Pulse and Glide my heater?

[Frank Lee]

What I would ponder is, has it always done that or is this a new thing? If it's a new thing I don't think t-stat cycling rates are it.

[Tygen1]

I wonder the same thing, I never paid attention until just a few weeks ago when I heard it come on and then kick off as I was thinking about how to make my car use less fuel....thinking,,,,,thinking,,,,thinking.....wait , I just wasted a quart of fuel oil at 3 bucks a gallon
This scenarior doesn't fit the other potential problems outlined in that article, so I'll go after the low hanging fruit first. Heater does need a tune up thou....

[Tygen1]

OK, I'm gonna give my old T-stat a second chance, the batteries were almost dead and loose in there. It was also covered in sheet rock dust. Maybe it will work better now...

[Piwoslaw]

Our thermostat has a dip switch to choose the tolerance: either 0.25 or 0.5*C (0.5 or 1*F). Eg if I set the temp to 19*C and tolerance to 0.5*C, then it turns on when the room temp falls to 18.5 and keeps the furnace going until the room is 19.5. As I said, this is controlled by a small switch on the back, not as a programmable function.

I don't know if this will help you, but my furnace has a maximum water temperture dial and the water temperature sensor is on the warm (output) side. I noticed last year that when this was set to minimum, then after the furnace would turn on the water that suddenly got hot would hit the temp sensor and turn the furnace off. As soon as the pump moved more water across the sensor it would cool and turn the furnace on again. This would cycle on-off about 3 times per minute. This wasted a lot of fuel. It turned out that raising the maximum temperature to just above minimum solved the problem: now the furnace turns on and keeps going until the room t-stat shuts it off.

[silverinsight2]

Ritemp 8030C has a programable temp swing, see page 11.



Ritetemp 8030C Thermostat Operation Guide

[Tygen1]

Thanks, however they no longer sell it and it got some real bad reviews. Home Depot - Off White, Large Horizontal Touch Screen Thermostat, 7 Day Programmable,compatible With Most Systems customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings
I did buy a RiteTemp model 6080 and it does not have the "Swing" option.

[Weather Spotter]

you should be able to set the heat anticipation function on your thermostat. that is what adjusts the T.stat's sensitivity to temp swings in the controlled space. from my HVAC classes I have learned that you want the longest run times for greatest efficiency but the shortest for comfort. people can detect a 1 degree F change in temp so that is the target for max temp swings in a space. the most efficient furnaces out there today use a modulating gas valve and an ECM DC motor to provide a constant volume of air flow (in a forced air system). this also allows the thermostat to adjust the gas firing rate to match the heat loss of the structure. during this the furnace is achieving a 92-95% efficient operation. a similar set up is out there for hot water systems.

If you are thinking about upgrading there is a 30% tax credit available from the feds (good for cost + install). my local electric company will also give me a $500 rebate for a new furnace that has an ECM motor (they save ~60% of the electrical usage over the old motors). all told it is a good time to upgrade you furnace, water heater, or wood stove.

[Tygen1]

Ok, I did a bunch more reading and found that the general concensus is that a 4 degree swing setting is the most ideal for saving money. I finally found a RiteTemp 6030 at HomeDepot that has a adjustable swing setting up to 5 degrees. So I bought it and installed it. Target temp is 70, so it will kick in at 68 and off at 72 (yes I know lower temps are more ideal for savings, but the infant that needs to be snuggly warm says otherwise
Seems most T-stats don't have swing adjustments these days because people prefer the comfort of a 1 degree swing, so it's just hard wired into even the most fancy thermostats. It seems the energy star logo doesn't even gaurentee a wide swing, it's more about droping the temps during the day and night.
So I need a way to evaluate whether this change is working. I figure I can put a Kill-a-watt type meter on my boiler and determine how much power (run time) it does per day (recording outside temps) to compare both settings. Does this make sence?

[NiHaoMike]

Originally Posted by Tygen1

So I bought it and installed it. Target temp is 70, so it will kick in at 68 and off at 72 (yes I know lower temps are more ideal for savings, but the infant that needs to be snuggly warm says otherwise

Adjust the vents to get more heat where you actually want it.

[Tygen1]

Oil fired, hot water, baseboard heating. The radiators I have use the adjustable vent, but it's not very effective.

Thermostat seems to be working properly. Just starts to feel a little chilly and it kicks in, then it just starts to feel warm and it kicks off. I like it, but I have no idea if it will actually save any money. No more short cycles, that's for sure, when it's on it is on. Need to get that Kill-a-watt meter.

In fact, the boiler kicked in about a half hour ago and just kicked off, it's reached it's max temp and is just circulating the hot water now The house is getting warm now