Lowering water temperature

Larry Chappa

Water temp on my crown cast iron boiler is 180.Would I benefit by reducing the water temp 15-20 degrees? I am running a taco 007 circulator.I realize that the circulator will run longer and use more electricity,but the boiler should use less gas.Is this the right approach to try to save some heating costs?

Dale

be careful

The issue with cast iron boilers is condensation, you don't want anything less than 140 degrees to enter the return of the boiler for any extended period of time, like a long startup with big old radiators. Crown gives installers specific bypass piping drawings to mix water and keep the boiler from seeing too cold water. The real issue is how much heat do you need and when it's really cold, do you need 180, maybe yes maybe no, depends on the load and installed radiation. 180 was a very common design temp in the past. A pro can install an indoor outdoor reset that changes water temp as outside temp changes, if you don't have a domestic water coil in the boiler the reset does save some money. If you just feel like turning down the temp to 160 you should have 140 coming back. Keep watch for condensation from the boiler. I know a person with lots of time who manually adjusts water temp, claims to save per degree day.