Mass Couple with Home Heating Question...

[masscouple]

Hi,

Short time reader - newest members - we were hoping to place a question.

Intros - we are home owners in Chelmsford Massachusetts and have been heating our home with Oil since we bought in 2001. We have had some upgrades - new tank, burner, boiler, and are doing some renovations - so we are down to a single zone. We are ready for 3 full zones.

We have replacement windows and think we are fairly insulated, but the temps really dived down in the Northeast and we haven't seen it this cold in about 6 years. We were not as insulated and prepared 6 years ago as we are tonight. That leads us to your forums with a few questions - maybe someone will entertain us with some answers.

Maybe you need more details - however the general premise of our questions comes from the loss or rapid reduction in degrees 'F' - per hour.

We lose about 2.5 degrees per hour - starting with an ambient room temperature 67 degrees 'F' - ending at 62 degrees in 120 minutes. The outside air temperature at 10pm is 5 degrees above 0 'F' - we are happily warmer inside!

So our question is - do you think our situation is normal? Above Normal? Or - Disappointing?

Thanks in advance! Apologies in advance if this is not the right forum for this topic. Cheers.

Ps - this is baseboard heat - forced hot water. The square footage we are talking about in this exercise is about 800sq. Single story ranch home with substandard insulation in crawl - space attic.

[mbarson]

I would say there is no "normal" only efficient and inefficient homes. It sounds like you have answered you own question with low levels of insulation in your home. I think an energy audit would be a worth while investment to see how you home is performing. If your system is keeping you warm and your utility costs are acceptable I would not worry about it much.

[makinmoney]

I think the only thing you should be disappointed in is using the term....."Ambient Room Temperature".....LOL J/K!

You didnt really describe your house so it's hard to get an idea....but I don't think 2.5* an hour is bad at all.....espically in the extreme NE....

Getting a burner upgrade helps but if your duct system has flaws, or the system isn't balanced you may not get the desired effect your looking for.

[masscouple]

@mbarson -

Yes thanks. Our system keeps us toasty warm and never try to break records - mostly we keep our thermostat 67 F from 6p-10:30p (yes its on a timer). Sometimes on those really snowy nights I "crank it up" to 72 - LOL - but it gets too hot.

Our primary question could definetly be answered with an energy audit. I am sure that there is more we can do - but we were curious what others thought about the 2.5 degree loss per hour.

As you noted - our utility costs aren't so bad -and the new system is keeping us warm.

Thanks for the note.

@MakinMoney - honestly I am happy to hear that you don't think its that bad - 2.5 degrees is noticable when your sitting comfy at 67 - and turn heat down - in two hours you notice the difference at 62 - its like the difference between good a/c - and phenomal a/c - your nose gets a little cool and you put your hat on!

Cheers all - we would love more comments to our situation - and if you think I should add any details please let us know. Thanks again!!

Ambient - I thought you HVAC types used these 5 dollar words. LOL *jk*

[makinmoney]

LOL......Masscouple...

"Ambient" is outdoor temp.....not room temp.

Being from South Jersey.....and you in Mass....2.5* isnt that bad....t-stats come with heat anticipators that bring the heat on a little early to compensate the setpoint on the stat....alot of them are adjustable....some arent.

let me ask you this.....roughly how many times an hour does your unit cycle?

[masscouple]

LOL...ok - I am now an embarassed nOOb - ambient. Got it. Check!

It depends on time of day. Mostly the burner may come on at the coldest temps we have seen is maybe - 2x per hour. The cycle only lasts about 10 minutes.

[makinmoney]

2x's per hour.......I would say you are in very good shape, Masscouple.

You can always call to have your system checked out completely, including an energy audit......but at 2x's per hour I think you are doing very well in Mass........