The heat is on, part two

Well, it's done. The installer finished the job by mid-afternoon and another technician came by to get us up and running, program the thermostatic controls, and walk us through how it all works. The boiler is working well (so far) and is quieter than the old one, which used to make a loud whoosh! sound when it started up. I can't hear the new one start up at all.

The new boiler, installed. All the cardboard boxes and tools are gone (compare with yesterday's photo).

The thermostat control is a little box that you can move around the house depending on where you want it. It has a little display screen with time, temperature, and other indications. Right now we have it in the main living/dining room and I suspect that's where it will stay. We set up an initial program (with the technician's help) for a day temperature and an overnight temperature. The switching points are at 5:30 in the morning and 10:00 at night, respectively. I've already made adjustments.

Sleek, shiny, and new!

This morning I woke around 4:00 and heard a low hum which turned out to be the boiler working (it's two floors below the bedroom). I got up to check and, sure enough, it was running and the radiators were heating up. I couldn't go back to sleep wondering why it was running an hour and half early, so I stayed up and read the manual. It turns out that the boiler starts up before your programmed hour and gradually brings the room up to temperature so that it's at the right temperature at the right time. Well, now that I know that, I can set the daytime temperature for a little later in the morning. I also set a lower evening temperature and a new overnight schedule. I don't like the house too warm when I sleep. We'll see how it works and will probably make further adjustments in the coming days.