Important Points in New Boiler Installations

Depending on the installation, whether it is a new installation or a retrofit where the contractor is replacing an existing old boiler, it is very important that the boiler piping is correct or installed correctly especially the near boiler piping. Near boiler piping is the pipe near the boiler where most of major pipe components are located.  Near boiler piping components include:

• Flow valve
• Expansion tank
• Circulator pump
• Boiler air management and control devices
• Mixing valves (if the system is equipped with a mixing valve – usually a mixing valve is installed with a boiler that provides domestic hot water)
• Back flow preventer and pressure reducing valve on the make-up water supply
• Any zone valves if the hydronic loop is zoned

Near boiler piping is also where the water entering the boiler and leaving the boiler (boiler supply and return) make many turns and has elbows and a possible manifold installed. It is important that this system is set up and installed properly. If it is not then the poor installation can affect the efficiency of the boiler and sometimes it can cause problems with heating certain zones because a bad near boiler piping will cause a poor flowrate in the piping system. Additionally, pressure problems can occur and lead to noisy flow of the water. The whole boiler system will be problematic and cost you more in fuel to fire the boiler.

Probably the most important part of buying a new boiler is selecting the right contractor to install the boiler properly. A skilled contractor will save you a lot more money on a boiler installation than you will save on hiring someone who really does not know what they are doing and installs the boiler incorrectly. Find a good boiler installation contractor and spend some time selecting a good boiler that they recommend. It is advised because of the higher cost of fuels these days that you select a higher efficiency boiler as this will save you money in the future on your fule bills. Remember, even if you are selling the house in a few years select a higher efficiency boiler for the installation over a cheaper less efficient boiler. Why? Because it will add value to the sale of the home and it convinces the buyers they aren’t buying a house that will consume all their dollars in feeding a boiler fuel hog. Good luck on selecting the right boiler and boiler installtion contractor for your next boiler installation.

HVAC Systems and Boiler Information

There are many different types of thermostats available on the market today. There are just as many brands of thermostats available as there are models of thermostats. Honeywell Thermostats and White Rodgers Thermostats are the most popular brands that you will find at most suppliers. The variety of choices of thermostats can make it confusing for the average consumer who wants to replace their thermostat. The average consumer ends up going to the hardware store or local Lowes or Home Depot and they find the thermostats only to be intimidated by the selection of a thermostat that is suitable for their application of HVAC equipment they currently have installed for their home. Which type and brand of thermostat do you get when selecting a new thermostat? To do that you have to know what kind of HVAC system you have installed for your heating and cooling system.

Do you have a boiler with baseboard heating or radiators with the boiler combination? In addition to the boiler do you have an air conditioning system with duct work or a mini-split ductless system? Do you have a heat pump system? Do you have lectric baseboard heating? Do you have an air conditioner system with electric heat? It is important to know the answers to what kind of HVAC system you have installed in your home.

When you know the type of air conditioning and heating system you have then you can go to the local hardwarde store and purchase a new thermostat. Opinions varying as far as brand of thermostat is concerned but typically Honeywell thermostats and White Rodgers thermostats are the best with the author of this article leaning towards the Honeywell thermostats if I had the coice of thermostats.

Once you are in the hardware store and find the thermostat section you need to read the package and compre it to the type of HVAC air conditioning and heating system you have. All the information should be on back of the package and which system is appropriate for each particular thermostat. Be aware that a heat pump thermostat is different than a thermostat for an air conditioner with a gas furnace for heat.

Additionally electric baseboard heating usually requires a high voltage thermostat. If you have electric baseboard heating make sure you turn the power off before attempting to change the thermostat. It is a good idea to turn the power off to your HVAC system if you change any thermostat. Goodluck and happy thermostat shopping.

HVAC Systems and Thermostats

Amana AMH95 Gas Furnace Review

When we think of Amana we think about refrigerators and dishwashers. Amana broke into the HVAC market many years ago and they are going strong even after an ownership change. Amana offers the AMH95 Gas Furnace as part of their overall HVAC equipment line-up. It is a high efficiency gas furnace that is rated at 95% efficient which is very good for your gas bill and keeping you warm in the winter time. Amana offers a good warranty to go with the AMH95 Gas Furnace. A lifetime warranty (to the original owner only) on the heat exchanger and a 10 year parts limited warranty on all the functional parts. This makes it one of the best off the shelf warranties you can get unless you pay extra for an extended warranty.

Some of the features listed with the Amana AMH95 Gas Furnace are:

• Patented Stainless-Steel heat exchanger that is tubular. Tubular heat exchangers are different than the clamshell variety heat exchangers. Regardless the design, the important part is that the heat exchanger is efficient and safe. With a lifetime warranty on this heat exchanger Amana is backing up durability and safety.
• A silicon nitride igniter that has adaptive learning. The silicon nitride igniter is rugged and durable. Amana has tested this by trying to put through a piece of wood. They claim success without breaking the igniter. This not standard with most hot surface igniters as the break easily and require replacement. Whats more? The silicon nitride igniter in the Amana AMH95 has adaptive learning. It compensates for voltage variations in the line voltage and it learns to apply just the right amount of heat to ignite the gas. This is good and not standard for many manufacturers. On the surface it does save a little bit of money by reducing the power it consumes to light the gas but this is minimal compared to the overall scheme of energy savings. However, with the fuel crunch going on and rising power and energy costs it never hurts to save every little bit you can save.
• Electronic Control Board with Self-Diagnostics – this is standard among many manufacturers including the Amana Gas Furnace. Electronics or solid state components have replaced the use of relays and miles of wiring in a lot of things including HVAC equipment. Self-Diagnostics is also a common feature among many different HVAC equipment offered on the market today. Some Self-Diagnostic features are smarter than others but Amana is keeping up with the Jones by offering a self-diagnostic board with their equipment.
• Run-Tested at the Amana Gas Furnace factory before shipping – another common feature that is part of many manufacturers quality assurance departments. Amana would not look so good shipping 100 units without a thing-a-ma-jig plus it would cost them a lot of money to have the units fixed in the field versus checking to make sure everything works at the factory before shipping.
• Two-Stage firing rate for the Amana AMH95 Gas Furnace – This is becoming more and more common among manufacturers of gas fired furnaces. As technology advances gas furnaces will also modulate the firing rate based on demand rather than off just one or two firing rates. Another manufacturer already offers a modulating furnace that can fire between 40% to 100% based on demand. Amana has not offered this technology yet but rest assured as the competition adopts these new technologies and energy saving strategies Amana will offer them also in the future.

Overall the Amana AMH95 Gas Furnace gets high marks for their features and efficiency ratings. Add the better than average warranty and this makes it a go for the purchase of the Amana AMH95 Gas Furnace.

Other gas furnace articles:

• Gas Furnace Electronic Ignition Systems
• Amana Gas Furnace Reviews
• Furnace Electronic Ignition Systems: Hot Surface Igniter
• How to Light a Pilot Light
• Types of Gas Furnaces
• Gas Furnace Reviews

HVAC Systems