Sometimes a furnace or boiler needs only a tuneup to help get heat bills under control. But sometimes you need to scrap the whole thing and buy a better one.

04:25 PM EDT on Tuesday, October 18, 2005

BY DAVID McPHERSON
Journal Staff Writer

FALL RIVER -- Matt Lebow, third-generation plumber, has simple advice for homeowners looking to contain their heating costs this winter.

Start with a checkup.

That's a checkup of the heating systems that function day and night to keep them warm in the winter.

With natural gas and home heating oil prices expected to be higher than ever this winter, a system evaluation and tuneup can help homeowners save money, said Lebow.

"People should really have their systems checked," said Lebow, owner of Greenpoint Plumbing & Heating in Somerset.

New equipment can deliver big, long-term savings, but first homeowners need to know how well their current systems are performing and whether they can be adjusted with a quick fix or demand an overhaul.

"A great starting point is to have somebody who is reputable and licensed come in and perform one of these efficiency tests on the system," Lebow said. "There's no way of listening to it or eyeballing it."

A quick clean out might be all that is needed to improve performance and cut down on the amount of natural gas or oil consumed to keep a home warm this winter.

On the other hand, a system might be so tired and old the only way to achieve big savings might be to spend the big bucks up front.

Heating and cooling costs account for more than half of the energy dollars than any other system in the home, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

"By combining proper equipment maintenance and upgrades with appropriate insulation, air sealing, and thermostat settings, you can cut your energy bills and your pollution in half," the Energy Department states on its Web site.

Most homes in the United States are heated with either a furnace or a boiler.

Furnaces heat air and distribute it through the house using ducts. Boilers heat water to provide either hot water or steam to heat a house.

The Energy Department, which has stepped up its conservation campaign in the face of escalating energy bills, agrees maintenance of heating equipment is the first step to save money.

Lebow recently installed a top-of-the-line, high-efficiency hot water boiler in a Fall River house that he predicted would cut energy consumption by 30 to 40 percent this heating season. The system cost more than $6,000 to install.

The system Lebow replaced -- a 4,000-pound cast iron boiler installed in the 1940s when the house was built -- had been operated with an annual fuel-utilization efficiency (AFUE) of 67 percent. That is typical for a boiler of that era, but far below today's standard of 80 percent or higher.

The new system is rated at 90-percent efficiency.

The original boiler had been fired with coal, then converted to oil, and then converted again to natural gas.

"Each switch decreases efficiency," he explained.

An AFUE of 90 percent means that 90 percent of the energy in the fuel is converted into heat for the home, while the remainder escapes up the chimney and elsewhere.

"In the end, it's going to save the homeowner money," Lebow said.

According to an Energy Department table, an improvement from 65-percent efficiency to 90-percent efficiency should result in at least $27.77 in savings for every $100 in fuel costs.

Like Lebow, Mike Zompa of Zompa Plumbing in Barrington said he has seen an uptick in calls from customers inquiring about energy-efficiency improvements since energy prices surged in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"We are doing a lot of estimates on new heating systems, new boilers, especially where people want to get rid of the old black and white monster," he said.

"It's been more people with these older units that have been limping along," he said.

Installation of a bare bones system in a typical two-bath, three-bedroom house will run about $3,500 to $4,000, he said.

Lebow, of Greenpoint Plumbing & Heating, acknowledged that the price tag for an upgrade might be too big for some folks, but rebate programs help mitigate the cost.

In Massachusetts, natural gas customers are eligible to receive rebates of up to $500 on new high-efficiency heating systems, depending on type.

Rhode Island's energy-efficiency rebates are less generous, but an Ocean State homeowner can still qualify for a $100 rebate from New England Gas on a new gas heating system.

In addition to a system checkup, Lebow also recommends homeowners consider installation of an outdoor reset switch that allows a heating system to respond to the outside temperature.

A warmer outside temperature means a heating system will not need to work as hard to raise the indoor temperature and allow the boiler to react accordingly.

When it comes to hot water heaters, Lebow recommends they be drained periodically to remove built-up sediments and allow them to work better.

The Energy Department recommends insulating a water heater to keep heat from escaping.

Contact David McPherson at dmcpherson [at] projo.com.

TAKE A MULTIMEDIA LOOK at tuning up your furnace, keep up with this series and find more Journal reports on energy issues, at:

http://projo.com/bracingforwinter