oil heat vs gas heat? (home, water heater, to buy)

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by DaltoBoston

My question which is better? Oil or gas?

The oil (or gas) has little to do with the actual heat,
These are fuels the boiler or furnace are using when they make heat they then distribute throughout the house.

The house uses the radiator heating method...

Forced hot water radiators is the nicest heat option available.
I wish I had that here.

The landlady said oil is better and cheaper if I fill the tank during the non winter months and then add when necessary in winter.

Don't believe car salesmen or land ladies.

What she describes is generally the best way to buy oil but it's only foolproof if you have a crystal ball and know when oil prices will be lowest. The volatility of oil prices are the third worst aspect of having a tank of fuel oil in your basement.

The second worst aspect is having an oil burner to mess with
The #1 worst aspect is that the tank will go dry at the worst possible time.

In case you were wondering I'm a fan of gas.

The furnace is only 5 yrs old. The apt, uses gas for water and stove.

This says a lot about the LL.
If (enough) natural gas is available there is no good reason to buy a new fuel oil BOILER (not furnace btw). She was likely either sold a bill of goods or didn't want to deal with ridding the basement of the fuel oil tank(s).

[Amontillado]

One other point is that the gas company is a public utility, and they can't cut you off very quickly if you get a little behind in your bill. Oil's sold by local businesses. If you don't pay for oil when the bill comes, they won't sell you any more.

Not that I'm advocating being a deadbeat, you understand, but sometimes it takes a while to get around to writing checks.

[brent s]

Oil in central mass averaged around $3.70 a gallon this winter give or take 10 cents or so. It cost me about $650 to fill up my tank from 1/4 full, and I had to do that 3x this winter. I think I used about 600 gallons or so.

[snatale1]

Originally Posted by heather3

About how much does it cost to fill up your heating unit with gas and with oil? We may be relocated to MA and I'm trying to figure out how much more it costs to live up there. Here, we have a heat pump/electric.
Thanks!

Most tanks are 200g, When I was using it for Heat & HW I'd go through about 2 tanks a winter. Oil was like $2.80/gal then so it a little under $600/tank. Obviously more now. But that was on an ancient "Snowman" boiler (all asbestos) newer boilers and newer homes, good windows etc all come into play. Stupidly enough a lot of places have Oil heat and gas HW, if you decided to switch, the gas company (Nstar at least) But I'm sure Grid and the others do the same, will switch you for free everything included. Just not during the winter months if cutting the street is required.

[mmyk72]

Mr Rational is right. If the house already has a gas line running, the 'right' way to do it when the boiler needed replacement 5 yrs ago was to buy a gas unit... The cost of oil vs gas may have been equal back then, but an oil unit carries a lot of headache: requires yearly maintenance, fluctuating oil prices, tank leaking and needing replacement potentially, etc.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Originally Posted by heather3

About how much does it cost to fill up your heating unit with gas and with oil? We may be relocated to MA and I'm trying to figure out how much more it costs to live up there. Here, we have a heat pump/electric.
Thanks!

It really depends on the square footage and the age of your house. We live in an older, drafty house roughly about 2000 sq. ft. We keep the thermostat somewhere between 60-62F during the winter and supplement with layering clothes and a couple of ceramic heaters we move from room to room. We also have two heating zones (front and back of house), and we deliberately keep the back end cooler than the front, maybe around 60F, since we don't use it very much.

Budget billing is the way to go. When I wasn't on budget -- this is going back maybe 3-4 years ago -- I was paying anywhere from $500-600 per fill-up. With budget, I pay roughly anywhere between $120-150 a month all year. The amount depends on the oil prices, of course, and also how much oil you actually used the previous year. My dealer locks in the new rate every year in June.

[DaltoBoston]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

Mr Rational is right. If the house already has a gas line running, the 'right' way to do it when the boiler needed replacement 5 yrs ago was to buy a gas unit... The cost of oil vs gas may have been equal back then, but an oil unit carries a lot of headache: requires yearly maintenance, fluctuating oil prices, tank leaking and needing replacement potentially, etc.

Asked her abt it and she told me that the previous owners had changed it all when they sold the house to her. Until now, the bill has not been too big since the windows was replaced and the house is well insulated (confirmed to me by the existing tenants) etc... plus it is a radiator heating system... What made me feel more comfortable is that she is the one living on the first floor, if anything, she is paying a higher bill.. maybe I am a little naive here too......I do know Gas systems are cheaper though..... lived in a house that had one long time ago..

[nzone]

- heating oil burns about 16% more efficiently than gas (US Department of Energy and the Gas Appliances Manufacturers Association)
- Oil creates 140,000 BTU’s of heat per gallon while a gallon equivalent of Natural Gas produces 100,000 BTU’s. You will need to burn approximately 40% more natural gas to receive the same heating equivalent as heating oil.
- depending on where you live, the cost of heating oil has traditionally been cheaper 5 out of the past 7 years

[haberstroh]

Originally Posted by LeavingMA

I find oil a little more "dirty", or that it produces more dust then gas.

But that is not the case when you cook with gas. The open flame will make your walls sooty much faster then your oil heat and an electric stove.
Don't get me wrong I am fan of natural gas and would switch I a heart beat if I had it in my street.
On the other hand I have to say that I also like the oil heat, less worries about deadly gas leaks and explosions I guess. We have a well maintained oil system and it is surprisingly easy to deal with, except for the price.

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by MrRational

The oil (or gas) has little to do with the actual heat,
These are fuels the boiler or furnace are using when they make heat they then distribute throughout the house.



Forced hot water radiators is the nicest heat option available.
I wish I had that here.

Don't believe car salesmen or land ladies.

What she describes is generally the best way to buy oil but it's only foolproof if you have a crystal ball and know when oil prices will be lowest. The volatility of oil prices are the third worst aspect of having a tank of fuel oil in your basement.

The second worst aspect is having an oil burner to mess with
The #1 worst aspect is that the tank will go dry at the worst possible time.

In case you were wondering I'm a fan of gas.

This says a lot about the LL.
If (enough) natural gas is available there is no good reason to buy a new fuel oil BOILER (not furnace btw). She was likely either sold a bill of goods or didn't want to deal with ridding the basement of the fuel oil tank(s).

Hey Mr Rational! Nice to see you on the Mass. forum. I decided to move my gas vs. oil question over here because I need recommendations for dealers/installers in WMass. I am looking now into Ruud/Rheem or Trane. I read on some HVAC forum that Ruud/Rheem furnace can be noisier but has a better warranty. I need a furnace that will last 25 years. I hate noisy motor sounds of any kind. I also want the greatest efficiency (96%).

I also read, importantly, that the quality of the installation is more important than the product, or at least as much as. Knowing nothing about gas furnace installers, any recommendations for WMass? Any recommendations Ruud/Rheem vs Trane in terms of efficiency and noise level?

Is it costly to have the oil tank in the basement removed? Is it necessary to do so?

Sorry for repeating myself from the retirement forum!