System 2000 is rated the number-one fuel-neutral system in U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory studies; Weil-McLain’s gas-fired boilers distribute consistent warmth with long-lasting performance; The IntelliCon-FA guarantees a 10 to 30 percent reduction of energy use and provides a four to 18 month payback period for homeowners.
For homeowners looking to remodel or replace a heating system, first check out the New York State Energy$mart Program. The program provides a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Accredited Home Performance contractor to audit your home and assess your situation. Oftentimes the heating system isn’t the problem, but rather that your home’s windows need to be caulked or replaced, insulation needs to be beefed up, or ducts need cleaning. The audit will quantify the energy savings, cost, and financial payback for all recommended measures. Before making any big purchases, spend a few hundred dollars and find out exactly what your home needs. If it turns out your insulation isn’t at fault, and you can’t seem to stay comfortable or keep your heating bills down, you can optimize your existing forced air or hot water heating system with an electronic heat manager, like Intellidyne’s IntelliCon-FA or HW+, which guarantee an energy savings of 10 to 30 percent and cost roughly $400 installed. They do this by monitoring and analyzing the load on a heating or cooling system in real time, and then dynamically modifying the way that system is controlled or “cycled.” Many other intelligent controls are available as well, so consult a heating professional.
But if you’re at the point of replacing your system, upgrading your boiler or furnace to a high efficiency system is a great option.
“Your boiler and furnace are the heart of the home,” Robert Mahoney, equipment sales manager for Abbott & Mills, says. While Abbott & Mills sells Weil-McLain, Thermal Cut, and other brands, they recommend System 2000, one the most efficient heating systems that can work on oil, natural gas, or propane. This fuel-neutral system can save fuel consumption by up to 40 percent or more. Unlike a typical burner, once it is shut off System 2000 will continue to send all existing heat through to the desired location. “You are using every bit of water, instead of letting it just sit in the system, wasting your money,” Mahoney says. Systems like this range in price, depending on the size of your home, but can typically be purchased for around $8,000.
For homeowners looking for an alternative type of heating, radiant floor heating, although best used in specific rooms such as bathrooms and kitchens, is an option that has gained popularity. It is a system that supplies heat directly to the floors, instead of using baseboards or ducts. “With radiant floor heating you don’t have to worry about where you put your furniture, which is always a nice option for homeowners,” Mahoney says. There is no energy lost and floors can be heated with a wide variety of energy sources, including standard gas or oil-fired boilers, wood-fired boilers, and solar water heaters.
These days a 200-gallon delivery of oil can run you between $500 and $600 from a full-service company, and around 30 to 40 cents cheaper per gallon from a strictly oil company. If you are looking to minimize the amount of oil you consume, a fireplace, run by either wood, gas, electricity, or pellets, can suffice. In addition to providing heat for your home, they are aesthetically appealing, and in some cases, become a decorative piece. An EPA-certified woodburning fireplace can heat a home ranging from 1,200 square feet to 3,500 square feet and burn for eight to 10 hours. The advantages are shown in the amount of money you save each year by only having to set your thermostat to a minimum.
While the savings might be very appealing, remember a woodburning fireplace is a hands-on heating source, notes Javier Fiscal, owner of FireScapes of Newburgh. Someone needs to be responsible for stacking wood and tending to the fire, he says. The Twinfire, a German fireplace, which is 93 percent efficient, the highest in the market, will cost between $5,500 and $9,000, depending on the size and model. “This is the cleanest woodburning stove on the market,” Niels Wittus, owner of Wittus-Fire by Design, says.
Unlike a wood stove, a pellet-burning fireplace works off a thermostat, like a regular boiler, so you can set your comfort level and leave. It can heat up to 2,000 square feet, but the pellets tend to be more expensive than wood. An average price of a ton of pellets, which is 50 40-lb bags, is $399. Average consumers in this area will go through three tons. The advantage of both wood and pellet-burning fireplaces is the $1,500 tax credit available until December 31. As long as your stove meets 75 percent efficiency, you can qualify. Since most of the fireplaces at FireScapes will cost between $3,500 and $5,000, this can make a significant difference.
An alternative to oil or wood is a gas fireplace, which is 83 to 86 percent efficient and also runs off a thermostat. The idea behind gas fireplaces is that you have to get the heat to circulate, Fiscal says. Putting this in an open floor plan home works best. This can heat up to 3,000 square feet, and ranges in the same price point. For small areas, space heaters are also a good option, as they will heat 400 to 500 square feet. These products use small light bulbs, and are zone-specific.
A long-term option is geothermal heating, which primarily relies on the earth’s natural thermal energy, a renewable source, in addition to a small amount of electricity to circulate high-quality heating throughout a home. “This type of heat pump is hard to renovate into older homes, so it is often more economical for a homeowner who is building to use this option,” Fred Schabot, residential sales manager for Lowe Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning, says. Although the initial investment for geothermal heating can be 10 times more expensive than conventional systems, little to no maintenance is required and it is meant to last for decades.
For homeowners with enough roof space, solar heating is an ecofriendly way to heat the home. “This three to four day job will add an additional water tank to your house and run lines up to the roof,” Schabot says. This can run you $5,000 to $10,000, depending of the number of people in your home. This also has government incentives, depending on the type of installation, which can save you up to 30 percent on your taxes. In conjunction to the year-round savings on your energy bill, solar panels are worth the investment if your home is an ideal solar candidate.
There are plenty of heating sources on the market, ranging in price. Although most seem like a big expense up front, upgrading or using alternatives will pay for themselves in the long run. For those not looking to make big purchases any time soon, be more conscious of your thermostat, and know that bundling up is always an inexpensive option.
Resource List
Abbott & Mills Newburgh; (845) 561-0462; abbottandmills.com
Advanced Radiant Design Stone Ridge; (845) 687-0044; radiant-design.com
Bottini Saugerties; (845) 246-4931; bottinifuel.com
Fireplaces by Design Hillburn; (845) 357-6062; fireplacesbydesigninc.com
FireScapes Newburgh; (845) 863-0013; firescapeshv.com
Kosco Rhinebeck; (845) 331-0770; koscocomfort.com
Lowe Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Kingston; (845) 331-2480; lowe-plumbing.com
Mountain Flame Arkville; (845) 586-2700; mountainflame.com
NuHeat (800) 778-9276; nuheat.com
Paraco Rye Brook; (914) 250-3700; paracogas.com
Water Furnace (800) 934-5667; www.waterfurnace.com
Wittus-Fire by Design Pound Ridge; (914) 764-5679; wittus.com
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