Hello,

I do not remember your name but I was impressed with your presentation at the NYARM seminar.

You mention at the seminar that fiberglass insulation wrapped around hot pipes saves gallons of oil. What was the amounts you gave? Thank you for your time.

Scott Soifer

Property Manager

Dear Scott,

“If its Hot to the Touch it cost too much!”   Thank you for the Compliment ! I am glad that you remembered my e mail address. What I quoted at the seminar was “ for every 100 Ft of exposed 3’’ steam line you will waste 3 Gallons of oil per hour of operation” This is based upon steam pipe with no insulation in a basement area or other un heated space. The recommended amount of Fiberglass insulation is 2’’ for steam supply AND Return lines and 1 ‘’ for Domestic hot water lines. Please e mail me for a copy of a Chart that I prepared explaining the benefits of pipe insulation to my Clients in a recent news letter ( It does not post well here on the blog) mikeg@lessoil.com    I hope that this is helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like a free building survey.

Before deciding on a control system that we would recommend and install for our clients, we reviewed all the major brands and even looked into designing our own control system. After careful consideration of all the options we decided that the original heat control computer designed by a property owner for property owners was the best.

We chose the US Energy Heat Controller for its reliability and 'set it and forget it' simplicity of operation. We install US Energy’s EMS (Energy Management System) Heat Controllers to optimize boiler operation, reduce fuel use and provide us with overall system information with which to This EMS controls the boiler based on the INDOOR temperature, as opposed to the old outdoor temperature only heat timing device. Sensors are placed in the top floor apartments, the last place to get heat. If the top floor apartments are heat-satisfied, the boiler is turned off automatically.

Simply put, the EMS automatically manages the boiler so it runs less, runs more efficiently and burns less fuel. One of the things we liked best about the US Energy Heat Controller is that it gives us a full range of information about boiler efficiency – running times, time to pressure, water temperature, water leaks, etc. This knowledge gives us THE POWER to help avoid fuel waste normally associated with broken return lines, controls placed on by pass and dirty boilers. That is because whenever there is an abnormality the control automatically notifies us of the condition before it becomes a big fuel waster.

The US Energy control settingsare programmed remotely, then monitored continuously and automatically by the USE Monitoring service. There is nothing for the super to adjust or for the property owner to worry about. We tell our clients to Just Set It and Forget It! Then watch the fuel bills drop.

We can install any control that our clients want BUT when they ask what we recommend – Its always USE.

The picture above is of a dirty boiler tube.

A lot of people say we are nuts BUT we clean the boilers that are covered by our guaranteed fuel savings maintenance and service agreement on a monthly basis.

The facts are that a clean boiler is an efficient boiler. Our maintenance team recently cleaned a boiler for a new client that was moderately dirty. The property owner claimed that the boiler was not cleaned in 6 months.

To prove a point, I asked the LESSOIL Maintenance team to take before and after efficiency readings. Prior to cleaning, the boiler had an exhaust gas temperature of almost 700 degrees and after we were done it was reduced down to 325 degrees. That represents almost a 25% better heat retention rate for the boiler.

Fuel savings is a lot about fundamentals and making things work the way they were designed to. Boiler cleaning is Fuel Savings 101, a fundamental part of any fuel conservation program.

Big and Ugly Doesn't Mean Inefficient

Obviously this burner has seen better days. You might be convinced that it's time to get a Shiny new one

I'm currently working with this client to save him $90,000 a year in operating costs while still using the same burner and boiler. The math is fairly simple.

Convert this burner back to #6 fuel (It is currently burning #2) and save .60 per gallon. Then upgrade the control system to a US Energy heat computer to provide better control and eliminate tampering. Next, place the boiler and burner on a scheduled maintenance program. The client will net savings of $90,000 per year while only having to lay out about $30,000 to make repairs and add the control system - a one time expense.

The funny part of this whole thing is that even if the client were to go for a new burner or a complete new boiler and burner the savings would not be as great as what we prescribed. The technology of large capacity heating equipment has not changed in the last 30 years. A new boiler and burner is working with the same technology that he already has. The thing that saves the money is the use of the proper fuel, regular maintenance and the right control system.

All too often simple things are overlooked in buildings that can result on significant energy savings if someone just took the time to give a darn about it. These days the old rules of thumb in the operations of a heating system just don't cut it, especially when fuel oil is approaching $3.00 per gallon.

One of the biggest problems that I see is that some people feel that spending money on energy conserv. In the case of multi-family and commercial buildings, the stakes are high enough that landlords should be standing up and taking notice. Yet some seem disinterested.

There are some excellent tips on fuel savings available on the internet. My personal favorite is produced by the US Department of Energy and entitled "Actions you Can Take to Reduce Heating Costs”. The fact sheet outlines the simple things that can be done to reduce energy usage without spending a lot of money on new technology.

I'm a firm believer in keeping it simple.