38 year old boiler - is it the cause of high gas bills?

rebecca2804 · February 20

Bought a two story 2551sq ft brick house December 2022. Came with a 38 yo Bryant/Dunkirk boiler which services radiators throughout the house that all work properly. It keeps the house toasty but it’s expensive! I’m in Washington DC and in a month with a few cold spells with just below freezing temps we get bills that are about $200. I think the unit is oversized at 140000 btu although the house is incredibly drafty in certain places.

I don’t want to replace it because it functions as it should minus the high bills. Is there anything affordable I can do to lower the bills until it officially kicks the can? I’ve got a screen shot of the label on it if more info is required.

rebecca2804 · February 20

Image of boiler info below

WMno57 · February 20

Have Foley Mechanical out every fall to maintain it. Foley can also give you a quote to replace it with a mod-con. A mod-con will use approximately 15 percent less gas than your current boiler, but it wont last 38 years.
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/foley-mechanical-inc
Personally, I'd keep what you have until it kicks the can. I would get annual professional maintenance.
What do you do for Air Conditioning? A combination Heat Pump Air Conditioner could save you operating costs on spring and fall days. I'd keep the boiler you currently have for the 20 coldest days of the year.

WMno57 · February 20

Almost forgot. A mod con will also have higher maintenance and parts costs. Which will eat up the gas savings.

clammy · February 20

200 bucks to heat a 25oo sq ft home is not bad . the cost of replacement would be ions for return on investment . all would be happy to pay so little to heat a home of your size my self included . you should have your boiler serviced and looked at least once a year to avoid any safety issues and to ensure that it is working properly and that there are no safety issues including proper chimney venting ,flame roll out and or flame impingement . this can and should be done . peace and good luck and if dan foley services your area you can do no better .
peace and good luck clammy

PC7060 · February 20

What @clammy said. $200 per month given the recent cold snap isn't bad.

Hot_water_fan · February 20

I’m a bit north of you and if you have ductwork, adding a heat pump could save you a good bit. Do it when replacing the AC and it’s more or less free. In our climate, ditching gas makes sense since electricity is pretty cheap.

hot_rod · February 20

Work on eliminating the drafts first, that will lower the heating costs

Have a blower door test performed that will show where air is blowing in

Ironman · February 20

$200 per month is not a high gas bill for a drafty 2500 square foot house. In fact, it’s quite reasonable.

The best thing you can do to save energy is to tighten up the envelope of the house: caulk, weatherstripping and insulation are cheaper than fuel.

At 38 years old, your boiler is near the end of its useful life. When that time comes, a mod/con boiler may be a good option.

As mentioned, Dan Foley of Foley Mechanical in Lorton is one the best in the country.

Long Beach Ed · February 21

I agree completely with the $200/month being very reasonable. The Dunkirk is a fairly efficient design. I doubt a new boiler, with repairs, parts and maintenance will see much of a savings.

There are folks here in New York in new houses with "modern, clean electric heat" paying six times your bill each month.

SlamDunk · February 22

I pay that much during a cold snap and my house is only 1600 sqft and I'm 300miles south of you. Are you sure you meant 200& not 2000?

guzzinerd · February 22

My 75 yr old boiler ran up $1200 during a cold snap last year. Fuel is less now and I've tuned it all up with vents and traps but still paid $400 during the last snap, for 3800sq ft.

$200 is amazing for a house that size.

pedmec · February 22

I wish i had a $200 heating bill.

Jamie Hall · February 22

So do I. I can go through twice that in a week in cold weather...

Steamhead · February 22

Ironman said:
$200 per month is not a high gas bill for a drafty 2500 square foot house. In fact, it’s quite reasonable.

The best thing you can do to save energy is to tighten up the envelope of the house: caulk, weatherstripping and insulation are cheaper than fuel.
........As mentioned, Dan Foley of Foley Mechanical in Lorton is one the best in the country.

This.

pedmec · February 22

So should i call Dan Foley lol

LRCCBJ · February 24

Ironman said:
$200 per month is not a high gas bill for a drafty 2500 square foot house. In fact, it’s quite reasonable.

Here are the numbers:

A 2500 square foot house, poorly insulated, in Washington DC, will probably have a HL of approx. 25K on the design day (28F). With a 65F base temperature, the HL is 675 BTU/hr/degree F. 16216 BTU/day/degree F.

There were 789 HDD at Washington Airport in January, 2024.

The net heating requirement for January is 12,794,424 BTU and the input (75% efficient) is 17,059,232 BTU.

This is approx. 171 therms.

If the cost of gas is $1.25/therm, the January gas bill would be approx. $213.00. This does not include any hot water.

Apparently the $200. cost is exactly as predicted.

jesmed1 · February 25

rebecca2804 said:
...the house is incredibly drafty in certain places...

I think you just found your real problem. Air leaks are the #1 cause of heat loss in older houses. Get some incense sticks and hold them around the edges of windows and doors on a windy day. See where the smoke blows. You'll be amazed at how many air leaks you find. Do some research on how to seal up air leaks in old houses. Air sealing is one of the simplest and least expensive ways to save on your heating bills.

jumper · February 25

Efficiency is over rated. Eventually gas bills will incorporate cost of pipes instead of amount of gas going through them.

Sylvain · February 25

jumper said:
Efficiency is over rated. Eventually gas bills will incorporate cost of pipes instead of amount of gas going through them.

Shouldn't the bill indicate the volume of gas and its calorific power?

Where I live it is the case, and we know in details what we pay for the broker, the long distance transport, the local distribution and the various taxes.

EDIT
You mean dividing the gas volume by two will not divide the bill by two.
Alaas.

exqheat · February 25

Are your heating and hot water pipes insulated?

38 year old boiler - is it the cause of high gas bills?

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