Is there a comparative formula for measuring how efficient a steam heating system in a home is?

wanttolearn

I have been a follower of this forum over the years and have implemented many of the recommnedations that I read about, and my heating bills have come down over the years so that's good news.

But I would be curious to know how my home heating bills compare to other homes that use steam heat.

Is there a way of measuring this to compare it across different homes? I would imagine the fomula would have to include variables such as the size of the house, the climate that it is in (i.e. heating degree days) and the setting of the thermostat in that house.

I have found online some similar formulas for general home heaitng measurement, but it is probably silly to compare an old house that is using steam heat to a modern house that uses forced air or floor heat.

so i was wondering if there in an industry standard way of measuring this for steam heat homes, and how would you go about interpreting the results to see if your house is more efficient or less efficient compared to other steam homes.

any pointers would be appreciated.

Fred

In addition to the variables you mention, I would think the comparison would also have to factor in the heat loss, and connected EDR. It almost seems like it is more related to the efficiency of the envelope than the efficiency of the steam system.

wanttolearn

i thought of that but didnt want to get so technical because that becomes much harder to calculate. was looking more for a casual back of the envelope calculation that a homeowner can do by themsleves.

Jamie Hall

No. There are far too many variables. Provided, however, that the various types of systems are equally well maintained and equally well designed, all of the major variables have to do with the envelope and the exposure -- not the actual heating system.

That is not to say that the heating system itself doesn't have some effect; it does, of course. There is the difference between condensing and non-condensing fuel fired systems, for instance; the former can achieve about 10% better fuel efficiency, if very well designed, properly sized and installed, and controlled, than non-condensing. In addition, in some climates heat pumps can produce overall fuel efficiencies equal to or better than either condensing or non-condensing units. Much better, if all the electricity is from renewable resources (it usually isn't) or nuclear power.

However, at the end of the day its the envelope and exposure that counts.

STEVEusaPA

If it was all oil customers, the oil company would have all this info easily accessible.
I think like Fred said, the building envelope has alot to do with it, but also the thermostat, and how you use it.
3 identical buildings, one keeps it at 70°, the other 70° during the day, 62° at night, and the other at 65° will have 3 different usages.
Now throw in things like one house has 3 kids and a dog that goes in and out 10 times a day.

Something like this came up a few years ago and I posted some real-world customer numbers of near identical houses, across the street from each other. One pipe steamers, one piped right and one completely knuckleheaded. I think the one piped wrong used at least 2x the amount of fuel. I'll have to see if I can find it.