Indoor temp limit vs. outside temp

Unknown

Tell the plumber he's full of s**t... Forced hot water system can keep the home warm enough even with old leaky waindows, etc... Do what Brad recommended and in meantime, what the limit on the boiler control? It's may be set too low for the outside temps... Do the system have indoor/outdoor reset control?

huck_2

can't get temp up to 70

over the last week, with the overnight temp in the single digits and a wind chill even lower, a homeowner isn't able to get the stat to read any higher than 67 degrees even when they jack the heat setting up to 75 or higher.

i was talking with a local plumber who was commenting that when the outside temp is in the low single digits, a forced hot water system just isn't able to over power mother nature to get the house up to 70.

this house was built last year in Providence, well constructed, well insulated, boiler and baseboards sized correctly and sufficiently.

in milder temps, the indoor temp can get up to and over 70 degrees. is the heat loss increased with the wind chill blowing on this house which is exposed on a corner lot so much that it just can't win the fight to get it up over 70?

i appreciate anyone who can share their knowledge here.
thanks

Brad White

At the Limit

Accepting what you said about the boiler and radiation being properly sized, (and assuming it is working properly) I would say the system has found it's balance point.

If your calculated heat loss is accurate, the wildcard is likely infiltration. Wind chill as the term is usually used is really physiological to living beings (you and I) due to evaporation and the faster carrying away of surface heat.

On a house this shows up as diminishment of the air film (R of 0.17 whoopee) but mostly in air leakage into and through the structure itself.

I disagree with your local plumber if what he said was that a forced hot water system cannot get a house up to temperature. ANY system properly sized to the task can do it. His statement, if his own, is the equivalent of saying, "I am out of ideas".

I would recommend a blower door test and sealing regimen to minimize those air leaks. Infiltration in a well insulated house can be a third to half the heat loss. When it is windy out and that increases by 20 or 30 percent if not more, it becomes a huge number.