INSTALLING A SMALLER BOILER, P.2

You'll need a radiator survey and either a measure of the DHW load or an estimate based on fuel bills. Once you know which load is the larger of the two, the boiler size can be selected.

Change It Now?

So, should you change your boiler ASAP? Well, no. But if you are considering replacing it for other reasons, now is the time to size the new one correctly. (By the way, don't be in a rush to replace your boiler just because it's old. See "10 Co-op / Condo Energy Myths Debunked," Habitat, September 2010).

If your boiler is in decent shape, you can reap some of the benefits of a smaller boiler by reducing the maximum firing rate of the existing burner. City regulations allow reduction as low as 50 percent if the boiler manufacturer approves. Before you proceed, make sure the boiler inspector won't give you a violation.

So if this is such a great idea, why isn't everyone doing it? Fear. Co-op boards, which are typically unversed in the intricacies of heating-system design, are afraid of being cold. In the heating industry, change comes slowly, old habits die hard and if it means less money for boiler installations, why even bring the subject up?

And so, the waste continues, and will continue, until some co-op board somewhere has the courage to take a more scientific approach and see how it can help save money.

Tom Sahagian is a project manger at Power Concepts, an energy-consulting firm.

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