DoggoneDJD
New Member
We removed 2/3 rds of our home to leave us with a 720 s.f., single-story cottage for our senior years. We've air sealed, insulated and replaced windows. We live in central Mass. From using http://www.loadcalc.net/load.php we think we need about 15,000 btus to heat our place, but we'll see what the pro says because we really don't know anything about HVAC but are trying not to shoot ourselves in the foot.
Today we have the old oil boiler, a Smith Series 8 -3H, MBH 113 & Superstor 40 gal. For 25 years it has served us well. Since the demolition we have been left with 24.5 feet of SlantFin baseboard. The boiler temperature is set at 200 degrees. Don't know why. Flue temps run about 525 degrees. By our calculations, we are getting 710 btus per foot so it works out to about 15,000 btus. The current set up is heating our home just fine. At -4 degrees we are toasty at 74 degrees in here. We lower the thermostat at night and have no problem getting it up to temp when 10 degrees outside. Loads of hot water. We have used 600 gallons of oil/year since the downsizing. It doesn't go on and off constantly or anything. It just works fine, though I'm guessing from what we've been reading it could be more efficient if set differently. I was hoping we'd save more in oil than we have but Hubby says it is because we heat hot water all summer.
We hope we are in the last year of fixing the place up and since the boiler is 25 years old thought we'd address the heating system.
We looked at single source heating like mini split or gas direct vent stove but prefer a heat source in each of the three rooms. Due to asthma we are not considering air. We are open to radiant heat (panel radiators) or baseboard. We use oil now so we have been looking at oil boilers but can't find anything small enough. (Hubby insulated (R20) basement/crawlspace walls so he likes the heat off the boiler which keeps below grade between 64 degrees and 72 degrees even in coldest winter, and keeps floors in living area warm.) We are shopping for a backup generator so are open to the idea of using propane if necessary for boiler.
One HVAC guy suggested Viessmann Vitodens 222-F but doesn't have pricing yet because it isn't available yet. We've looked at Viessmann but here's the rub: is it too fancy? We get nervous when a boiler is so sophisticated. Will we spends thousands of dollars to save a few hundred? If Buderus made a tiny oil boiler I'd say "paid" and have done with it. (Maybe put in Buderus radiators because I do so miss radiant heat. There ain't nothing like a wood stove, but it is no longer in the cards for us.)
Does anyone have a clue how to heat such a tiny place?
Thanks, Deb
Today we have the old oil boiler, a Smith Series 8 -3H, MBH 113 & Superstor 40 gal. For 25 years it has served us well. Since the demolition we have been left with 24.5 feet of SlantFin baseboard. The boiler temperature is set at 200 degrees. Don't know why. Flue temps run about 525 degrees. By our calculations, we are getting 710 btus per foot so it works out to about 15,000 btus. The current set up is heating our home just fine. At -4 degrees we are toasty at 74 degrees in here. We lower the thermostat at night and have no problem getting it up to temp when 10 degrees outside. Loads of hot water. We have used 600 gallons of oil/year since the downsizing. It doesn't go on and off constantly or anything. It just works fine, though I'm guessing from what we've been reading it could be more efficient if set differently. I was hoping we'd save more in oil than we have but Hubby says it is because we heat hot water all summer.
We hope we are in the last year of fixing the place up and since the boiler is 25 years old thought we'd address the heating system.
We looked at single source heating like mini split or gas direct vent stove but prefer a heat source in each of the three rooms. Due to asthma we are not considering air. We are open to radiant heat (panel radiators) or baseboard. We use oil now so we have been looking at oil boilers but can't find anything small enough. (Hubby insulated (R20) basement/crawlspace walls so he likes the heat off the boiler which keeps below grade between 64 degrees and 72 degrees even in coldest winter, and keeps floors in living area warm.) We are shopping for a backup generator so are open to the idea of using propane if necessary for boiler.
One HVAC guy suggested Viessmann Vitodens 222-F but doesn't have pricing yet because it isn't available yet. We've looked at Viessmann but here's the rub: is it too fancy? We get nervous when a boiler is so sophisticated. Will we spends thousands of dollars to save a few hundred? If Buderus made a tiny oil boiler I'd say "paid" and have done with it. (Maybe put in Buderus radiators because I do so miss radiant heat. There ain't nothing like a wood stove, but it is no longer in the cards for us.)
Does anyone have a clue how to heat such a tiny place?
Thanks, Deb