One is a Peerless model WBV-04-WPCO high effeciency cast iron boiler wtih a Beckett Flame Retention head oil burner at about $6K.

The other system is the Energy Kinetics 2000, model EK-2, integrated heat and hot water system with a Beckett 3450 flame rentention head burner at $9K.
The latter promises to give up to 40% savings each year on oil consumption.

Any experience out there wtih the Energy Kinetics system?
We are trying to decide whether it is worth the extra $3K outlay to hope we do get the energy savings going forward.

We heard yesterday from a tradesman that this system does require some maintenance after the first year (but what doesn't?)and something about possibility of creosote (spelling?) building up. Still confused.

I find that almost all of the negative reviews, even by some so-called experts, is based on hearsay or what others have posted on various websites.

Everything on my system is standard, off the shelf components with the exception of the manager and the temp sensor. If the sensor fails, the manager goes to a default mode so you don't lose heat or hot water. If the manager fails, there is a device called a service board that allows temporary operation in dumb boiler mode, again so you don't lose heat or hot water. The cost for that board is minimal, in fact I was told they are given free at their training seminars.

Selling through dealers enables the company to pretty much oversee sales/service practices of those dealers, they have direct access to the company for sales, service and installation assistance. There is factory based tech support for qualified service people if they get stuck or just need some advice or general info. Also, by eliminating the middleman (supply house) their pricing is better.

The company will sell repair parts directly to anyone who is qualified to service oil or gas heating equipment, such as an HVAC tech, plumber, electrician, etc. By their dealing directly with the mfr they can also verify their diagnosis and get the correct repair parts. I'd call that really great.

The last comment is regarding cast iron vs steel construction. Steel is much more ductile than iron, so it can expand and contract readily as it heats and cools, does not suffer any damage from periodic cold returns, and can be easily formed to the desired shape. If you look at high pressure steam boilers they are always constructed of steel so that must say something for it.

Any heating system, oil or gas, cast iron or steel should be checked every year, if for no other reason than to ascertain that the safeties work and the vent system is clear and in good repair.

You have been very helpful with your first hand experiences.

Yes, we installed the System2000 in early October and have been very happy. You can't hear the boiler start and stop and although we don't have a year to year comparison yet, we believe we are burning significantly less oil. The hot water is not a problem. I don't believe one person can run it out of hot water. It fills our 70 gallon whirlpool tub just fine. We often take long showers back to back without running out of hot water. We've had no problem running the DW and washing machine without regard to someone being in the shower.

There are two things that are different about the system.

First, your basement will be cooler since the boiler only runs when heat is called for by one of the zones. If you have exposed copper pipes in your basement carrying the hot water to your air handlers or radiators, it won't be a huge difference, but it will be noticeable.

Second, when a zone calls for heat, cool air will come out of the register for a minute while the boiler heats up. If you sit by one of these registers and it becomes annoying, they can install a thermostat in the air handler so the fan won't start until the air is warm. Better to do this at installation, rather than on a second service call ( although my oil company didn't charge for the followup). This won't apply if you have baseboard hot water.

We like the system, but we bought it mainly for the fuel savings.

We are a three adult family/3,300 sq. ft. single family home in Connecticut with oil fired forced air. We paid $9,045 including taxes and labor installed, but labor costs are high here. Included in that price was an energy tax credit of several hundred dollars.

http://downloads.energystar.gov/bi/qplist/boilers_prod_list.pdf

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

Efficiency testing for boilers measures only steady state operation at a temperature that is unrealistically low, not off cycle losses or stack losses. These both have a large influence on total system efficiency but are not figured in AFUE. The typical boiler heats and distributes heart until the thermostat is satisfied then everything just stops, so heat left in the boiler is lost up the chimney.

Warm air furnaces heat up, distribute the heat and cool the furnace down at the end of the cycle. System 2000 does the same so no heat is wasted.

The manufacturer is really good at helping techs service the system if they have questions about it, whether they work for a dealer or not. I can service my own because I've been an oil burner tech for 40 years. That leaves me free to buy by price, however, I'm more comfortable staying with the same company and we have a good business relationship.

Obviously, the winter of 2011-12 was a mild one here in southern NH, so it can be a bit tricky to figure out our oil savings on an apples vs apple basis, at least until another couple of years go by.. However, we had an oil delivery at the end of March 2012, so I can compare our fuel usage from then to our most recent filling on Nov.10.

I keep records of all our fillings, and compared this recent period since we started using the System 2000 to several earlier years, estimating consumption for the several days difference between deliveries in one year vs another. On average, we are saving 30-32% over the April thru mid-November timeframe� (about 300 gallons on prior system vs 205 gallons on System 2000). A good chunk of this is obviously used for hot water.

One big advantage of the System 2000 is that it�s unbelievably quiet. It sounds like a microwave when it runs, as opposed to a hairdryer. Since the boiler is right under our living room, that makes a difference!

All in all, I am very impressed with the System 2000. If you gotta burn oil -- and here in New England it the cheapest fuel after natural gas and wood pellets-- this is the best way to go.

By the way, I have no real concerns about what would happen if the Energy manager control panel malfunctioned after the warranty period. Energy Kinetics has a trade-in policy in which you pay some nominal fee for a new or reconditioned board, should it come to that. Our local oil company installs enough of these systems that I'm sure any problems could be remedied quickly. OK, call me naive, but I'm not going to sweat this point.

In response to your email, yes we did install the System 2000 in October 2009. We have been extremely happy with it ever since.
See our post on February 28, 2010 for more details. Highly recommend the system for efficiency and savings. Good luck.