The price of heating your home
Mar 8th 2013, 4:26 pm
#91
I said what ?!
Joined: Aug 2010
Location: Peterborough, Ontario.
Posts: 1,079
Mar 8th 2013, 7:04 pm
#92
Pretty Fly For A Whiteguy
Joined: Feb 2008
Location: Barrie, Ontario(formerly Penperlleni, Cymru)
Posts: 570
Re: The price of heating your home
I do. Would recommend it as long as you plan on staying in the place you're living in. Also if you're in a hard water area, get a softener too. These things get full of calcium pretty quick. Not so difficult to deal with, but another chore I'd rather not have to bother with. Right now you can get a good deal on a bottom of the range Rinnai with a standard vent kit for about $1500 I think. It's a good deal. Should run two showers.
Mar 8th 2013, 7:22 pm
#93
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 557
Re: The price of heating your home
It is perfectly logical.
It takes more energy to heat a house up again than it does to maintain a steady temperature (where the furnace only has to come on for a few minutes if the temp drops below whatever you have set it at). If your house cools down to 40 degrees (just to pick a random figure) how much energy do you think it takes to get it back up to a nice comfortable 70 degrees? Now compare that to how much energy is needed to just maintain a nice even temperature of 70 degrees. It obviously costs more to make up that 30 degree difference than it does to maintain the 70 degrees (ie. the furnace will only come on if the temp drops below 70 degrees and will only stay on for a few minutes to get it back up to 70 degrees as opposed to having to come all the way back up from 40 degrees). The city vs. highway driving analogy is perfectly apt for this discussion.
It takes more energy to heat a house up again than it does to maintain a steady temperature (where the furnace only has to come on for a few minutes if the temp drops below whatever you have set it at). If your house cools down to 40 degrees (just to pick a random figure) how much energy do you think it takes to get it back up to a nice comfortable 70 degrees? Now compare that to how much energy is needed to just maintain a nice even temperature of 70 degrees. It obviously costs more to make up that 30 degree difference than it does to maintain the 70 degrees (ie. the furnace will only come on if the temp drops below 70 degrees and will only stay on for a few minutes to get it back up to 70 degrees as opposed to having to come all the way back up from 40 degrees). The city vs. highway driving analogy is perfectly apt for this discussion.
All houses suffer from heat loss and making your house more insulated is the only way to make real savings otherwise the more "comfortable" (and to make it more comfortable and maintain it the boiler WILL be on more - more fuel usage = more cost) it is the more money its costing
Your car analogy doesnt stack up in the real world as you arent comparing apples with apples - a boiler uses a steady flow of fuel no matter how much or little its on and never ramps up or down, a car on a highway is similar to this (high gear and low RPM means low fuel consumption) but city driving (stop start, accelerating, low gears etc) mean more fuel usage
Last edited by energysolutions; Mar 8th 2013 at 7:57 pm.
Mar 8th 2013, 8:15 pm
#94
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 230
Re: The price of heating your home
Many thanks for the comments, feedback and science lessons. Seems like most of us are being stitched up one way or another. 
