Advice Please: Shutting off a Boiler

If it has an electronic ignition it should be safe to turn off during the day, since that's essentially what's happening during its normal operation. You're just manually altering the duty cycle.
Is there a programmable thermostat that's available for this type of unit?

Also....I'd investigate the possibility of upgrading your insulation. The heat that you're opening the door to dissipate should be keeping the water warm instead. Boilers are a little bit more complicated than a gas HW heater but there might be some more meat on the bone with the expansion tank and some of the plumbing. You may also want to think about going the other way and closing the door and insulating the HVAC closet/room to keep the heat in the plumbing.
Talk to an HVAC tech.
A good one will probably find a way to keep more of the heat in the pipes and also be able to recommend a programmable doo-dad to keep the boiler from cycling when it doesn't have to.

Good Luck!

 

Is there a circulating pump running? I don't see how a NG boiler can be using that much electricity. There is a thermacouple, ignition, and solenoid. The fact it is electric ignition means it is newish.

Thinking about it, is the hot water tank off to the side on its own zone, or is it a coil through the boiler tank? The first would use a circulator. How about insulating it so that the pump doesn't come on as often?

 

I am also suspicious of your conclusion that the boiler is the culprit. Why not contact your local electricity supplier to see what they can offer to help you identify where all of your consumption is occurring, and what can be done to mitigate your usage. At the very least they can put you in touch with someone who will perform an energy audit in your home. This will cost you money initially, but should pay you back in future savings.

 

Are there cold parts of New Mexico......like up in the mountains ?
My gut feeling is that a boiler setup like you have is a VERY poor choice for most of New Mexico.

But then, it is highly unlikely that it consumes much electricity, especially when the heating function is not being used.

Don't you also have a separate AC unit ??

Altering the duty cycle for the boiler might save you a bit on NG costs but probable little or nothing on electricity.

 

I also doubt that the boiler is consuming much electricity by itself.

My steam heating boiler runs on natural gas, and when I had to run it from an inverter on my Prius c after Hurricane Sandy I measured its electrical demand. It used between 15 and 20 watts, depending on whether the heat was off or on. I can't imagine that your system could use much more than that, unless there are any pump motors running, as Trollbait notes above.

 

Not knowing how the room temperatures are controlled, it is possible that the circulating pump runs constantly. 200 watt sounds about right. 7 kw-h/day is only 210 per month. That is pretty low already. What is your gas bill? Using the boiler to heat domestic hot water is pretty inefficient, especially in summer.

 

And size of the pumps. One large pump with solenoids for the zones would use more power than a small pump for each zone when only heating one zone.

If a pump is running all the time, that would explain the electric consumption. It shouldn't be running like that though. It should only run while the hot water tank is being heating.

Something to check for is if the system has a hot water recirculator to provide instant hot water at the tap. Darrel/evnut mentioned the Chili Pepper one here awhile back. That use a good one; you only ran the pump when you were going to need hot water. Less efficient systems circulated hot water through the line and back to the tank regularly to maintain the heat in the line. A bad one would run all the time.

The comparable efficiency of a separate water heater and boiler heated water depend on the overall system. If the the two are of equal efficiency in heating the water, the boiler based system will consume more electric due to the pumps. How much more depends on how well the tank is insulated. If the boiler is a newer, high efficiency condensing unit, having it heat the water than using a basic econ, 6 yr water heater.

 

I switched from oil to gas a few years ago, and looked into the indirect tank type. The plumber recommended a separate water heater, but I'm not 100% satisfied with the job. However, to get the federal credits/deduction, you have to use an approved installer. Otherwise, I'd have paid my friend to help me install the system, and have gotten an on demand water heater for the cost of the tank I got.

Assuming a modern boiler(a furnace heats air directly), there is a pump that circulates water through the heating element while the boiler is firing. That pump could provide all the circulating for the water heater, but it might have its own pump. Regardless, using pumps is better than more fuel that an indirect coil in the boiler would use. As I said above, the shouldn't be running all the time. If it's a tank within a tank design, it would only need to run boiler water to the tank, and then hold it until the heat transferred to the tap water tank.

Compared to a stand alone unit, it will be easier to insulate. The supply and return lines from the boiler will be easier to stuff insulation around than the larger exhaust and intake of the stand alone. A higher end unit tank will also be made from stainless, and not have a sacrificial anode to leave access too.

 

You can turn off all of your electrical breakers; then turn on one to see if it has a electrical drain somewhere in that circuit ( with all of your lights, appliances, ect. cut off ). Then you cut that breaker off, then cut the next one on; so on ,so on. This might take awhile, because you have to check everything.

Hope you find it!!

 

It is always possible that you have a defective electric meter (long shot).
You don't have any close neighbors do you ??

 

Check your attic spaces. I once found someone had left a light on in there, no one knows for how long, basements as well. Around here the bottom of houses are made of practically solid cement nowadays.

SCH-R530M ?

 

The original boiler in our house was a coal-fired monster. Even converted to natural gas, it kicked out 400,000 btu, which is crazy. Between the boiler, the wood fireplace, and the woodstove in the kitchen, the place was an environmental disaster. Now, with proper insulation and a more efficient system, our energy expenditure is a small fraction of what it used to be.

Still, the basement room housing the boiler tends to be warmer. The pipes are all insulated, as is the separate domestic water tank. We use hot water year-round, but the hydronic heating portion is shut off for at least six months of the year. It's never really shut down, of course, because it fires up on demand to heat more water. With the pumps, it uses some electricity, but overall, it's far more efficient than the previous system. I have not measured the electrical consumption, but I would be surprised if it used more than the TV.

 

The Weil McClean is a good boiler, but if it is oversized for the application given better insulation etc it may r time to consider changing it out. Rinnai makes a series of combi boilers that do both hot water and hydronic that come close to 96% efficient. Additionally, with an outdoor temp reset device they allow the return temps of the water to be below about 140f allowing the boiler to run in a condensing condition (as designed) and ergo they run much more efficiently.

My gas supplier is paying me $1000 to change out my old boiler for a new Rinnai 96%, that cost me $2200 plus installation. Pretty simple to swap one out. Also they are very small and can be placed nearly anywhere, including a sleeping room closet since they are sealed combustion.

Programable t-stats, including radiator (or fin tube) stats allow individual room heat options almost regardless of the zoning of the system.

Depending on y our heating load, a hydronic heat pump might be ideal for your climate. Find a good green building HVAC designer to run through the options. The air source heat pumps are very efficient in moderate climes, the ground source are even more so. This is especially true if you have in floor radiant, since it can run at a much lower delta than a fin tube or radiator system.

Icarus

 

^ Only as best I can. I'm not a boiler expert, just learning as I change my own.

An outdoor temp reset is a feature of modern condesnsing boilers that allows the boiler to run at a cooler (ergo a exhaust gas condensing temp) making the boiler more efficient. In the old days, with cas iron boilers, condensing temps were a no no, as the condensation in the cast iron boiler was a recipe for I oiler rust and failure.

Modern condensing boilers are built out of stainless steel, and can (and should) run at cooler input temps. So for example, if the outdoor temp is say 40f the boiler can run at say 135f return temp and still provide the proper amount of heat into the loop(s) . If the outdoor temp drops to say 0f the boiler can run at say 165f to deliver enough heat to the loop(s). (within the BTU limits of the boiler of course.

Condensing boilers are designed to keep the flue temp lower, allowing the heat exchanger to capture more of the potential heat. Modern condensing boilers can (when properly sized and installed) achieve efficiencies in excess of 95%. That said, it is important to size the boiler for the load (as well as th emitters (fin tube/radiators/radiant floor etc) so that the boiler can run efficiently as much of the time as possible. Changing out a good working reasonably efficient 80+% boiler with a high EF condensing doesn't always make sense if you can't get the new one to run at condensing temps often enough, as it isn't cost effective, hence the requirement to have a good boiler guy do the design calc. That said, boiler guys tend to be old school and not all of them undstand the nuance of modern condensing boilers.

An outdoor reset essentialy monitors the outside temp and adjusts the boiler accordingly.

Icarus

PS. If I got some of this wrong, someone might correct me.

PPS. There is a pretty good HVAC/boiler forum call, iirc "heatinghelp.com"