Heat Loss, boiler, piping question.

[Countryboy1966]

I've calculated my house's heat loss to be approximately 30,000 btus/Hr. Hardly seems right for an 1800 Sq Ft house. I'd say I have it undercalculated, but I have lots of windows.

Anyhow, is there a rule of thumb for the relationship of BTU loss/gain through the entire system?

For instance:

Heat Loss of house is 30,000 btus/hr
Boiler 480,000 btus/hr output
Pipe 80,000 btu transfer (1" Pex)

Underground Piping is another story. I wish I found Hearth.com before I planned the system. I need to maximize what I have to work with for at least another few years.

 

[Countryboy1966]

Ok. Dumb question I guess.

I thought there was no such thing as a dumb question. ha ha..

 

[stee6043]

Just a note - the boiler room becomes substantially more active as fall approaches. Summer can be quite slow.

Are you talking 30k as peak or average? I'd think you are pretty close for peak but a "newer" 1800 sq. ft. house should NOT bleed 30k btu/hr average. I have a 2003 built home, lots of windows, 3200 sq. ft. and I run 19k average, 45-50k peak.

And last....for the love of Pete why are you buying a 480k btu boiler? You could heat an entire block of houses with that thing. The more oversized your boiler the less efficient it will run. Is it too late? Already buy it? More research could save you tons of work and lots of money.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

No your numbers don't seem outrageous. Only way too maximize a boiler that is that large is with plenty of storage (if it's a wood boiler) that will allow you to burn hot & clean & store all those excess btu's for use later. From the limited info you have given that is where I would start as you seem to have the home heatloss under control. If you care to provide more info type of boiler, distance from buildings needing heat, type of underground install, how system is set up piping/pumping/controls etc. I am sure some of the members will give you more info on how to get the most out of what you have as well as suggest what you could change in the future. Hope this helps, & like stee said slow here until fall so you may want to post early as you will likely be waiting for answers.

 

[rkusek]

My home built in 2008 calculated out to 30,000 btu/hr on a 0*F design day. This was the main floor which is 2200 sq ft. The walkout basement is 2x6 framed on 2 sides with quite a bit of glass and also calculated to almost 30,000 btu/hr on the 0*F day as well using the Slant Fin software. My numbers would seem to coincide with Stee6043's. Glass would make a big difference though too. If your talking 30,000 peak it would seem about right. My EKO 40 would heat the house plus a 30x60 pole barn easily and should be much easier this year with 1000 gals of storage. Tell us more about that 480 kbtu boiler?

 

[Countryboy1966]

Hello everyone. Thank you for the feedback.

I’m wondering if I am mis-representing my boiler. I will double check the data plate. I'm fairly certain I read the plate correctly.

I have an old Steel King boiler made in ‘80. It was situated about 160 feet from house inside an old gas shed with a total of 310’ of line loop before the heat exchanger. I struggled getting heat to the house the last three years. Nothing beats chewing up 12 cords of wood and 62° temps in the house while watching your boiler overheat. After stumbling on to this site, I realized my primary problem may be the 1†lines I use not to mention sub-par insulation.

This year I have moved the boiler to within 100’ of the house for a 240’ line loop. I’m going to add a second circulator to help with the head pressure in the lines. I'm also trying to find reasonably priced tanks for water storage. If this does not give me the desired results, I will spring for new 1- 1/4" lines, but I’m trying not to at the moment.

I also have been learning a thing or two about boiler set ups so I need to install things like a mixing valve and the ability to break the system apart for cleaning.