How Will You Be Keeping Warm This Winter...........

[toggleswitch2]

Will the cost of fuel afffect your comfort?

No heat yet in my rental apartment. I believe October 15th is the offical beginning of heating season in my area. Not a concern for me in that heat is included in the rent, which is the predominant practice in this area.

My building has a gas-fired, cental, steam heating system that delivers heat via convectors in recessed enclosures.

I have no control over the level of heat provided (nor an "on" or "off"), or the resulting temperature of the rooms.

 

[toggleswitch2]

But I do have some space-heaters.

Here is a Vornado brand (Marriage of "Vortex" and "Tornado") heater with a thermostst that is calibrated in degrees Farenheit. Looks like the heat output (i.e. wattage drawn) is infinitely variable.

$4 at a tag-sale in Connecticut.

It is amazing at what level of dust the camera pics up that one does not notice with the "nekked" eye....

 

[toggleswitch2]

Here is a $1 find. No thermoostst, but good for the bathroom.

and what you see on the tiles is a bad grout joband some paint specs, not filth.........

 

[oldhouseman]

Seven fireplaces

Gas logs. Only heat the rooms that are in use. In the bathrooms we put a ceiling fixture that has the light, vent fan and a heater. The ceilings are low and the heater blows warm air that heats the room up in just a few minutes, -but don't turn on the vent fan while the heater is on! I managed to get the windows all rebuilt downstairs which will help with drafts. We will not get any really cold weather until around Thanksgiving. What I call cold weather is a joke compared to the northeastern states. If it drops below 37 degrees I'm staying in front of the fireplace!

 

[jeffg]

My cashmere collection gets a workout every year. I live in the stuff from November to May.

 

[veg-o-matic]

I will be snuggling with my husband.

veg

 

[jmm63]

I just bought a house this summer and the thought of keeping warm and not going broke frightens me. I have a 25 year old oil fired forced air furnace located in the crawl space. Oil company says it works fine, just needs cleaning and service. I fired it up the other day, very little warm air from the vents. I think there are duct work issues and most of the warm air is going in the crawlspace. Just bought my first 100 gallons of oil for $379, I wonder how long that will last. Thank God for electric mattress pad warmers and spaceheaters. Will upgrade the insulation in the attic in the next couple of weeks.

 

[toggleswitch2]

My oil rep suggested

10 gallons per day heating
3 gallons per day for hot water

If you are replacing your oil-burning head (burner), plese consider a Riello brand unit. I had one, and they are great. Burns much cleaner that a typical Beckett or Carlin etc. branded unit.

Please bear in mind that in a better systems the fan/blower speed in winter (heating season) is much slower than that used for cooling/summer. There is also typically a delay in the blower's operation until the plenum has heated up.

 

[swestoyz]

When I bought my house in October of 2006, I suspected that with a house built in 1914 - there would be no insulation in the exterior walls. That first winter was killer. I wasn't even living in the house, kept it at 50 and was still paying 250 a month for a gas/forced heating.

My suspicions were correct about the lack of insulation when I started to demo the bedrooms. The only 'insulation' was the stucco outside! I insulated all three of the bedrooms with the max I could fix in the 2x4 stud bay, R15. Thankfully sometime in the 60's someone blew insulation up in the attic and it was blown in at about 9 inches. Not wonderful, but better than nothing.

Downstairs I did not have a need to rip down the original plaster to the living room and dining room - so those rooms do not have insulation. But the kitchen will receive the same R15 treatment in the next few weeks. Looking forward to the bills going down this winter!

Ben

 

[countryguy]

I just bought 4 cords of wood to go along with the 2 cords I had remaining from last year. When we are home, the woodstove is burning and it heats the entire house. When we are away from home, the electric baseboards supply the heat.

Gary

 

[fltcoils]

old homes, heat and heat exchange

My home built in '27 has no loose fill insulation in the walls, however being a american 4 square it is compact and has plaster lath, then studs, then boards, then siding. this is actually not so bad for insulation. The wooden storm windows also help a lot, better than alum triple tracks. Some air pocket trapping roman blinds also help.

After ventilating the attic very well, and adding a bathroom vent system, I insulated the attic with 30" of fiberglass. Then I replaced the 80% eff oil forced air with a gas 95%. so heating costs are about $800/yr.

--------
You show encased radiators for your apartment heat. You say it cant be regulated, which I suppose means that there are no flow control valves for the fluid in the radiator.

I helped a friend get better regulation, hot and cold, in such a situation.

1, insulation blankets over the radiator to cut back on heat, adjust convection openings and blankets to cut down on heat output.

2, forced air thru the radiator box will increase the transmission of heat to the room air. The fluid leaves the radiator hot, but if you use one of those fans to blow air thru it, instead of just convection, you can take away more heat from the fluid and so make your room warmer.

hope that helps.

 

[dj-gabriele]

Interesting reading, as usual, whenever the topic comes in touch with different style/habits in the energy engeneering field!!!

At my place we have central heating via "wet" underfloor heating, very confortable, I love walking on warm marble! Last year we paid 2400 euros (3300 USD, 1900 GBP) for the whole season and there was a little spare cash after the billing but it will be used as a credit for this season because methane prices have got around 15% higher than last year. My house is kept at costant 20°C (exactly 68°F) 24/24hours every day since october 1st to may 1st, it is 130 sqm (1400 sqf)
At my parents in the south the heating season begins around 20th november and lasts till april. The radiator are hot water (72°C, 162°F) and the house is set at 18,5 °C (65°F) 8 hours per day and the rest of the time 16°C (61°F) since they work and the boiler is private. The averange expense is 7 euros (9,60USD, 5,50GBP) each day for combined heating and hot water since they have propane canisters because the methane piping was installed only a month ago, their house is 110 sqm(1180 sqf).
Both flats have double glass windows and fiber glass insulation in the outside walls, plus at my parents' the boiler is the low temperature type (yet, not condensing) but with a net (measured) efficency of 93% of LHV.

I have no control over the heating in my flat but at my parents' I'm sure that they're going to wait for the first bill (methane is much cheaper than propane canisters) and then decide how to behave in these days of rising costs!

 

[dj-gabriele]

Riello!

I didn't know that they sold world-wide!
Anyway, if you're going to replace the burner, I couldn't agree more with Steve, you should have a look at their catalogue, burners and boilers are among the best you can find here and they last ages! At my parents' previous flat the boiler and burner (Riello) even survived a flood! And best of all they all have a low NOx and SOx generation, many of them burning with little or no visible smoke.

 

[whirlcool]

Between wife, dogs and electic blanket we will be quite toasty this winter. Our home has forced air gas heat and our home is one of those "Energy Saver" homes that were popular in the mid 90's. It was built in 1994. Our winter time gas bill is usually around $65.-$75.00 per month.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Well, in theory, I could use Danfoss valves on the steam valve end.

Danfoss valve are mechanical thermostats. When there is a call for heat they open and when satisfied they close. The air-vent valve would be just beyond this, with the Danfoss valve between the radiator and the air-vent valve.

For those not familiar with a one-pipe steam system, the vales connecitng the convector ("radiator") must be fully opened or fully closed. Otherwise the radiator will eventually fill with water (steam condensate) and they will bang and make all kinds of noises. Then they will leak.

On the far end of the convector, there is an air-vent valve whkich is "normally-open". This allows the air in the system to be evacuated by the steam behind it pushing it out. When the steam hits the air-vent valve and heats it, the valve shuts, holding in the steam. The valve may also open and close when there is steam in the pipes, but the radiator gets cold.

A defective air vent valve that stays open at all times leaks steam. Moisture and humidity damage possible in room. [Fresh water to replace what was lost and oxygen constantly in theboiler kills your boiler quicker.] A valve stuck "closed" means no heat at that radiator.

Of course to limit heat one has been known to use heavy-duty aluminum foil. When the natural air convection is blocked the radiaor's ability to heat a room is reduced tremendously.

 

[peterh770]

I keep my house at 62 during the winter. If I get really chilled, I will crank it up to 68. It's easy to get warm when you have 12 cats piled on top of you...

 

[drhardee]

I use the "Double-Dachs" method. Two dachshunds in the bed under the covers...one at my feet and one snuggling at my waist. It keeps human to human snuggling to an unfortunate minimum, but one has to do what one has to do on cold winter nights.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Thebiggest ones I know of are Gorton Double Ds. *LOL*

To balance a one-pipe steam heating system, air-vent valves have vaying size orificies(SHUT-UP!). Upper stories (Storys=> UK) need bigger faster venting as do those radiators furthest from the boiler.

Too-pipe steam systems are used in tall or long buildings. There is a steam supply and a condensate/suction return. In this case stam is kept from flowing through the suction/return line by a stam trap. Acts just like an air-vent valve, but the escaping air is directed into the suction pipe.

Steam systems BTW are well-suited for solid fuels and were created before electricity. The raging fire when first lit boils the water and creates the head of steam, and the dying fire then maintains steam pressure. The steam flows to all rooms without mechanical or electrical assistance.

Actually a gas-fired steam system with a mili-volt pilot generator is non-electric! The pilot light itself generates the 1,000ths of a volt (by striking two dissimilar metal pieces) needed to open the electric gas solenoid valve!

Very cozy comforatble heat, but you ned a basement and spring and summer tendd to be a bit overheated.

A good system has a heat-anticipator which is a small reisitor that heats the thermostst (when the system is on) to shut off the heat a bit earlier. Residual steam and heat in the cast-iron pipes and radiators then brings the room temp up the desired setting/level without overheating.

http://www.pexsupply.com/CategoryPre.asp?cID=300&brandid=

 

[toggleswitch2]

TWO not too.

UGH!