We’ve had a lot of questions over the years about turning down your heat, both daily and when you go away.

Does turning the thermostat down save money? The short answer is yes.   The flow of heat from the house to the outside is proportional to difference between the temperature inside the house and the temperature of the air outside. if you allow the house to cool down,  that difference is made smaller and therefore the heat flow to the outside ..read more

You know, it’s really funny that I’ve already written about high efficiency oil fired boilers, and about steam boilers, when the majority of the boilers that we install aren’t either one!

Nowadays, with the cost of fuel escalating, and with our country’s reliance on foreign energy products, we feel it’s really our duty to recommend installing high efficiency boilers whenever it’s possible.  It’s in everyone’s best interest.

A boiler is a large and long term investment, and to not install  the best, ..read more

I’ll tell you a story about a steam system, which illustrates the need for a knowledgeable installer. This isn’t even about a bad BOILER installation, so much as an illustration of why you need to be careful with steam.

The client contacted us out of desperation. The plumber they used had installed a new steam boiler, and they had a lot of problems, like the ones I mentioned in a previous post, but also very uneven heating and ridiculous gas bills. ..read more

So far this year, we’ve had to re-pipe 4 steam boilers, with at least 2 more that we know need it, but haven’t been done. This may be because the owner’s can’t afford it, or may be because they aren’t really convinced that they need it. These are mostly newer boilers that were installed incorrectly, usually by the lowest bidder or  by the gas company installers, which are the same thing.

Here’s what happens.

First we get a call the the pipes ..read more

In previous blogs I’ve covered  some of the many technical topics that I can comment on, and I’ll do more of that in the future. I’ve talked about low flow toilets that flush, sump pumps that pump and super efficient oil fired boilers. I’ll have more to say about gas boilers, water heaters, and many other plumbing and heating related topics and products, but right now I’d like to talk about money!

Dennis Foley Plumbing is a flat rate plumbing contractor. ..read more

I just spent 8 hours learning the ins and outs of Buderus’ new oil-fired hot water boiler. It has a new kind of burner that uses a special set up, hence the 8 hours.

This boiler is amazing. They offer it in 2 configurations, a non condensing version that is rated at 89% Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE), and a condensing version that is rated at 94% AFUE. This is good news for those of you that don’t have gas available, ..read more