OIl fired boiler for baseboard heating and electric hot water heater for hot water - any way to save money?

Answer 1

About all you can do, without going through the expense of converting to gas, is to make sure your thermostats are set properly to avoid using more energy than you really need to. The water tank should be set between 120F and 140F measured at the faucet. And your area thermostats should be set at a minimum temperature that you are comfortable with.

Answer 2

i have the same set up as you, except cast iron radiators. our biggest expense is the electric hot water, since it keeps the water hot 24/7, when we only need it 6-8 hours a day. when the water heater goes we will be converting to a system where the oil furnace will make the hot water. find out if your furnace has the capability to make your hot water when you have it serviced. the replacement will be a holding tank that has a coil for making hot water from the furnace. it is kind of like having a radiator in it and the water that heats it is circulated from the furnace. and the other benefit is the furnace won't be shut down for 8 months of the year. due to chimney design in this old house, the furnace tends to soot up. our furnace is about 20-25 years old and runs at about 82-84% efficiency, new ones run between 90-95% and have this hot water package built in them. we were quoted about $5,000. to replace the furnace with this system, everything new except the oil tank, here in CT. hope this helps and gives you some ideas. good luck.

Answer 3

If you plan to keep both of those, insulation is the best way to save money.
Insulate the water tank and the pipes from it for 5'.
Turn the temp on the water heater as low as you can tolerate.

Insulate your attic as much as you can, upgrade your windows if they are not good thermopanes, add heavy curtains or cellular blinds, weatherstrip your doors, insulate attic access, insulate sill boxes in basement, insulate perimeter of foundation with at least an inch of foam to 2' below grade.
One other "trick" is to provide outside air for your boiler so the air it uses for combustion doesn't have to be pulled through every window/outlet/door and sidewall in the house. By putting a pvc pipe to the outside, with the outlet close to the boiler air intake, you can reduce the drafty feeling in the house, and less warm air is going up the chimney because it is pulling in outside air directly. A motorized damper on that air inlet is best, that opens when the boiler turns on.

However, if the oil boiler is older...think seriously about replacing it with a gas boiler. The difference in efficiency, and the use of "direct vent" makes a huge difference.