I'm looking for some opinions on installing one of the Englander/Summers Heat stoves in my home to cut down on the current heating cost.
I understand that under normal circumstances using pellet heat isn't much of a cost savings int he long run. I do have some special circumstances, though. I have a 70 year old 1200 sq ft home in New England with a 50+ year old American Standard steam boiler. Every room in the house has a 4-10 fin single-pipe steam radiator. Efficiency is NOT a word I would use with 100 yards of the thing. It's been relatively mild out this year and I've already gone though over 200 gallons of heating oil since Thanksgiving. I wake up in the morning and if the living room (only insulated room in the house) temp is below 60 I kick the thermostat up to 70. Once the Living room is up to temp (about 60-90 minutes) it goes back off until the following morning. This method usually keeps the downstairs in the 60s all day and the upstairs in the mid 50s-60.
The way I see it, at $3.10/gal in CT I'm already spending about $10.00 a day to keep my house cold but livable in mild weather. I know without a doubt that I need an entirely new primary heating system. I also know that blown in insulation would help a TON. Unfortunately, with my home improvement budget tied up in a few other projects right now, I can't do anything anything too expensive until the spring. I figure I can install a 1500 sq ft Englander pellet stove in my living room for ~$1500 or less. I could run then the thing wide open for 24 hours all day long for about the same cost as turning on my boiler once a day. My thinking is that if needed I could always kick on the boiler for an extra boost of heat on the really cold days.
I do see this as a temporary fix to an even bigger problem, though. It may be a challenge getting the heat upstairs, but honestly we're already used to cold bedrooms after a few winters here. I'm really just looking for a more efficient way to provide a STEADYsource of heat for my home right now with the least out of pocket expense. It may not me cheap by other people's standards, but with my current situation I can't imagine it being any more expensive than what I'm spending now!
Am I at least on the right track or am I completely out to lunch?
I understand that under normal circumstances using pellet heat isn't much of a cost savings int he long run. I do have some special circumstances, though. I have a 70 year old 1200 sq ft home in New England with a 50+ year old American Standard steam boiler. Every room in the house has a 4-10 fin single-pipe steam radiator. Efficiency is NOT a word I would use with 100 yards of the thing. It's been relatively mild out this year and I've already gone though over 200 gallons of heating oil since Thanksgiving. I wake up in the morning and if the living room (only insulated room in the house) temp is below 60 I kick the thermostat up to 70. Once the Living room is up to temp (about 60-90 minutes) it goes back off until the following morning. This method usually keeps the downstairs in the 60s all day and the upstairs in the mid 50s-60.
The way I see it, at $3.10/gal in CT I'm already spending about $10.00 a day to keep my house cold but livable in mild weather. I know without a doubt that I need an entirely new primary heating system. I also know that blown in insulation would help a TON. Unfortunately, with my home improvement budget tied up in a few other projects right now, I can't do anything anything too expensive until the spring. I figure I can install a 1500 sq ft Englander pellet stove in my living room for ~$1500 or less. I could run then the thing wide open for 24 hours all day long for about the same cost as turning on my boiler once a day. My thinking is that if needed I could always kick on the boiler for an extra boost of heat on the really cold days.
I do see this as a temporary fix to an even bigger problem, though. It may be a challenge getting the heat upstairs, but honestly we're already used to cold bedrooms after a few winters here. I'm really just looking for a more efficient way to provide a STEADYsource of heat for my home right now with the least out of pocket expense. It may not me cheap by other people's standards, but with my current situation I can't imagine it being any more expensive than what I'm spending now!
Am I at least on the right track or am I completely out to lunch?
