Power consumption

[wolfkiller]

I am trying to decide between a boiler and a radiant wood stove for my new shop. I would like to have the floor heat a boiler would provide but I need to work up some numbers for electrical consumption. I am looking at 1 zone heating about 3000 sq ft with 16' ceilings. Has any one metered there set up. I live off the grid and have to plan for all electrical loads.

 

[webie]

Well if you live off grid and you want no power consumption then I guess radiant is the way to go .
It should be nice and toasty by the ceiling and cold on the floor .
If youwant radiant in floor it will probably take a decent size pump running and I dont have the specs for that , I think we may need just abit more information .

 

[ewdudley]

Depending on your situation you might be able to do what the Romans did: Situate your boiler substantially below the floor level in a cellar or down the hill somewhere and use convection to power your circulation.

--ewd

 

[flyingcow]

A fan induced boiler, does require some energy. Just a thought.

 

[Gooserider]

You will have three main power consumption points to look at...

1. The circulator(s) for the distribution system - depends on just what you need, but I would guess something on the order of a Taco 005 or 007 - probably in the area of 50-75W power draw. Might need two pumps if doing thermal storage, but one would only run while charging the storage, while the other would only run to heat the floor... It would sound like a good job to use one of the newer ECM pumps that can reduce voltage when the heat demand drops, in which case the demand could be a LOT less...

2. Control circuitry and controls - Thermostats, zone valves, an Automag for the overheat dump loop, etc... Probably figure another 100W for now, though it could probably (almost certainly) be done for a lot less

3. The boiler itself - most gassers have a bunch of blowers and other control circuitry, but just the other day I saw a mention of a Varmebaronen line of boilers, at Smokelessheat.com - Haven't seen much mention of their products here, and I have no idea how well they work, but they have a couple of models that claim to be able to run on natural draft only, no blowers or fans needed, as long as they were going into the right chimney configuration... If they work as claimed, might be ideal for off grid, as it gets rid of what might otherwise be a big part of the load...

Sorry I don't have much in the way of numbers, but I hope this helps...

Gooserider