Hello - First time in the "boiler room". I started to use the search engine and got side tracked, I realize this is probably very elementary so excuse me....
I have oil heat in the house which also provides hot water. Last year I started burning wood for heat through the FPX 44 and have acheived great results with it. After completing a full year I saw my oil consumption drop dramatically. However, I still feel it was too much to provide a backup source of heat (rarely comes on to provide heat) and hot water.
I do not have a separate or "spare" HW tank.
My Oil burner seems to kick on frequently and run for very short periods. I'm assuming it is working at keeping the HW at the minimum heat.
So, I'm beginning to think of ways to improve yet I am pretty uneducated.
First thought, is there any "low hanging fruit"? Things I can check or do that require little effort or cost that could improve efficiency (other than perhaps kicking my 3 teenagers out of the house and reducing shower time).
Longer term. What are the potential options to invest in order to improve efficiency - associated with that, how much more efficient are we talking? Thinking about pay back period. If they improvement is drastic and the investment is low then it may be worth it and visa versa.
I realise there are probably a ton of variables required in order to provide an answer. What I am hoping to get is direction here.... things to consider, ideas, etc...
I'd appreciate any insight you can provide. Thanks.
I have oil heat in the house which also provides hot water. Last year I started burning wood for heat through the FPX 44 and have acheived great results with it. After completing a full year I saw my oil consumption drop dramatically. However, I still feel it was too much to provide a backup source of heat (rarely comes on to provide heat) and hot water.
I do not have a separate or "spare" HW tank.
My Oil burner seems to kick on frequently and run for very short periods. I'm assuming it is working at keeping the HW at the minimum heat.
So, I'm beginning to think of ways to improve yet I am pretty uneducated.
First thought, is there any "low hanging fruit"? Things I can check or do that require little effort or cost that could improve efficiency (other than perhaps kicking my 3 teenagers out of the house and reducing shower time).
Longer term. What are the potential options to invest in order to improve efficiency - associated with that, how much more efficient are we talking? Thinking about pay back period. If they improvement is drastic and the investment is low then it may be worth it and visa versa.
I realise there are probably a ton of variables required in order to provide an answer. What I am hoping to get is direction here.... things to consider, ideas, etc...
I'd appreciate any insight you can provide. Thanks.