Energy and utility costs thread (Eugene: houses, heat pump, live)

[esya]

I am interested in the relative costs of heating methods. Gas forced air is the standard in Denver, but I am seeing a lot of different things. Not crazy about those wall units for aethetics, but maybe electric is cheapest? If you were rehabbing a house what would you put in now and why? Oil, electric zone, electric forced air, gas forced air, oil furnace, or propane?

[Silverfall]

In Oregon natural gas furnances or heat pumps are preferred.

Also, 80% efficiency is our minimum required code, but 97% efficiency is a nice selling feature.

[Steve97415]

If I were rehabbing a house that didn't have ducting (many houses in Oregon don't), I would -- and did -- get a mini-split ductless heat pump. In my case, it was the Mitsubishi "Mr. Slim" series. The SEER rating can't be beat and the state offers a rebate on installation. I'm guessing that with photovoltaic panels, you could also generate enough juice to do your own air conditioning with this unit if you lived in an area where air conditioning was necessary. I got one for the heat efficiency even though I never need the AC.

Gas is yesteryear's bargain. The cost of fossil-fuel gases is going up by the day. Electricity will be around for a long time and there are lots and lots of ways of generating it cleanly.

[esya]

This is very practical, helpful information. Thanks. It explains a lot of what I am seeing. We used oil for our central furnace back when I was a kid in Ohio, but it's hard to imaging going back to having it delivered these days, with the price of petrol based fuels going up and down.

[Venusian_Artist]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

Gas is yesteryear's bargain. The cost of fossil-fuel gases is going up by the day. Electricity will be around for a long time and there are lots and lots of ways of generating it cleanly.

Ummm...you do realize that the most common form of electricity generation is thermal, and that thermal is powered by what? Natural gas.

[Kristynwy]

My husband was an HVAC man in Oregon before we moved out, so I will ask him when he gets home and give you a more detailed response...

[Kristynwy]

My husband just got home...

He said a lot of people in out lying areas get an electric furnace with a Heat Pump.

People in town generally go with natural gas.

Heating oil is extremely expensive, and when my husband was there he said his company and a lot of companies have been trying to phase out oil.

Another good option is a pellet stove or wood stove as an additional heat source...

We had a pellet stove in Oregon, and it really helped the electric bill...

[haggardhouseelf]

I have a question about pellet stoves - do they cause any kind of polution? I seem to remember reading stories during the winter time in Eugene about the particulates in the air becoming bad... and the cities asking people not to use their stoves. Were they talking about pellet stoves or wood burning stoves or something else?

[dachmom]

They were talking about wood stoves. Pellet stoves are clean burning, plus the pellets are made from wood scraps. Last I heard, pellets were in short supply. Of course, that was a few years ago. My grandparents had an old home (100yrs) and they replaced the inefficient oil stove with a pellet stove, which worked sooo much better and was less expensive.

[Silverfall]

Pellet stoves are much more clean burning that wood stoves. Much more efficient. The largest issue has been pellet shortages in the past. Due to an huge demand, makers of the pellets were caught off guard and did not have enough stock. I think last year was the first year, that I did not hear of a shortage.

They crank out the heat...