There is a lot of information available on the web to guide you in insulating your home and saving money by conservation. See our section index page for useful links. This page features tips that we, as an experienced HVAC provider, have found to be highly focused on saving money where it counts, with a minimum of expense.

Where the heat (money) really goes

Homeowners often focus on "buyable" solutions or active plans like insulating their attic or sealing windows. All of these methods of saving money on heat are good, and should be performed if the cost of doing the job is less than the cost of the heat that would be lost if the project is not done.

However, this page is about your actual heating system and how you can be sure you are getting the most from it. After all, nothing directly affects your heating bill more that the heating system itself.

Let's look at the system parts. Look for the ones that apply to your system:

FUEL

In a season like this, all forms of fuel will be expensive and will vary in cost throughout the season based on natural events, man-made responses, and government controls. Generally speaking, it may be useful to know that among the three most common fuel sources, oil, gas and electricity, there are differences in efficiency.

Oil and gas each have their own advantages. However, oil is actually cheaper per therm (generally) than natural gas. Also, note that when you buy oil you have options. You can pay more or less depending on your buying method -- cash, on-call, contract, cap price, etc. With gas, the price is the price, and if something kicks the price up it can stay there regardless of supply.

Electricity is always less efficient than oil or gas because it is a by-product of combustion from one of these fuels, converted at a power plant and sent to you along lossy wires. Electrical heat will always cost more.

BURNER/FURNACE

The simple rating of your relative cost to heat your home can be found in your burner's EFFICIENCY RATING. There is no way to determine how efficient a burner is without testing with proper equipment. This simple test is usually free for regular customers and will tell you whether your system is operating at 50%, 60%, 70% or better efficiency. Your technician can tell you how well your burner rates for its age and type. He can also tell you whether or not a new system would pay you back within 2 years by saving fuel (a common criteria for replacement of a burner).

After testing efficiency, the technician can tune the furnace operation for improved efficiency. Again, this service is generally free to contract oil heat customers, and sometimes provided free by gas suppliers, so it is the best bargain you will get all year! If your efficiency can be raised 10%, you can save perhaps $300 on a heating season like 2005-2006.

IGNITER/CONTROLLERS

Generally the the ignition components of your system do not affect efficiency. They do have an impact on safety. Even though gas burns clean, you should have your gas company check the ignition components occasionally (every 1-3 years) to check that they are clean and there is no clogging. Here is a useful link for understanding furnace operation.

The burning efficiency is only one factor in how your furnace effects cost. The way that your burner cycles through heating the water or circulating the air can make a huge difference. In a furnace that heats water, a cycle of cooling, steam expansion, heating, and then shut-off is performed. If the shut-off occurs before the radiant elements of your system transfer the heat to the interior of the house, ALL THE FUEL CONSUMED TO HEAT THE WATER WILL BE WASTED, and you will pay large heating bills and be cold all the time. It is very important to optimize the heating cycle.

Part of this process occurs on the boiler cycle control. There are settings, sometimes electrical, sometimes manual, that allow a techician to observe the function of your system and set the times for the water heating and shutoff, to enable the most efficient water heating cycle. If you have not had this type of tuning done to your system for several years we HEARTILY recommend that you ask for this to be done as soon as possible (ask for a furnace tune-up and inspection). Ranco provides all contract customers with this money-saving service FREE of charge.

The other control on the burn cycle originates in your thermostat up in the living area.

THERMOSTAT

The cooling and heating cycle in a home is only efficient within certain parameters. If a home is heated to 72° during the day and then allowed to cool to 62° at night, you are working your heater in the morning at inefficient levels to overcome the cooling of the evening. It is much better to stay within a 6° difference between night and day. You will be more comfortable and actually save money.

Automatic thermostats can help to regulate this difference properly at controlled times, and they are not expensive ($40). Things to watch on your thermostat: 1. The heat from televisions or other sources near the thermostat can confuse it and cause large shifts in the heating cycle; be sure nothing is affecting the temperature of the thermostat but the air in the room. 2. Many thermostats are not "accurate" insofar as you may set the thermostat to 68° and find the normal room temperature to be 66° or 72°. This difference will probably remain constant, so adjust according to the "real" temperature and not the setting temperature.

Also, thermostats do not trigger the heat cycle until the lower range of their "comfort zone" is reached, meaning if you set it for 70°, the thermostat may not kick the heater on until the temp drops to 68°. It may then shut the system off at 76°. You should talk with your heating technician to see if your thermostat cycle is an efficient match for your burner, otherwise quite a bit of fuel can be wasted.

If your furnace runs fine but constantly runs many short heating cycles instead of an occasional long (normal) one, then you may want to make an adjustment yourself inside the thermostat on the wall. To make the adjustment, lift off the cover from the thermostat and locate the anticipator. If your furnace is running short cycles, the anticipator is probably set on .2 or lower. Check your furnace manual and move the lever or dial to the setting they recommend which is normally in the .3 to .4 range. Your short cycles should now cease. Some thermostats (like the one pictured) have an anticipator for both a/c and heat. For optimum performance and safety of your furnace, you should never guess at the anticipator settings. Always refer to the manual or contact the manufacturer. You may also be able to get the anticipator settings by looking at the gas valve for the amp setting. If in doubt, have this setting performed by a technician.

STEAM RADIATORS

Radiators are often treated as furniture. They are covered over and the air flow is blocked. Technically, all the heat is still released into the "room" but if it is being held in the wall and the coverings and then drifts out of the house without ever circulating to your living space, then you are getting no benefit from the heat. Heat is only useful if you feel it. Make sure that the air can travel from under the radiators through the fins and out the top, so that it can freely circulate in the room.

The amount of heat delivered from a radiator is best adjusted at the steam pressure release valve (see illustration). The radiator input pipe valve should always be kept full open, because you can adjust the amount of heat in the room by the setting on the steam pressure release valve (see illustration). If the radiator does not have an adjustable release valve you should try to upgrade, or you can use the input valve (see illustration) to adjust the heat level.