (6.4kW) including 40% oversizing.
What would you folks recommend??