Hot & Steam Water Boiler Installation Services

When steam boilers are not working properly , steam boilers can seem very complicated to troubleshoot. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

GreenCity knowledgeable steam boiler technicians and steam boiler pipe fitters can get the building up and running quickly making your tenants happy. But more importantly, it is good practice for property owners and property managers to initiate preventative maintenance programs for servicing commercial and residential steam boilers prior to the heating season so they will operate during the heating season with little or no disruption or downtime for your tenants.

Steam heating systems can be single supply pipe to each radiator that also returns condensate water back to boiler for reheating or a steam heating system can consist of 2 pipe system. One pipe acts as supply and the other is return for condensate water.

Whether a single or dual pipe steam system supplies live steam to baseboard heaters and radiators, transfer of heat to wall heaters experience significant delays with the result that it is generally difficult to utilize setback devices to conserve energy, especially in residential complexes.

On a one pipe supply, an automatic steam venting system should be operational and allow cold unheated air to automatically vent, allowing live steam to fill the heating vessel. If the auto-vent is clogged, it is best to replace it. Generally, it is best practice to replace all auto air vents at the same than try and fix the individual air vent when the single vent plugs up. A plugged auto vent is as sign that others will likely get clogged soon; usually with minerals in the water.

Especially in older buildings, make sure that radiators are tilted properly for water to drain. Steam radiators found to be out of level can be properly leveled with small blocks or shims. Old steam radiators can be made to work as new. Otherwise, out of level radscan be the cause of excessive clanging in pipes because condensate water does not properly drain.

Hot Water Radiators

Common no heat calls are usually due to radiator air blockages. Radiators should be bled to remove air allowing water to move throughout the heating system. Start at highest point radiators by bleeding air, then move on to the next in the line until all radiators have had their air bled. If heat problems persist, contact GreenCity Plumbers to diagnose heating problems before they become major issues for your tenants.

Overheating buildings with old hot water engineered systems are a reality in many properties. This can be evidenced by overheated tenants opening windows on the same side of the building while other tenants are complaining that they do not have enough heat. Simple remediation that can satisfy most tenants’ needs is to install a separate zone valve in areas that are deemed to be heated too much.

On cold days, the property manager should list the apartment units with open windows and when the heating system will be closed down for the season, a list of all apartments with windows consistently open can have zone valves installed. A zone control valve within a unit has a short payback and will continue paying dividends going forward.

Furnaces and Boilers

Most heating sources in multiple tenanted buildings are either gas fired or oil fired furnaces or boilers. As the name suggests boilers heat water to be circulated throughout the building and sometimes water being heated is turned to steam. It is the steam that fills pipes quickly but it is also first to cool when heat is turned off. On the tenant comfort index, steam heated buildings are usually very low on the comfort scale due to sizable variations in temperature between cycles of heating water.

Boiler water has the advantage over steam in that the boiler continues to heat the water in a predetermined operating range so that when thermostat shuts down the boiler, the rad water does not immediately go cold and the boiler maintains heated water at a lower temperature so that there is always some heat from the radiator on an outside wall, thereby eliminating cold spots in a residence or commercial building.

Modern indoor outdoor controllers are constantly monitoring outside temperatures to determine the exact range of temperature of heated water required to keep the tenants’ premises at a prescribed temperature. If your outdoor controller is more than 10 years old, GreenCity recommends updating with newer smart controllers that will save tenants even more money by using less fuel.

Retrofitting Your Furnace or Boiler

Retrofitting an old boiler or furnace to make it more energy efficient has its merits but it is also like fixing an old car. Sooner or later another component or control will fail with the result that maintaining an old boiler will cost more than the cost of a newer energy efficient model. And even with all the retrofitting, you still have a single purpose boiler for heating. If you thinking of updating, we recommend new models equipped with air conditioning, central humidification and of course efficient heating.

But the biggest advantage of installing “new” is that no matter which model of boiler or furnace you choose, it will be more energy efficient than the monster furnace that it is replacing. So from the “get go” you are increasing tenants’ comfort while saving money with lower heating and operating costs. Investing in reduced costs and tenants’ comfort is always a win, win situation especially at an affordable price.

Back