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We recently moved to a 1920's 5-bd / 2,500 sqft house in Long Island and were surprised to learn about the heating cost.
We have an oil-based steam heating system and had our 1,000 gallon underground oil tank refilled ($3.749/gallon) recently. Apparently, we are now going through about 8-9 gallons/day, which translates to about $1,000/month.
We have two floors, a finished attic, and a semi-finished basement. The windows are old but mostly have two panes of glass. The boiler is less than 5 years old.
Our thermostat is mostly set to 75 degrees whenever we are home and it feels warm in most parts of the house but not everywhere (e.g. the 3rd floor/attic and the kitchen feel cold). We also shut the heat off completely whenever we are at work for 10 hours 3-5 days/week. We expected the bill to be around $500 at most but it seems a bit much at $1,000/mo.
Is this normal given the house size, the usage pattern, etc or should I worry about a leak? Any other suggestions from the folks with a similar setup?
We recently moved to a 1920's 5-bd / 2,500 sqft house in Long Island and were surprised to learn about the heating cost.
We have an oil-based steam heating system and had our 1,000 gallon underground oil tank refilled ($3.749/gallon) recently. Apparently, we are now going through about 8-9 gallons/day, which translates to about $1,000/month.
We have two floors, a finished attic, and a semi-finished basement. The windows are old but mostly have two panes of glass. The boiler is less than 5 years old.
Our thermostat is mostly set to 75 degrees whenever we are home and it feels warm in most parts of the house but not everywhere (e.g. the 3rd floor/attic and the kitchen feel cold). We also shut the heat off completely whenever we are at work for 10 hours 3-5 days/week. We expected the bill to be around $500 at most but it seems a bit much at $1,000/mo.
Is this normal given the house size, the usage pattern, etc or should I worry about a leak? Any other suggestions from the folks with a similar setup?
75 degrees? That's really high.
2500 sq ft?
House from the 1920's?
It's not that crazy. I'd start by putting that Thermostat at a less tropical setting.
Also, you should not shut the heat off completely when you're not home. It can be dangerous for your pipes and it also doesn't save you that much, as the system has to crank for a long time to get back up to temperature when it's turned on.
Thanks for the "do not shut off" tip, makes sense.
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I'd start by putting that Thermostat at a less tropical setting.
I know that the 75 degrees seems high but it's not the temperature in the overall space e.g. the vents are fully open on the radiators on the second floor but I'd say it's closer to 65 degrees in the master bedroom on the second floor even-though the thermometer downstairs reads 75.
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8-9 gallons a day is a lot regardless of the house. Get your system checked out.
I did have it checked out by the oil company's heating system repair guy and the guy laughed and said, it's "a big old house, what did you expect"?
To save money, I guess I could also go around the house and turn the radiators on/off whenever everyone's upstairs for the night but it's seems like a huge hassle. These heating systems were designed over 150 years ago and are not very efficient. There has to be a better way, right?
Thanks for the "do not shut off" tip, makes sense.
I know that the 75 degrees seems high but it's not the temperature in the overall space e.g. the vents are fully open on the radiators on the second floor but I'd say it's closer to 65 degrees in the master bedroom on the second floor even-though the thermometer downstairs reads 75.
I did have it checked out by the oil company's heating system repair guy and the guy laughed and said, it's "a big old house, what did you expect"?
To save money, I guess I could also go around the house and turn the radiators on/off whenever everyone's upstairs for the night but it's seems like a huge hassle. These heating systems were designed over 150 years ago and are not very efficient. There has to be a better way, right?
Yes, there's a better way. Scrap the system. Go with forced hot water baseboards for more even heat distribution. Two zones - one for each floor. Add a third if you have a heated basement.
Also have an energy audit done. You're probably losing a lot of heat due to lack of insulation among other things.
A wood stove is ideal for an old leaky house. Free heat=good. My house is well insulated but I use about 300 gals/year.
It is really not that much work any anyone can do it. Even if you work all day and don't feed the fire you will drastically reduce your oil use.
Not to mention you won't have live in the 62-65 degree zone to save money. Modern stoves are much cleaner/lesssmokey when used properly.
I grew up with a coal stove, but I'd much rather go with wood since it's easier to get and I like the overall look more. Currently we use oil, but at least once a year it goes out, and after Sandy and the blizzard, I'm wanting something else. Now... I just need to convince my husband.
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