Typical oil consumption

mbachelor

I burned 1700 gallons of oil last year to heat a 2800 square foot house. Does that seem like a lot? The house was built in 1938 and has original windows but the walls and attic are insulated. Any input would be appreciated.

icesailor

Do you have aluminum storm/screen windows over the old original windows?

mbachelor

yes, there are storm windows.

mbachelor

although it was quite cold in the northeast last winter we were burning through ~250 gallons of oil per month during the winter while keeping the house at 60-62 degrees F.

Gordy

That's about 14 Btus a square foot on average. With out knowing HDD. Kinda hard to tell if it's good or bad. Personally 14 BTUs a SF is high for an average with a 60- 62* set point on the t stat. How is your DHW made?

TheRooster

For reference, I burned through 900 gal during the last heating season for only a 1400 sq/ft apartment in upstate NY.

I was using a setback during the nights and day where we weren't home down to 60 but then heated up to 72 (wife is to blame) during the few hours that we hang in the living room in the evening.

Boiler ran for around 4 hours a day.

mbachelor

Thanks for the input everyone. I have a tankless hot water tank. I should probably also mention there is a hot water loop running off the boiler to heat 2 small rooms by baseboard heating.

Jamie Hall

That does seem a little high. I run an average of gallons per square foot usable space, 65 degrees, average about 6000 degree days...

Jamie Hall

I might add that last winter was exceptionally cold... in the northeast, anyway..

Bob Bona_4

FWIW I was using about 260 gall in 5 weeks at the worst last winter in a 2300 sq ft 1959 RR with typical R7 ish walls and R11 to 19 attic insulation, a mix of Thermopanes and triple tracks. Original boiler, newer Beckett Burner with an indirect. Wife likes it about 70.

mbachelor

The boiler does fire occasionally when no heat is required. The boiler if 6 years old-Burnham Mega steam. We just bought the house last year and were quite surprised by the oil bills compared to the previous owners (who kept it much warmer). I did have a mishap shortly after moving in where I accidentally overfilled the boiler causing water to come out if vents (on the second floor). I am starting to wonder if all that water dislodged rust in the pipes and clogged some vents or perhaps did something else I'm not aware of.