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Oil furnace hot water but how to disable radiator heat

shadowthorn
shadowthorn Member Posts: 1
in Oil Heating

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum but have been using a oil furnace to heat the house and water over the years..

My question is this, April through October I have zero need to be heating up the home as its naturally warm without running the furnace but we still need warm water in the house.

We are trying to cut down on oil costs and my logic is that we would just want water warmed up without having to heat up the home because its not needed..

There has got to be a way to do this, I am thinking about going to electric heat for the water because its far too expensive to heat the home when I just need hot water for a shower?

What kind of options do I Have to cut off the radiator heat and only heat up water?

Comments

  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 8,065

    Youre best bet is to add an indirect tank..piped as it's own zone off the existing boiler...think giant Thermos next to the boiler. Unless Kilowatts are super cheap where u are, electric water heaters are the last choice. Mad Dog

    Consulting by Mad Dog & Matt Jr.
    shadowthornGrallertSuperTech
  • bburd
    bburd Member Posts: 1,154
    edited April 17

    If you turn down the room thermostat, the boiler will stay hot to heat tapwater but not heat the radiators. There is some standby loss into the boiler room and up the chimney, especially if you have a tankless coil in the boiler, which requires the boiler to maintain at least 160°F at all times.

    An indirect water heater would work with the boiler but allow it to run "cold start", so it would fire only when needed to heat the hot water tank. This is more fuel efficient, but not nearly enough to pay for the cost of installation.

    You could also install a separate electric or heat pump water heater. Again though, the work would be costly and probably not repaid in fuel savings in a reasonable period of time.

    Can you show us some pictures of the boiler and related plumbing, standing far enough back to see from ceiling to floor? Then we can advise you better.

    Utility costs and hot water usage go into the calculation. Where do you live, and how many people are in your household?

    —
    Bburd
  • Grallert
    Grallert Member Posts: 961

    Install an indirect water heater turn the low limit down as far as it will go. Your domestic water heating is nearly 1/3 of you fuel bill.

    Miss Hall's School service mechanic, greenhouse manager, teacher, dog walker and designated driver

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 17,673

    If the house is heating up with the thermostat turned down you could have a bad flow check valve. With the thermostat turned down the radiators should not heat.

    Post some pictures of the boiler and the piping around it from about 10 feet back.

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