Advice for upgrading system

Unknown

Sorry, what's a Apollo system? Any relationship with the spacecraft?

Jeff_131

Advice for upgrading Apollo and hot water radiator system

We are going through our first winter in our new 1923 colonial and trying to decide whether to improve our HVAC and if so what our best option is.

The house is ~3000 sq ft. For heating we have a gas boiler (about 25 years old) with 137k btu output. The boiler powers an apollo system downstairs and hot water radiators upstairs and downstairs. The radiators were original steam and many of them are piped incorrectly for the current system and do not put out much heat (especially the upstairs ones). Also, the house was formerly a duplex so the radiators from the two sides were spliced together, leaving a lot of extra piping and a generally inefficient setup). The radiator system circulates about 300 gallons of water whereas my HVAC guy says if installed properly it would only need about 50 gallons. Since the radiators are not functioning properly , currently we are only running the apollo system (meaning the only heat source upstairs is what rises from the downstairs system). The 2 problems with this arrangement are: 1) We are heading for ~$400 gas bill for the month eventhough the weather has been relatively mild (low's around 30 and highs in the 50's) and the thermostat is set between 63 and 65. 2) I'm concerned the radiator pipes traveling through unheated attic space and wall cavities will burst if hot water is not circulating through them. I'm also just concerned in general about leaks from the radiators (have already had one that ruined a ceiling).

For cooling, the apollo unit handles the downstairs and an A/C only forced air unit that is on its last legs handles the upstairs.

Working with my HVAC guy we have determined the best course would be to install a heat pump in the attic to handle the heating and air for the upstairs. Also, we would repipe the radiators, cutting out the upstairs ones completely and properly installing the downstairs ones. This would hopefully improve the efficiency of the entire system and ease fears of pipes leaking/bursting.

Any advice is appreciated.

Jeff_132

apollo

http://www.apollohydroheat.com/about.html

CMadatMe

I got a 100 bucks

says the boiler is too small for the load.

Erich_3

Find a Steam Pro

This may seem a little odd but I suggest you find a steam expert and return the heating system to steam. You will have a warm house and save money. When steam radiators are converted to hot water usage they can often be problematic. I suspect that the last time your house had proper heat was when it was heated with steam. If you use steam you will not have to have a heat pump for the top floor. If you are in Northern or Central New York a heat pump is not the way to go. Your proposed solution is needlessly complicated and needlessly expensive; Apollo system, hot water heating and a heat pump. Another advantage of steam is that you will not have to worry about burst pipes because they will not be constantly filled with water. You might want to post where you live and that way a steam expert in your area could contact you.

Dale

Many choices

Well, since you are thinking about AC need, and if you plan to stay in this house I think the best long term flexible most effecient system is the way to go. All the warm air vendors like Carrier, Trane ect. have dual fuel systems using a heat pump and gas heat. No sense not using high COP heat pump in mild weather, the AC side putting the majority of the supply up stairs if you have an open stairwell. Then get a mod con gas boiler for the upper and lower level, I think the rads you have could be used if supplied with pex lines. Then do the downstairs with the boiler. All of this kind of stuff should be done after all the weatherizing. Who knows what fuel mix will be most effecient in the future, this way you can adapt.