high efficiency boilers

Stephen Doig

I am considering replacing by current Weil-McClain boiler (350,000 btu input) (about 10 years old) with a high efficiency boiler so that I can avoid rebuilding my chimney. Looking for advice on makes and models (need about 300,000 btu output- I am in Minnesota in an older home) and whether there are reliable combi models that also do domestic hotwater.

Boilerpro

Boiler Replacement

If the boiler is in good shape, a power venter can be added to the existing boiler to vent it out the wall. To this I would add an good boiler or heating system control system, such as those by Tekmar, especially if you have copper fin tube baseboard and / or multiple zones. Controls give a very big bang for you buck by improving comfort and efficiency of the boiler and the system. If it is a hot water boiler and your replacing, make sure an accurate heat loss is completed... no rules of thumb or basing the new boiler capacity on the old. A boiler the size you talking about is VERY LARGE for a home, even an older home in a cold climate. I recently replaced a boiler about that size in a 3,500 sq ft home and all the home needed now was a 100,000 btu input boiler...storm windows were added, and walls and ceilings insulated since it was intalled. If the heat load for your home is really that large, I would install two smaller boilers with a good control. Only one boiler would be working most of the time, improving efficiency of the boiler. If you want, the boiler that does must of the work could be a 90% + efficiency boiler, and the second, less expensive 80% boiler would only be used in extreme cold. This gives you the fastest payback on the cost of expendive 905+ efficiency boilers. If steam, the minimum starting point for proper sizing is measuring the radiation. From this starting point many other factors must be taken into account, which cannot be a all listed here. These are just some ideas and your best bet is to look for a contractor under "Find A contractor" on this web page. They can fine tune the existing boiler or new to your needs, which is much more important to efficiency ( And comfort)than just installing a high efficiency boiler.

Boilerpro