Posted by Harold Kestenholz - Hydronic Network on March 10, 2001 at 08:20:37:
In Reply to: I am replacing a 60-year old boiler posted by S. Hemami on March 10, 2001 at 04:24:55:
Before 1950, boilers were fueled by wood or coal. There were relatively few oil or gas boilers. The coal boiler was 45% efficient by the nature of the fuel. The boiler passages could not be made 'tight' enough to extract more heat from the fuel without clogging the passages in a week with soot. Oil made the boilers a little bit more efficient, gas made the boilers less efficient by the way the fuel burned.
Changing to a new boiler improves efficiency enormously. Depending upon the type of system you have, the new boiler can cut your fuel bill in half. Add your fuel bills over the last five years, half them, and divide by 60 to see if you can amortise the cost of the loan payments through the savings over a five year period.