[Asil65]

Hello, my family will be moving to Ridgefield Ct from Va. Many of the houses in Ridgefield seem to have oil heat. What kind of expenses do you have on a monthly basis to heat with oil? Most of the houses we are looking at are zoned at about 3000 sq. feet. We are also wondering about the commute to westchester county on 35. We just fell in love with the town when we visited a couple of weeks ago and think it will be a wonderful place to raise a family. Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Rich Lee]

You should try to get a contract on the furnace that includes an annual preventive maintenance servicing. Other than that, the only expense will be when fuel oil is delivered. Pre-payment / rate lock-in plans are available. But as some readers might add, you sometimes lose out if the rate drops significantly - as it did between late summer and now.

You should also be aware of the cost of electricity for a house that size. My last bill was just $269.xx. My house is 3000 square feet (4 bedrooms, 4 baths) with two people and five dogs. (I have gas heat. The price per gallon last week was $3.85.)

[Asil65]

Ouch! That is a high electric bill. Is it due to all of the miscellaneous Ct. taxes? So when the lovely oil man comes what king of bill are we talking about? We have propane here and get two huge bills a year at arounf 800 or so dollars. Is it comparable?

[AmyBergquist]

Yikes Rich, how much electricity do your dogs actually use?!?

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by AmyBergquist

Yikes Rich, how much electricity do your dogs actually use?!?

Wait a few months when I start complaining about my $500+/- and $700+/- summer electric bills.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by Asil65

Ouch! That is a high electric bill. Is it due to all of the miscellaneous Ct. taxes? So when the lovely oil man comes what king of bill are we talking about? We have propane here and get two huge bills a year at arounf 800 or so dollars. Is it comparable?

It all depends on: 1) the rate per gallon and 2) the number of times that (s)he comes to top off your tank.

When I had oil heat, it was typically a top-off in September (I had an oil-powered water heater), a fill-up in mid-December, a fill-up in early January, a fill-up in February, and a final top-off in March. It was a 275-gallon tank for a 3-bedroom 4-level split. (I miss that house as I would have only 8 years left on the mortgage.)

[Snowman27]

Asil65, At the current 2.2 oil delivery rate I will assume you will be spending about $3300 a year on oil. I have no idea how you conserve, how many of you there are, how cold it will be or if there are programmable thermostats.

My suggestion - Get a wood stove. Many people have one in CT especially that area. The other thing you can do is call the gas company and see if there is nat. gas available for the property.

There are no "monthly" expenses with oil, it's whenever you need a fill. That all depends how much you use. Maybe you like baths or 1 hour showers. I dont know.

As far as commuting to Westchester - start looking for a job in CT. You won't like it. I had done it for 4 years, complained each day until I finally gave in and quit. Its rough unless you leave 6am and come home before 3pm.(or after 8pm)

Originally Posted by Asil65

Hello, my family will be moving to Ridgefield Ct from Va. Many of the houses in Ridgefield seem to have oil heat. What kind of expenses do you have on a monthly basis to heat with oil? Most of the houses we are looking at are zoned at about 3000 sq. feet. We are also wondering about the commute to westchester county on 35. We just fell in love with the town when we visited a couple of weeks ago and think it will be a wonderful place to raise a family. Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Asil65]

Thanks for the info. Cthere- where were you commuting to in Westchester? Just curious? My dh will be driving to Tarrytown. He was hoping that by leaving at 7 and coming home at 4 he could avoid some traffic. I guess I was just trying to get a feel about how much money yu have to fork out each time the oil person shows up. I have no idea about the size of the tank. We have not put an offer on the house yet.

[usmcfamily]

Congratulations! Ridgefield is indeed beautiful! I also have a 3000 sq. foot house and just received my electric bill and nearly had heart failure. Our bill was over $300. I am not sure if this was due to Xmas lights or if CL&P raised their rates.

I also just got a delivery of oil from Sippin Oil. I have a cap plan (I don't pay more than a specified cap) so I get oil now that it has dropped so much lower, at market rate. I paid $2.39 for 194 gallons for a cost of $465.00. I moved to Ct from the south and I keep my home fairly warm. I have zoned heating and that helps a lot. I think I will probably need another delivery of oil in 4 - 6 weeks. Some things I skimp on, heat is NOT one of them!

I lived in NoVA for 4 years- loved it! Its different here! Welcome!

[Asil65]

Thanks usmcfamily! We live outside of Charlottesville and were really torn on making the move. We just got an offer we could not refuse. We have 2 small children and we visited an elementary school in ridgefield and just fell in love. How do you think it is different from northern Va?