When to install 2 HW boilers?
Looking at replacing one old, fire tube boiler. House is approx. 6,100 sq ft. Burner is 700,000. Not sure of boiler size. When does it pay to install 2 boilers VS one? Also kicking around mod. con. VS cast iron VS copper fin. Confused!
Two Boilers
Two smaller staged boilers vs one large boiler will allow the load to better match the output of the boiler. The total heat load is less than 50% about 80% of the time, The system efficiency will be about 10 % greater at the least, especially of a system of this size>It may even pay to go to 3 boilers, Find a reputable installer in your area and do research with Tekmar controls on boiler staging > you will get the idea, You"ve already started.
2 boilers?
Are you sure of those numbers or is there a typo? 115 BTU/square foot is a LOT of heat. Personnally I think two boilers for 6,000 sq feet may be overkill but a lot has to be taken into consideration here. Follow the advice of the previous post and get a pro in there to help you with this project
start
with a complete heat loss. You may have to pay for it but you may save alot of money down the road...
HEAT LOSS?
We don't need no stink in' heat loss. ;-)
Rough math says 91 btu/sq ft/hour. That ought to do it eh... Should be able to keep them warm with all the windows open, no?.
Is (was) it loading anything else, or did the owners just want the house to go from 40 to 70 in 30 minutes...
ME
It's not so much a case of "You got what you paid for", as it is a matter of "You DIDN'T get what you DIDN'T pay for, and you're NOT going to get what you thought you were in the way of comfort". Borrowed from Heatboy.
