radiant floor propane consumption
wyojess1
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Hi there My wife and I just finished(mostly!) a new build http://oppvthouse.blogspot.com/
I installed a radiant floor system from http://www.radiantcompany.com/
We have a Takagi TK3 propane fired tankless hot water heater. The propane runs 1. radiant floor system 2268 sf 2. Domestic hot water 3.clothes dryer
We have been in the house for 20 days the heat has been on for the entire winter
my question is… this we have been burning approximately 3.75 gallons of propane a day for the last 6 weeks does this sound excessive at 3.94 a gallon the fuel cost seems excessive. We have only heated with oil before. Just wondering if people have had similar consumption levels?
Replies
jess,
Since your home is similar in size, I'll answer. The siting is different, we are built partially into a hill. We have our floor heat in concrete on the first floor, under ply in the two upstairs baths. Two BR's upstairs have a 5' section of HW basebd to supplement the heat that meanders up there. The MBR upstairs-open to the greatroom has nothing.
Our conventional 19 y.o. boiler also heats the water in the domestic tank. We also cook and dry clothes via gas-NATURAL.
The house is designed passive solar and has a masonry heater we usually fire once a day-about 15 lbs of wood-a log bag's worth.
Last two months avg'd 160.00 for the gas used. 125 CCF.
130.00 for the gas-30 for the service and delivery.
Total gas used last yr. 778 CCF.
You'll have to do the figuring on how that compares to your propane cost and consumption.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
is levi a ridgeback ?
i went thru your blogsite... but i couldn't find any specs on insulating the envelope
from your numbers it sounds like you're spending more than $400 / month
is it 2x4 construction ? what r-value levels ?
is it a full basement ? where is the insulation ?
2x6 walls batt insulation 12" blown in cellulose in the ceiling 2nd floor
andersen 400 series low E4 windows
foamed window RO's
Levi is a chesapeake bay retriever sorry forgot to add that..... also there is a full basement with r13 under 1st floor the basement is usually About 55 deg
jess,
Our 2700sf is made up of the 1st fl-partially in ground at the back and sides ("basement") and the BR's on the second floor. We have only 2 floors. A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
thanks for the input just trying to crunch some numbers
just did my first whole house RFH.... we used 2 zones with a 50 gal electric water heater for each zone
all on one floor
December, the electric bill was $19
January, the electric bill was $0.0
at the beginning of February, the elec. utility replaced the meter...
so we'll see what Febrary looks likeMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
why two heaters so big if your load is so low?-------------------------------------
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
how big is the house?
how many degree days during that period?
how many occupants using DHW?
-=Northeast Radiant Technology=-
Radiant Design, Consultation, Parts Supply
http://www.NRTradiant.com
Wyo Jess,
Many people don't realize what an expensive fuel propane is. Each gallon of propane has only 91,600 BTU -- much less than fuel oil, which has 139,000 BTU per gallon.
I just returned from a conference at which energy expert Andy Shapiro calculated that, at current energy prices in Vermont, heating with plain old electric baseboard heaters costs exactly the same as heating with a 92% AFUE propane furnace or boiler. I think he was using fuel costs of $3.50 per gallon for propane and $0.12 cents per KWH for electricity, although I don't have a copy of his spreadsheet right now (eventually he'll be posting it on the Web). Of course, if your fuel costs are different, your mileage will vary.
thanks for the reply... hopeing I didnt make a mistake going with propane for heat.... I guess I could always change my heat source in the future... I suppose I need to get my wood stove installed!
Can't say too much about the usage, but the price seems high. We buy our propane through a major dealer, but get the pricing set by being members of an energy co-op (costs $25 per year)
We use about 900 gallons per year, so our price is $1.895 per gallon. Less than 700 gallons would be about $.30 more.
see http://www.otchoice.com/programInfo.asp?id=y for more info. (use 03055 for the zip code and select propane and any of the dealers to see the actual prices)
Since propane has about 2/3 the energy per gallon compared to oil, that works out about the same as burning oil at $3.00.
Don
Edited 2/19/2008 1:11 pm ET by DonNH
don... we pay $3.32 /gal for propaneMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Last winter my average burn rate was 10 gals a day of LP for a house close in size of yours, not lived in, (weekend use) hot water shut off when away and room temps set at 55-62. The 1st floor -underside- was not insulated but it is now. Use has increased this year and burn has gone down but I have not figured it out yet. It has dropped by about 1/3 glancing at the delivery slip. LP was 2.39 last week when they filled and 2.23 last month.
I'm using a System 2000 but when I'm in the basement that thing is on-off-on-off-on-off all day. RFH needs mass. I will be tying in a 40 gal electric hot water tank for storage only, no wiring. I hope that cuts down the burn rate.
If it does not, I will keep the LP for my cooking and generator and install a oil burner assy to the boiler. I have 2 new 330 tanks coming out of a tear down soon so that is free. I'm mad at myself for not sleeving the floor from the pre-planned tank location. I could day tank it to avoid cutting the floor. It's my understanding that the boiler unit themselves are the same for oil as LP. We'll see.