We built our house 5 years ago. A gas line was installed specifically for us, which we of course paid for. We bought what we thought we could afford. Our budget was... limited.
A few weeks ago, I called the heating technician who services our system to ask what else we could do from the system side to save gas. Together, we adjusted the system settings. It turned out that the Wolf system prioritizes gas as an energy source over the solar thermal system. We couldn’t lower the minimum temperature produced by gas below 45°C (113°F) — previously it was 55°C (131°F) — and we couldn’t reverse the priority. Both settings were protected from alterations. We would accept it if, for example, the water is only lukewarm while showering sometimes, and if the boiler occasionally runs as a precaution against legionella once a week.
I am now going to contact the manufacturer to see if reprogramming might be possible. We chose the heating technician the manufacturer recommended as particularly skilled with their products, even though his travel distance is not ideal. Our bungalow is not really well suited for solar power production as it is surrounded by taller buildings.
Of course, it’s clear that the gas heating system probably won’t last long and that we will need to invest significantly. However, I don’t yet see how electricity consumption will save us.
What does the collective intelligence say? Can you optimize the controls further? What else could be improved?
Best regards,
Gabriele
A few weeks ago, I called the heating technician who services our system to ask what else we could do from the system side to save gas. Together, we adjusted the system settings. It turned out that the Wolf system prioritizes gas as an energy source over the solar thermal system. We couldn’t lower the minimum temperature produced by gas below 45°C (113°F) — previously it was 55°C (131°F) — and we couldn’t reverse the priority. Both settings were protected from alterations. We would accept it if, for example, the water is only lukewarm while showering sometimes, and if the boiler occasionally runs as a precaution against legionella once a week.
I am now going to contact the manufacturer to see if reprogramming might be possible. We chose the heating technician the manufacturer recommended as particularly skilled with their products, even though his travel distance is not ideal. Our bungalow is not really well suited for solar power production as it is surrounded by taller buildings.
Of course, it’s clear that the gas heating system probably won’t last long and that we will need to invest significantly. However, I don’t yet see how electricity consumption will save us.
What does the collective intelligence say? Can you optimize the controls further? What else could be improved?
Best regards,
Gabriele
F
fach1werk25 Jun 2022 08:57Dear Steffi,
Yes, that’s roughly how I imagined it from a non-expert perspective. The gas should only provide the remaining heating, and only up to 45 degrees Celsius (113°F). From my point of view, it doesn’t always have to activate immediately.
I can also add that our system was set up by the heating engineer from the initial commissioning in a way that it practically couldn’t make use of the solar thermal system. This only came to light after the first maintenance a year later, when we chose the service company ourselves—not based on who offered the cheapest price. The company that installed and maintained our system, in our experience, simply didn’t know how to operate it properly. Nevertheless, there are probably factory settings that are aimed primarily at cheap gas and maximum comfort.
Now would be a good time to address this again, including by Wolf. May I ask who built your system? Because everything sounds very similar.
For now, I will start by recording the gas usage every day.
I will write down what we get out of it. I don’t dare to reprogram it myself—I’m not exactly tech-savvy, and when it comes to heating systems, I know about as much as a cow knows about ice skating, sigh. If programming wasn’t an option, manual adjustments might still be possible, but we’re not at that point yet. The new stove has an impressive mechanical system that controls many functions automatically because it reduces emissions. So I need to be careful about which functions I override and where.
Best regards,
Gabriele
Yes, that’s roughly how I imagined it from a non-expert perspective. The gas should only provide the remaining heating, and only up to 45 degrees Celsius (113°F). From my point of view, it doesn’t always have to activate immediately.
I can also add that our system was set up by the heating engineer from the initial commissioning in a way that it practically couldn’t make use of the solar thermal system. This only came to light after the first maintenance a year later, when we chose the service company ourselves—not based on who offered the cheapest price. The company that installed and maintained our system, in our experience, simply didn’t know how to operate it properly. Nevertheless, there are probably factory settings that are aimed primarily at cheap gas and maximum comfort.
Now would be a good time to address this again, including by Wolf. May I ask who built your system? Because everything sounds very similar.
For now, I will start by recording the gas usage every day.
I will write down what we get out of it. I don’t dare to reprogram it myself—I’m not exactly tech-savvy, and when it comes to heating systems, I know about as much as a cow knows about ice skating, sigh. If programming wasn’t an option, manual adjustments might still be possible, but we’re not at that point yet. The new stove has an impressive mechanical system that controls many functions automatically because it reduces emissions. So I need to be careful about which functions I override and where.
Best regards,
Gabriele
F
fach1werk25 Jun 2022 09:23Great tip! Don’t you have solar roof tiles? I’ve also been considering them to make better use of the area and to support a heat pump.
F
fach1werk25 Jun 2022 21:48I’m on the move and don’t know the exact numbers. Just over 130 square meters (about 1,400 square feet) and roughly 10,000 kWh. I don’t have the cubic meters in mind. However, my better half often heats the open living area, which makes up about half the house, too warmly during winter for my taste, reaching around 23°C (73°F). Retirees sometimes spend a lot of time sitting around 🙂 So he can tend the wood stove now and then, he has the time. But I would prefer it about 2 degrees (4°F) cooler anyway.
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