Economics of converting from oil to gas heating (Boston: apartment, house)

[tonrob]

Has anyone converted from oil to gas heat in their home recently?

I live in an old 1600 sq ft house in Western MA. We have steam heat driven by a very old oil burner - not sure how old it is but it looks like it belongs in a museum someplace so I'm guessing it's not the most efficient thing around. Conversely, however, we have a very new (3 yrs) oil tank which - thanks to automatic refills - is currently full. We have gas for hot water and cooking already, so I'm guessing this is a plus.

As gas seems to be cheaper than oil in this part of the world (at least at the moment) and I don't know how many more winters the oil burner will last I'm considering switching, but I have a few questions:

1) I read someplace that if you have steam heat then the kind of gas boiler required would be less efficient than if the house had forced hot water heating - is this true? (And to what extent).

2) Tank full of oil - any way I can somehow sell this back to the oil company? Completely doubt it but it just hurts to think of having paid to get it and then pay again to have it taken away.

3) Would I be better getting the work done through Baystate Gas or should I find a contractor myself?

4) Does anyone here have any opinion as to whether the price for gas in the area will remain below oil for the duration of the coming winter? If it did it would certainly offset some of the cost of having this work done.

Thanks all - I'm a bit clueless with this sort of thing but I'm sure there will be some experts on here...

[Xenos]

Gas is trending cheaper than oil of late. Back in '99, iirc, there was a major spike in gas prices in the Boston area when bad weather closed the propane terminals in the harbor for a few weeks. Otherwise, gas is often the better choice.

Two quick thoughts:

1- Gas companies often have subsidies for new equipment, often from government programs. Conversion may end up costing you little or nothing out of pocket.

2 - price out the cost of updating your oil system. You may get the savings you need by putting in a now oil system that is a lot more efficient.

And watch out for asbestos!

[smarty]

If you have steam heat, the boiler is most likely a very old one. Efficiency goes down with time. You'll be burn $$$ if it is down at 50-60% vs 80%. Oil is most likely going to be ~$5/gal this winter if not higher. It doubles the price of natural gas for the same BTU. This mean an average house would save ~$2K assuming 800-1000/gal per year. You'll have to get a quote to see how long your return of investment will be.

My suggestion is not only change the boiler, but the delivery method also (like force hot air or hot water).

Good luck

[WestMass79]

I've heard a normal transfer over to gas generally costs about $5,000 - $7,000. It will take a little while to pay for that kind of difference and you have to hope that gas remains the better way to go once you do make up the money.

You also have to be careful in terms of what type of burner they put, there are some gas burners that are very ineffecient and there are others that are at 95% or so.

[tonrob]

Originally Posted by WestMass79

I've heard a normal transfer over to gas generally costs about $5,000 - $7,000. It will take a little while to pay for that kind of difference and you have to hope that gas remains the better way to go once you do make up the money.

You also have to be careful in terms of what type of burner they put, there are some gas burners that are very ineffecient and there are others that are at 95% or so.

Thanks WestMass 79 (and everyone!)

I thought I'd read info before that somehow having steam heat meant that the boiler would somehow operate less efficiently (or require a less efficient type) although I tried a spot of Googling but didn't turn anything useful up.

Any ideas anyone?

[vycksta]

Ihave a 2 and half family house with 9 foot ceilings and 9 rooms in my apartment. I grew up in the house and it's always been oil. My tenants use gas. Last year we spent almost 5000 dollars because my oil tank is also my hot water tank. I have been the doubting thomas on switching....my partner had a plumber/heating specialist come today. The whole project including removal of the tank and furnace will cost around 4000. 300 for removal of the tank, 500 for furnace from national grid. I have radiator/steam heat as well. Do your research. Looks like i'll make my money back in one year if oil stays as high as it is.