Ultra High Efficiency Modulating Boilers

HellisLikeNewrk

NJ Clean Energy program is offering some major incentives for people to upgrade their gas heating systems with systems that are at least 85% efficient. The majority of the contractors in the program seem to be pushing Baxi brand Wallhung boilers which claim up to 99% efficiency. The regional rep for Baxi must have done a hell of a selling job getting all the contractors signed up with this company.

Anyone here have any long term experience with Baxi or other condensing boiler brands? If so.. please let me know what your experience was.. good or bad in regards to service and reliability issues. My past experience with them on the commercial side has given me a bias against condensing boilers. After a 5 year stint auditing energy saving programs (commercial) that used them; two things I came away with:
1. Condensing boilers have as little as 5 year life span, as I was constantly handing the paperwork for new boilers to replace the ones that died. In an extreme case a local college had over 16 boilers fail in two years.
2. Return water temperatures and other conditions vastly effect the true, in field efficiency. We tested 95%+ condensing boilers and found them under 85% efficient (yes.. the temp and mass of the condensate was included in those calcs).

Therefore I am a bit hesitant about recommending them. I also had a discussion with a PSE&G boiler service tech who told me the modulating boilers keep him busy with work. Yet, I keep getting clients who are ultra focused on getting them.

These things are a lot of money. I have one potential client who is spending over $7k on the boiler upgrade (Baxi model 380). He is actually scaling back the insulation improvements so he can afford the boiler (already tried talking him out of doing that to no avail).

loogout1

Curious about these units as well. Need to upgrade my house and was looking into these.

MechanicalDVR

Rinnai and Bosch are the ones we have used most, never heard of Baxi. The biggest problems with high efficiency boilers is non efficient mechanics working on them, if you think guys in a/c dont keep up with tech news you should try talking to boiler tech sometimes. I would say less than 10% have half a clue to what they should know to work on high tech equipment. Ask one how to tell how many btus a burner is running at and youll learn just what I mean.

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