Should I Replace My Boiler?

At McQuillan Bros, we often get asked by Minneapolis homeowners if they should or shouldn’t replace their boiler. For this reason, we have decided to put together the guide below so that every Minnesota homeowner can decide if replacing their boiler is a good decision.

What You Need for the Calculation

To determine whether you will save money when you replace your boiler with a more efficient one, you need two pieces of information. First, Minneapolis heating and cooling experts recommend that you contact your utility company and find out how much energy (in kilowatt-hours) your current boiler uses each year. This information may also be available on your energy bill, but it may be difficult to understand. So, your best bet is to ask the utility company for this information. Secondly, you need to find out the efficiency of your boiler. This efficiency rating is normally indicated on the tag having the model and make of the boiler. Our HVAC technicians are quick to note that as the years roll by, the boiler’s efficiency is likely to drop further, especially if the appliance hasn’t been well maintained. For example, a boiler rated at 80% efficiency by the manufacturer may have dropped several percentage points over the years.

Will I Save If I Replace the Boiler?

To find out if you’ll save after replacing your boiler, Gilmore Heating and Air, a heating company in Sacramento, share exactly how you can find out. Do some calculations using the efficiency and annual energy use information you collected earlier. Follow the steps below.

Calculate How Much Heat Your Boiler Produces Annually

Minneapolis heating experts say this is easy to do as you just have to multiply the kilowatt-hours of energy consumed each year by the boiler’s efficiency rating. Then you divide this by 100. For example, if your boiler uses 15,000kWh of natural gas each year and the boiler is rated 78% efficiency, your calculation will be 15,000×0.78 to give you 11,700 units of heat to warm your home.

Calculate How Much Energy a New Boiler Would Produce Annually

To get this figure, take the units of heat calculated earlier and multiply that number by the efficiency of the new boiler you wish to buy. For example, if the new boiler has a 90% efficiency rating, you will multiply 11700×0.90 to give you 10,530 kWh of energy.

Find Out How Much Less Gas You Will Need Once the New Boiler Is Installed

For this, Minneapolis HVAC contractors say you subtract the new boiler’s energy from the energy used by the old boiler. In our example, this will be 15,000-10,530 to give you a difference of 4,470 units of energy.

Find Out the Cost of the Energy You Save

This simply requires you to multiply the number of kWh by the unit cost of each kWh. For example, 4470x$0.437. This will give you a saving of $195 each year. The national average cost for buying a boiler in the U.S. is $5,596. So, you would need about 28 years to recoup your investment. Is it worth it, in this case, to invest in a new boiler? The numbers don’t say so. However, if you use a lot more energy each year and the efficiency of your boiler is lower than what we used as an example, the figures will play out differently, and you may save by upgrading to an energy-efficient boiler.