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Efficient Burnham Boiler for Heat and Hot Water

Bob visits with Mark Lundquist of Burnham Hydronics to check out the boiler for the hot-water heating system being installed in the Mashpee, Massachusetts, affordable homes. This Burnham Spirit model is a medium efficiency, easy-to-maintain, sealed-combustion unit. Since it is sealed combustion, it pulls the air it needs directly from the outdoors and vents to the exterior without the use of a chimney or flue. This enables a homeowner to close off the space surrounding the boiler without worrying about available combustion air for the furnace. This model uses standard parts, so any repairs will be fast and easy. The boiler is made of cast iron and has a 25 to 40 year life expectancy. It operates at 84 percent efficiency, so the homeowner will use energy dollars wisely. Charlie Delvecchio of Cape Plumbing breaks out the cost of the boiler to about $1,500 and the baseboard tubing for another $6,000, for a total cost of $7,500 for installation of the home heating system. The domestic hot-water tank is linked to the heating system as hot water from the boiler passes through a coil in the insulated hot-water tank, warming the household water through energy exchange. If the water is maintained at the proper temperature just from this passive exchange, the boiler will never be called upon to heat water for faucets and showers.

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Efficient Burnham Boiler for Heat and Hot Water

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" We've been talking about boilers for years because everybody's used to having you know the heat source in their house in cold climates. And what we've done here is try to focus on something that's not. The super high tech but standard and state of the art in terms of a traditional source of heat right so this is Burnham boiler does a Burnham Spirit yet. And that's the name used by it and it's has a lot of features about of the high quality stuff that you look and fought the efficiency. But the main thing on this unit. Is its sealed combustion meaning that it. Exhausts out through the wall which means I don't need a chimney at all you don't need a chimney flip -- and also the fresh air still comes from the outside so which sealed combustion so Charlie that's what you're in the middle of putting together right can install on the air -- So the air intake can be PC pipe yes you can -- OK but if in the future if the homeowner ever wanted to finish off the basement or put a laundry room down here because closes off. And basically they wouldn't have to worry about combustion air for the unit or anything like that right because you've got the air coming in through here and got the exhaust coming out the side and -- et cetera Africa. Now what about the efficiency. The assistance unit is 84%. And it's a cast iron boiler regions. The body of the unit is cast time which is 2540 years worth of expectancy life expectancy. And I read. Take advantage of static components and which if you ever needed -- readily available we're not answer any OEM or special products that need to be stocked as far as eight. A service contractor would have to hassle get if it went down to compete put right back online relatively easy to maintain -- Life expectancy. Efficiencies Wednesday and it is 84% 84%. And then what about the heat and domestic hot water needs who got a couple of bathrooms here we've got a laundry and we got a convention and you could potentially have a family -- right that's -- that's a great question what we see this is an indirect water -- yet and this will work just as a zone does with the upstairs as far as I'm -- in direct wanted to record meaning the boiler water yeah go screw with a coil stainless steel coil inside this tank okay and then this holds a capacity. Forty gallons of usable domestic agenda. -- I -- saw a dishwasher. Broad hand sinks or whatever the actual water that we're getting out of the faucet didn't go through the current house and -- picked up the heat by exchanging. With the beach user guardian that quote exactly and that's the advantage of this is six acts exactly like a thermos bottle. Clinton and the fact that if this is satisfied the boiler doesn't even run we don't maintain temperature. So why turn the boiler on and waste the heat if we don't have a place to -- it sure. And what about the warranty. This is a warranty is a limited lifetime warranty terrific. All right now Charlie what about the cost of the whole thing they'll -- Well boiler costs roughly around 1500 dollars -- by the time you're all said and done with installation and the baseboard the radiant heat. Everything else you could run around 7500 miles for a whole new system great losses -- college guys get back door. Thank you thanks thank you."

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Radiant Heat

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. Whether you re building a whole house or just adding a new bathroom, one of your first decisions has to be how you re going to heat the new space. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, radiant heat is more efficient than baseboard or forced air systems. Rather than just blowing hot air around the room in bursts, radiant systems slowly and steadily charge the floor with heat, keeping it where you want it, longer. Hydronic, or water-circulating, radiant systems are best for new construction or large additions. They come in many forms, for installation just below the subfloor between the joists, directly under tile or hardwood flooring, or even inside a concrete floor slab. Where you only need to heat a small space, like a bathroom, electric radiant is an easy luxury option. Electric radiant mats can be installed directly under tile and are ideal over a concrete subfloor. Set the timed thermostat to turn the system on only when you ll be using the room, like the morning when you shower, and it ll use less than 15 cents of electricity per day. This way, you don t have to make room for ductwork or baseboard units when you add a bathroom. On a cold winter morning, your toes will thank you for choosing radiant heat! Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

Integrating Radiant Heat in a Concrete Floor

The PEX tubing is set in the concrete and will circulate hot water used to heat the addition. Jason McKinnon of Viega North America reviews the features of PEX tubing. PEX is electronically cross-linked polyethylene tubing that is made to be stronger and resistant to high temperatures and pressures. The PEX tubing was placed in the concrete slab. The concrete acts a low-temperature radiator for the tubing. High temperature water will be pumped through the coils and heat will dissipate into the slab. A heated slab acts as a radiant heat source for the home. Tim Cutler of TJ's Plumbing & Heating reviews how the tubing was placed within the slab. In a radiant-heat application, the tubing is evenly spread out across the floor. With radiant heat, the air is not heated, only the floor. The heat is modulated according to outside weather conditions so a precise amount of heat is sent through the coils to warm the building's interior to the desired temperature. A heat/loss analysis done on the home indicates that the tubing should have nine-inch spacing for five circuits. During manufacturing, the tubing has 10,000 volts sent through it which cause the molecules to cross-link. This makes the tubing virtually indestructible. An oxygen barrier is sprayed on it to protect the boiler and the heating system from oxygen infiltration, which causes cast iron boilers to deteriorate. A foam stapler pushes plastic clips with prongs into the foam decking to secure the tubing in place.

Baseboard Radiant Heat Installation

Bob is in the basement talking with Erling Andersen from A.I.M. Radiant Heating. A.I.M.'s "Boiler Room In A Box" has been installed and the baseboard tubing is being run throughout the house. Made of a cross-linked polyethylene material, the pipe is routed behind A.I.M.'s decorative baseboards. The baseboard itself has been trimmed out to fit the Colonial's design scheme. Technician Dave DuVerger is on location installing the last few stretches of tubing. Once the tubing is connected to the boiler system, hot water will run throughout the house to create radiant heat that maintains a consistent temperature in each room.

Radiant Floor Heating System Installed

John Martin from WarmZone is on hand to show Bob how the medium density fiberboard (MDF) faced with reflective aluminum shielding and precut channels for the Pex hot-water tubing comes together to create a layout for the in-floor radiant heat system. One key advantage to radiant heat is the comfort level, since it is steady heat that is evenly distributed and free from the blowing, particulate matter that can come with forced-air systems. Martin explains how the WarmZone system comes ready-to-install with complete layout diagrams and directions that make it simple for do-it-yourselfers. The panels are set in adhesive, with spacers to temporarily align them and line up the tube channels until the panels are nailed in place. The heat panels then become the substrate for finish floor coverings. Unlike gypcrete, which is a skim-coat concrete application, these panels add very little weight to the floor. Since it is a 5/8-inch product, there is also no need to alter existing door openings. WarmZone specifies a 3/8-inch Pex tubing to deliver the heated water. Martin fits and taps the tubes in place in the channels to complete the installation. Bob then looks at the heat distribution system with supply and return pipes that come directly from the boiler room below. WarmZone has specified three short runs and circuits, which will give steady even heat throughout the space even with the heat loss calculations they have figured. Michael Willburn from WarmZone shows Bob the preassembled boiler-room manifold board and radiant-zone board that are created match the application and arrive ready-to-install from WarmZone. WarmZone takes the information directly from the homeowner, creates the system to fit the job, and then ships it to the site. The homeowner or installer can do all the work without the aid of a plumber until the system is connected to the boiler, at which point a professional installer should verify the connections and operation of the system before firing it up. Initial costs are about double the cost of a traditional baseboard-heat installation, but the operational savings are approximately 30 percent annually.