Heating cost for 1500 sq. ft. house in Maine (how much, buying a house)

[lovemaine]

Not sure if this has been asked before. I was hoping to get a ballpark figure as to how much it will cost to heat an approx. 1500 sq. ft. house, assuming it's fairly well insulated. We're planning on moving to ME next year, so I know oil prices could (will) be higher by then. Like I said, just a ballpark figure would be very helpful. (We have friends in CT with an older, 2300 sq. ft. house. They paid $550 last month for oil. ) We're moving up either way. It helps to be prepared though!

Thanks for your input!

[WhoFanMe]

That's now one of the first things buyers look at when they get their hands on the Seller's Property Disclosure - the number of gallons used for heating oil. Assuming you keep the heat on an average temperature, I would guess about 700-800 gallons.

If you are having an agent or agents send you listings right now ask them to send you the Seller's Property Disclosure as well, most are online now with the Multiple Listing Service and can be e mailed as .pdf files.

[BacktoNE]

I would agree that 700-800 gallons would be a good guesstimate. It will also depend, in addition to the temp you keep the house at, on how tight the house is. Old windows? Gaps in the doors? Not enough insulation? Obviously the consumption will be higher.

[lovemaine]

Thanks for responding! Never having heated with oil before, do you mean 700-800 gallons per month or per winter?

[WhoFanMe]

That's an annual figure, thank goodness!

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by WhoFanMe

That's an annual figure, thank goodness!

Thanks! And a big "Duh" on my part. If I would have done the math, it would have been obvious that it was annually. Kids have been sick and I'm lacking sleep. Can ya tell?

[Maineah]

If you're up here in the summer see if you can get a locked in oil price and a budget payment plan with a local oil dealer. We started paying for oil in August and got locked in at around $2.88 a gallon for the season. Oil was about $2.60 then so we were pretty sure a high of $2.88 would be a good lock. (regular price is close to $3.40 now) We pay about $285.00 a month for the August through April season. If we have any money left in the account at the end of the year we use it to start next season's payments. They pay us interest on the account as well. It sure beats having to come up with the over $800.00 it costs to fill a tank now!

[Elcarim]

Originally Posted by WhoFanMe

That's an annual figure, thank goodness!

Phew! That scared me for a minute!!

[maine4.us]

We just heated our house this winter, and it is about 800 sq. ft and it is running between 160-190 per month. We keep the temp about 60. It is well insulated and has the double glass windows.

[lovemaine]

Thanks for the great info.! This helps a lot! I really do appreciate it! When we lived in WI we had a 2 year old house with 1400 sq. ft. We had a gas furnace and paid about $250 per month during the coldest months. When we make our move to Maine, we may even buy something smaller than 1500 sq. ft. Between keeping the size smaller and buying a house that's well insulated, I'm sure we'll be able to keep our heating costs somewhat low.

Thanks again, all you helpful Mainers!