30 year old furnace -- General HVAC question

[pop pop handyman]

I recently purchased a 2500 sq ft house that has 2 zone HWBB heat. Last winter I spent between $500 & $700 a month heating this beast.

I have 2 general questions:

#1) What does 2 zone do for me ? It seems that my configuration of Zone 1 (downstairs) temp does not correspond with my Zone 2 (upstairs) temp. Most of the time the Zone 1 finishes it cycle and Zone 2 will then call for heat. The furnace is constantly turning on & off. Should I do some research & trending ? It seems that if I heated the entire house at the same time, I would use less fuel..

#2) What should I be setting the different Zone temps ? During the day I set Zone 1 @ 70 deg while Zone 2 = 67 deg. At night I set Zone 1 @ 64 deg and Zone 2 @ 70 Deg. Is it too much to drive Zone 1 from 64 to 70 deg ?? You think it is placing too much burden on the old gal ??

Would electronic programmable thermostats be better for me & if so, what do you recommend ?

I know that is more than 2 questions but I hate burnin cash !

Thanx

[applianceman18007260692]

my neighbor across the street has 2 zone heating for 40 years .5 years ago we put in some decent ceiling fans in the two upstairs bedrooms. I he runs them at night the 2 zone works out perfect. Hope this helped.

[AccApp]

[user=19441]pop pop handyman[/user] wrote:

#1) What does 2 zone do for me ? It seems that my configuration of Zone 1 (downstairs) temp does not correspond with my Zone 2 (upstairs) temp. Most of the time the Zone 1 finishes it cycle and Zone 2 will then call for heat. The furnace is constantly turning on & off. Should I do some research & trending ? It seems that if I heated the entire house at the same time, I would use less fuel..

#2) What should I be setting the different Zone temps ? During the day I set Zone 1 @ 70 deg while Zone 2 = 67 deg. At night I set Zone 1 @ 64 deg and Zone 2 @ 70 Deg. Is it too much to drive Zone 1 from 64 to 70 deg ?? You think it is placing too much burden on the old gal ??

#3) Would electronic programmable thermostats be better for me & if so, what do you recommend ?

1) The more zones a given structure has, the more precise the temps in each zone can be kept. Your observation of the firing times are purely coincidental. The boiler takes very little fuel to get to operating temperature. Most boilers, even older ones, are fairly efficient. Concentrate more on eliminating heat and inside moisture loss from the house. Make the air envelope as tight as possible and add insulation if necessary/possible.

2) If a properly sized unit was properly installed it should be able to handle any outside temp. Set it where you feel comfortable, that is why thermostats are adjustable.

3) They would make less work for you. Just be sure to set the thermostat for your type of heating system and to allow for time for temp rise after setback. They are all good.

[AYUDANTE]

Depending on the outside temp and your desired indoor temp. The upstrs will reach temp b4 dwnstrs. if u use the dwnstrs more during the day and sleep in the upstrs, set the desired dwnstrs and set upstrs 5to 7 deg higher.  if u use both equally then 2 zone system will never give you what you need.

 

that’s a command problem with singe unit 2 story homes.

 

the fuel consumption will depend on your comfort zone. Heating is about 70 deg, cooling is about 76 deg, approx 20 or so deg diff of outside ambient.

 

Ayudate.

[mmorgan]

2 zones help you regulate your heat better.

Most won't believe it  but you should drop your night time temperature... mine's set to 55 at night and 65 in the morning till 7:30am. By then the sun's coming in the living room window and driving the temp to around 70. It's been 10-25 degrees here in N. Delaware this past week and my heater never runs continuously... it's actually sized too big for the house and it's radiation but it keeps us comfortable.

Also, I would look at your baseboards. Is there wall to wall carpeting running under the baseboards? Are the units clean, the fins straight and the dampers open on the top of the covers? Heat rises so your upstairs will probably benefit from that. If carpeting is run under the baseboard covers, air can't flow and transfer heat to the rooms. How much furniture do you have in front of the baseboards? All this matters.

Day/night thermostats work so get them and set your nighttime temps back. Your pocketbook will thank you (but your spouse might complain so get a down comforter.

Mac Morgan

 

[jahjahbinks]

baseboards suck they don`t hold much water like the cast iron ones therefore the  boiler requires constant recirculation of the water if yyou want to save money get a raypak hi eff boiler this boiler will heat the water up faster the the standard cast iron boilers and run less

[jehiatt]

Pop PoP

I thought $250 in the coldest month here was out of line in the Atlanta, Ga area. you don't say where you are but you can buy a nice house in this area for your utility bill payment.

I have a central heating natural Gas unit. This house has no wall insulation and no modern insulating windows. I did load up the attic last December with paper scrap insulation.  I constantly look for air leaks which are a major source of heat and cooling losses.

A lot of your heat goes up the flue vent and cold air has to enter the house somewhere to replace it.

I don't know a darn thing about hot water heating except I was cold a lot in grammer school when we had that type of heating system.

I do know heat rises so heat the first floor 8 degress higher than the second. If it doesn't  stay warm upstairs you do have a problem with heat losses.

Look for the air leaks and insulate those hot water feed pipes.

[jehiatt]

[user=19441]Handyman:[/user]

This is a year old post and the your costs of heating and is going up. Forget the zone heating problem. Check your weather proofing and insulation.  Close basement and crawl space air vents in the winter. At the price you are paying you have to be  loosing the heat in some way.

[user=19441]pop pop handyman[/user] wrote:

I recently purchased a 2500 sq ft house that has 2 zone HWBB heat. Last winter I spent between $500 & $700 a month heating this beast.

I have 2 general questions:

#1) What does 2 zone do for me ? It seems that my configuration of Zone 1 (downstairs) temp does not correspond with my Zone 2 (upstairs) temp. Most of the time the Zone 1 finishes it cycle and Zone 2 will then call for heat. The furnace is constantly turning on & off. Should I do some research & trending ? It seems that if I heated the entire house at the same time, I would use less fuel..

#2) What should I be setting the different Zone temps ? During the day I set Zone 1 @ 70 deg while Zone 2 = 67 deg. At night I set Zone 1 @ 64 deg and Zone 2 @ 70 Deg. Is it too much to drive Zone 1 from 64 to 70 deg ?? You think it is placing too much burden on the old gal ??

Would electronic programmable thermostats be better for me & if so, what do you recommend ?

I know that is more than 2 questions but I hate burnin cash !

Thanx