Question:
This is probably a simple question for this group and has probably been asked numerous times. Does anyone know what the average pilot light gives off in BTU’s? I have a small bathroom heater (pilot light going 24/7 and only use it to warm up the bathroom in the morning to get ready) and was wondering if it would save that much to cut it off each day after using it. I can calc the propane useage if I kwew what it consumed. Thanks in advance, David
Response:
> This is probably a simple question for this group and has probably > been asked numerous times. Does anyone know what the average pilot > light gives off in BTU’s? I have a small bathroom heater (pilot light > going 24/7 and only use it to warm up the bathroom in the morning to > get ready) and was wondering if it would save that much to cut it off > each day after using it. I can calc the propane useage if I kwew what > it consumed. > Thanks in advance, > David
For a kitchen stove a pilot consumes about 1/3 the propane in light use by my own tests. — Free men own guns – slaves don’t http://www.geocities.com/nickhull99
Response:
Can’t give you BTU’s…but the pilot on my gas water heater runs at about 50 watts…(from a rather crude experiment.) so it can add up to a significant number….which I have just worked out; I really am going to find a better way of dealing with that! I’d say if it has a reliable ignition system, turn it off, BUT there is a safety issue here! A gas leak during the night..and you turn on the gas heater one groggy morning..it doesn’t bear thinking about! On reflection, I don’t think I would turn off the pilot to save a few bucks. Maybe an electric heater would be a better idea? (Or..use my method: run the shower for a few minutes at maximum heat!) —
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> This is probably a simple question for this group and has probably > been asked numerous times. Does anyone know what the average pilot > light gives off in BTU’s? I have a small bathroom heater (pilot light > going 24/7 and only use it to warm up the bathroom in the morning to > get ready) and was wondering if it would save that much to cut it off > each day after using it. I can calc the propane useage if I kwew what > it consumed. > Thanks in advance, > David > For a kitchen stove a pilot consumes about 1/3 the propane in light use by > my own tests. > — > Free men own guns – slaves don’t > http://www.geocities.com/nickhull99
Response:
One – not very scientific – metric I’ve heard mentioned for Melbourne (Australia) is that running a gas pilot flame costs about A$50/year. To give some scaling indications, our gas bill is (from memory) between A$500 – A$1000/year. So the pilot makes a significant contribution to total usage on these figures. HIH David – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > This is probably a simple question for this group and has probably > been asked numerous times. Does anyone know what the average pilot > light gives off in BTU’s? I have a small bathroom heater (pilot light > going 24/7 and only use it to warm up the bathroom in the morning to > get ready) and was wondering if it would save that much to cut it off > each day after using it. I can calc the propane useage if I kwew what > it consumed. > Thanks in advance, > David
Response:
I didn’t understand you. Is that just heater or it is some boiler / heater for central heating. If this is just heater then spark is not some loss. It "heats" your bathroom and keeps it "warm". If this is boiler / heater for central heating and if you think that it is significant loss from pilot light (in the summer when you just heat water), maybe you should think about some new heater that doesn’t have pilot light. They ignite with electrical spark. When engineers designed that old heater, they didn’t put spark there just to force you to pay more to gas company. They had their reasons, safety at the first place. Do NOT make any changes in your heater design in any case if you are even thinking about that. It would be bad not just for safety. Your insurance company could say that they do not recognize your insurance policy (if you have one) because of those changes. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >One – not very scientific – metric I’ve heard mentioned for Melbourne >(Australia) is that running a gas pilot flame costs about A$50/year. To >give some scaling indications, our gas bill is (from memory) between >A$500 – A$1000/year. >So the pilot makes a significant contribution to total usage on these >figures. >HIH >David
Response:
>This is probably a simple question for this group and has probably >been asked numerous times. Does anyone know what the average pilot >light gives off in BTU’s? I have a small bathroom heater (pilot light >going 24/7 and only use it to warm up the bathroom in the morning to >get ready) and was wondering if it would save that much to cut it off >each day after using it. I can calc the propane useage if I kwew what >it consumed.
From a calculation I made about 14 months ago: http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=8u1f7s%24p3i%241%40panix6.panix.com [lots snipped] Anyway, working out the math: I couldn’t find any actual figures in my books or in a web search for the gas used in a pilot light but I’ll make the following guesstimates: Looking at a typical kitchen stove and feeling the heat above the pilot light area, it seems to be very roughly about what you’d get from a 25 watt lightbulb. So let’s call it 100 btu/hr. (many people will put a small pot or pan of food over the pilot light to keep it warm) By comparison, the full burner assembly on a stove is typically about 5,000 btu/hr, or about fifty times as great. A visual comparison of flame size confirms the ballpark estimate. 100 btu/hr, times 720 hours/month, means 72,000 btu/month. Natural gas usage (for standard residential customers) is generally based on "ccf", for hundred cubic feet. The heat content is measured in "therms", for 100,000 BTUs. Fortunately for my back-of-envelope here, the two terms are just about synonymous (there’s cvery close to 1,000 btus in a cubic foot of natural gas). So, if we’re using 72,000 btu/month for a small pilot light, then that’s abotu 0.72 ccfs. Delivered cost of natural gas in the US varies dramatically, but if you guesstimate at $1 per therm you won’t be too far off. So.. that single small pilot light is costing you a bit under a dollar/month. NOTE 1: the size of a pilot light _will_ vary dramatically depending on the appliance and installation. Also, natch, you may have more than just a small one in your stove. It’s common for (older) four-burner stoves to have a double set of them, and perhaps one for the oven. — Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
Response:
What’s that do to your water bill?
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Can’t give you BTU’s…but the pilot on my gas water heater runs at about 50 > watts…(from a rather crude experiment.) so it can add up to a significant > number….which I have just worked out; I really am going to find a better > way of dealing with that! > I’d say if it has a reliable ignition system, turn it off, BUT there is a > safety issue here! > A gas leak during the night..and you turn on the gas heater one groggy > morning..it doesn’t bear thinking about! > On reflection, I don’t think I would turn off the pilot to save a few bucks. > Maybe an electric heater would be a better idea? (Or..use my method: run the > shower for a few minutes at maximum heat!) > — > > This is probably a simple question for this group and has probably > > been asked numerous times. Does anyone know what the average pilot > > light gives off in BTU’s? I have a small bathroom heater (pilot light > > going 24/7 and only use it to warm up the bathroom in the morning to > > get ready) and was wondering if it would save that much to cut it off > > each day after using it. I can calc the propane useage if I kwew what > > it consumed. > > Thanks in advance, > > David > For a kitchen stove a pilot consumes about 1/3 the propane in light use by > my own tests. > — > Free men own guns – slaves don’t > http://www.geocities.com/nickhull99
Response:
Nothing. Gas and water are different bills. A pilot is a pilot. It’s designed to ignite a major gas supply, and is, as a general rule, as small as possible to reliably, and safely, ignite the appliance . —
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> What’s that do to your water bill? > Can’t give you BTU’s…but the pilot on my gas water heater runs at about > 50 > watts…(from a rather crude experiment.) so it can add up to a > significant > number….which I have just worked out; I really am going to find a better > way of dealing with that! > I’d say if it has a reliable ignition system, turn it off, BUT there is a > safety issue here! > A gas leak during the night..and you turn on the gas heater one groggy > morning..it doesn’t bear thinking about! > On reflection, I don’t think I would turn off the pilot to save a few > bucks. > Maybe an electric heater would be a better idea? (Or..use my method: run > the > shower for a few minutes at maximum heat!) > — > > > This is probably a simple question for this group and has probably > > > been asked numerous times. Does anyone know what the average pilot > > > light gives off in BTU’s? I have a small bathroom heater (pilot light > > > going 24/7 and only use it to warm up the bathroom in the morning to > > > get ready) and was wondering if it would save that much to cut it off > > > each day after using it. I can calc the propane useage if I kwew what > > > it consumed. > > > Thanks in advance, > > > David > > For a kitchen stove a pilot consumes about 1/3 the propane in light use > by > > my own tests. > > — > > Free men own guns – slaves don’t > > http://www.geocities.com/nickhull99
Response:
> This is probably a simple question for this group and has probably > been asked numerous times. Does anyone know what the average pilot > light gives off in BTU’s? I have a small bathroom heater (pilot light > going 24/7 and only use it to warm up the bathroom in the morning to > get ready) and was wondering if it would save that much to cut it off > each day after using it. I can calc the propane useage if I kwew what > it consumed.
Very roughly, figure a typical pilot light runs about 200-600 BTU/h. My guess is that most modern, home appliances will run closer to the 200 figure. Just what I recall. Peter
Response:
The heat output from a water heater pilot is mostly absorbed by the water, so not a great loss. If it really is an issue to you you can get a retrofit kit that is safe and approved from Grangers. About $200 US, but then the water heater will need power to work. Monday Bill
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