Heating Oil Prices

[GB]

We just got an oil delivery yesterday. My jaw almost hit the floor when I saw the bill. the only reason it didn't is because DW's jaw was already down there first blocking mine from hitting.

The bill was over $800. The price per gallon was $4.49. This is going to be a very difficult winter and we are not even done with summer yet.

 

[Andy M.]

WOW, that's huge!

My jaw bounced off the floor a couple weeks ago when I got a $257 electric bill for my little condo. It's a lot warmer in here these days.

I can't imagine what the heating season will bring.

 

[GB]

Yeah our electric bill was about $250, but a large part of that is the pool. That is a huge energy drain.

 

[Andy M.]

Yeah our electric bill was about $250, but a large part of that is the pool. That is a huge energy drain.

It's the AC for me.

 

[Adillo303]

I hear both of you on fuel prices. My last fillup on my diesel truck (Same as heating oil) was $4.61. It cost $150.00 to fill it up. Electric is up here too. I wish that I still had easy free access to firewood, I would put in a fireplace. I heated with wood for 3 years. Didn't pay a penny for heat, loved it. Just had to cut and split wood, which is good excercise.

AC

 

[Jeekinz]

Anyone with forced hot air should seal the duct work. There's specific tape (not duct tape) or mastic used for this. Most homes lose 30% of air flow through leaky ducts. I did mine and noticed a $100 month drop in my gas bill, plus the house heats/cools off alot faster.

It took me half a day using the tape in my full basement with a drop ceiling. Don't forget to go around the furnace too. Just put the thermostat on "Fan Only" and feel for drafts around the ductwork.

 

[Wart]

I have always wanted a wood burner.

Wife has always been against it.

Mayhaps this year she'll change her mind.

 

[GB]

We actually have a wood stove. Last year we used it quite a lot, but for some reason did not notice much of a difference in our oil bill for some reason. I am still trying to figure that one out.

This year we will not be able to use the wood stove much. It takes a few hours for it to heat up enough to start pumping out heat that you can feel in the other rooms. With our work schedules now that means that by the time we get home and get it lit and heated it will be time to let it die down for the night. We can use it on the weekends or the rare day that one of us works from home, but that is it.

 

[suziquzie]

I have to go back to work closer to full time just so we can get the fuel AND propane for the oven / dryer filled!!! I've been grilling because I'm afraid using the oven and stove to much will make us run out before we're ready.
We will be switcihng our furnace to propane as soon as possible and adding a heat pump? I'm not sure what that does but it has something to do with both the furnace and a/c.. I think it it put in underground?
It's DH's department I don't quite get it..... but it's supposed to save money and energy anyway!

 

[Alix]

Do most of your homes use oil for heat and not natural gas? Most use natural gas here so thats why I was asking.

 

[suziquzie]

At least here in MN, in the cities and towns, most are hooked up (usually by force) to Natural gas thru the city lines.
I live in the middle of nowhere.
Soon to be middle of nowhere in a tent burning wood.

 

[GrantsKat]

We do not have gas or oil at all. Everything is electrically powered. Including the pump for the water from our well, when we have power outages we are completely shut down. Our electric bill runs around $250 all year round. Although we just recieved notice that next month there will be an 8% increase >: {

 

[Andy M.]

Heating homes with oil is very big in the Northeast. Natural gas is here as well but oil is king. I heat with NG. It has been cheaper historically.

 

[bethzaring]

We heat entirely with wood, and it is not free. We pay real estate taxes on our 50 acre woodlot, which BTW is way more than we need, I think 2 acres would be plenty. Our house is superinsulated and requires little in the way of a heat source. We maintain two large chainsaws which run on oil and gas. But the biggest expense is the time it takes dh to fell, cut and haul the wood with a tractor. This is time he can not draw any salary. I assume we save a great deal of money by heating with wood over having to pay for oil or electricity, but it is not free.

 

[Jeekinz]

My brother in NH said some of people were going back to coal.

 

[Alix]

GB, how long does the oil you just got last? Is it a monthly thing or what? And how big is your house?

Our house is 1100 sq ft with a full basement (so 2200 sq ft) and we pay about $200 a month for NG. Just wondering what the comparison is like.

 

[LadyCook61]

We use Keystoker Coal stove for heating the whole house. The house has electric baseboard heating and we have not used it at all. We used to have a wood burning stove but it did a bad job of heating so we got rid of it and bought the coal stove about 10 yrs ago. The house is 2300 sq. feet, 2 floors.

 

[Jeekinz]

We use Keystoker Coal stove for heating the whole house. The house has electric baseboard heating and we have not used it at all. We used to have a wood burning stove but it did a bad job of heating so we got rid of it and bought the coal stove about 10 yrs ago. The house is 2300 sq. feet, 2 floors.

What's your monthly heating costs with coal?

 

[GB]

Alix during the summer it lasts a long time. This is the first fill up we have had in months. I do not remember when our last was. During the winter we seem to get a fill up every 4-6 weeks. Our house is basically the same as yours. 11oosq ft with a full finished basement.

 

[Jeekinz]

Programable thermostats will save you a bundle too.