Turning off furnace?

realhelen

First I want to say what a great site this is....I just moved into a new 1st floor apt. with a steam furnace came online to find out WHY I had to drain the water weekly and check the water level on the glass tube......I've already learned a TON from reading the articles and posts here. Happy to say that based on what I've read so far, it looks like things are set properly.



Now on to my question(s).....I work 12hr shifts and have been told (via a plumber friend of a friend) that I can shut off the furnace when I am out of the house those days in an effort to save money. I searched the boards and didn't find an answer that directly referenced steam furnaces. Can I really turn it off? If not, how low can I turn down my thermostat?



Thanks for your help!

BobC

Better off to find and fix drafts

Turning off the boiler is not a good idea, if you were unable to return home for any reason, you could face frozen pipes if it was really cold outside. It really is not worth the risk.



You can turn the thermostat down as low as it will go but be aware that there are pipes in the walls that can freeze if the temperature is too low and the outside gets very cold. Your landlord will not be very happy if he finds out you were the cause of burst pipes.



Steam systems have a lot of mass and so does your apartment and contents. the problem with deep setbacks in temperature is that it takes a lot of fuel to heat everything back up. If you are comfortable living at 50 or 55 all well and good good but you will find almost no savings in fuel by bouncing between 55 and 65 on a daily basis. If your going to be away for a few days it might be worthwhile but on a daily basis it will cost you money. You would be better off to find and fix drafts to keep the heated air from escaping.



I know this because i tried it when i was young, I find slight setbacks work but deep setbacks burn more fuel than they save.



Bob

realhelen

Interesting....

I only work 3 days a week.....and on those day's I've been turning the thermostat back to 52 when I leave, and bringing it up to about 64 when I get home. At bedtime I generally turn it down to about 60. I've found that I'm comfortable at around 64/66.



Do you think I'd use less oil if I keep the thermostat higher while I'm gone?



Thanks for your reply. I definitely have more work to do in the insulating/blocking leaks area. I've got insulated curtains up and they make a significant difference, but I do need to seal the doors better.

BobC

small setback usually best.

Most people find a small set back helpful for comfort but large setbacks just are not worth it unless it's for a couple of days or more. i used to work the late shift (3-11) and I would turn the heat down as i went for a shower before work and not turn the heat up till I got up the next morning. I'd get in from work at 11:30 and watch an hour or two of TV in a heavy sweater till i went to bed. Initially I tried deep setbacks but I found the amount of time it took to recover just burned up the fuel anyway so I ended up using a 3 degree setback from 2PM till 7:30 the next morning.



You will have to experiment to see what works best for you. If you had hot air that would be a different matter because the system mass is nil but you would still have the mass of the building and contents to deal with.



You may find some good drafts from under your baseboards as well as the doors and windows. Find them and stop them.



Bob