Just finished my first winter with conventional wood/coal boiler. Things went very well and now that I have learned much about the system I'm looking to make it better.
My house is 3 levels. The downstairs den area and midlevel are on one zone and that thermostat controls the autodraft on my boiler. (house needs heat opens the draft). My pump kicks on whenever my boiler reaches 18o degrees so its not directly tied to the wall thermostat per se The upper floor where we sleep and where I had the biggest problem keeping the rooms up to temp has a seperate thermostat that controls a zone valve. When the upstairs needs heat it opens the zone valve and thus when the pump is running it sends hot water upstairs but also sends hot water to the rest of the house. The problem is that the downstairs and midlevel can be at a comfortable temp (thus keeping the thermostat satisfied and draft closed) while the upstairs is still needing heat. My solution this past winter was to keep the thermostat downstairs up high to keep the draft open which kicked the pump on more often sending hot water thru out the house. The downstairs did not get too hot but I feel like I need to seperate the upstairs and downstairs in a different way somehow to get the most out of my system. At night we all sleep upstairs and thats where I want the majority of my heat to go. In the daytime I need the opposite.
Any thoughts or suggestions on what you would do?
I have thought about a zone valve tied into the bottom floors thermostat thus when the bottom is warm it closes and send all the hot water upstairs. The problem is if both zones are satisfied I have no where for the heat to go.
I have also thought that I need my upstairs thermostat to also control the draft but the problem here is that if the upstairs says it needs heat and the downstairs says it dont then will it open the draft or not
This system has no storage and I am fairly maxed out at bitter cold temps heating 5000 sq feet but it does keep up. I just need to figure out how to get more hot water circulating upstairs.
On another not the upstairs attic is porrly insulated and that will be corrected this summer. There is also a 9 foot patio door upstairs that is very drafty that will be replaced this summer. So I'm also thinking not to mess with my system and see what those improvements do. Any thoughts would be appreciated
.
My house is 3 levels. The downstairs den area and midlevel are on one zone and that thermostat controls the autodraft on my boiler. (house needs heat opens the draft). My pump kicks on whenever my boiler reaches 18o degrees so its not directly tied to the wall thermostat per se The upper floor where we sleep and where I had the biggest problem keeping the rooms up to temp has a seperate thermostat that controls a zone valve. When the upstairs needs heat it opens the zone valve and thus when the pump is running it sends hot water upstairs but also sends hot water to the rest of the house. The problem is that the downstairs and midlevel can be at a comfortable temp (thus keeping the thermostat satisfied and draft closed) while the upstairs is still needing heat. My solution this past winter was to keep the thermostat downstairs up high to keep the draft open which kicked the pump on more often sending hot water thru out the house. The downstairs did not get too hot but I feel like I need to seperate the upstairs and downstairs in a different way somehow to get the most out of my system. At night we all sleep upstairs and thats where I want the majority of my heat to go. In the daytime I need the opposite.
Any thoughts or suggestions on what you would do?
I have thought about a zone valve tied into the bottom floors thermostat thus when the bottom is warm it closes and send all the hot water upstairs. The problem is if both zones are satisfied I have no where for the heat to go.
I have also thought that I need my upstairs thermostat to also control the draft but the problem here is that if the upstairs says it needs heat and the downstairs says it dont then will it open the draft or not
This system has no storage and I am fairly maxed out at bitter cold temps heating 5000 sq feet but it does keep up. I just need to figure out how to get more hot water circulating upstairs.
On another not the upstairs attic is porrly insulated and that will be corrected this summer. There is also a 9 foot patio door upstairs that is very drafty that will be replaced this summer. So I'm also thinking not to mess with my system and see what those improvements do. Any thoughts would be appreciated
.