Cost of running a new gas line (Harrisburg: for sale, credit)

[nancy361]

Hi again

Wondering if anyone knows off the top of their head or had it done, what it costs to have a gas line run from street to my house for my furnace?

Thinking maybe next spring or summer MAYBE we would convert from oil to gas just for heat....House is 120yrs old. remnants of the gas lights they used are in the walls...we have the gas shut off thing out on our sidewalk where the water shut off thing is....SO yrs ago im sure there was gas, but no more....mustve went from coal then to oil.....I called PECO and the guy that would know the info wasnt there...another guy said it would cost 3400 to put a line in from the street to my house and a meter too...other contractors said thats way too high....if there is a pipe there its retired/inactive, there is no meter at all....
the oil tank is ancient and so we are going to just put bricks around the legs and all to give extra support so we can fill tank and get thru the winter.....Called a good contractor to ask about converting our oil furnace to gas, he said he does it all the time ...But we would need the gas line 1st and just not sure what the costs are.....does PECO gas comp have to run the line or can a qualified plumber do it?? peco does offer credits to people that convert and also rebates if you get all new equipment....our htr is 5yrs old and very good one at that..
any info would be appreciated
thanks

[Rick672]

Hi Nancy,
I just converted from oil to natural gas. I went on Pecos website and read about the different rebates Peco will give you for the conversion. I called Peco and they said they will run a gas line from the main (street) up to, I think 100 feet or 150 feet, for a set price based on the square footage of your house. If its more than 100 feet (it may be 150 feet) then you would pay a set price per foot.
Peco then subs the job out to henkels and mccoy. They came out and ran a gas line from the street to the house. My heating contractor installed the new gas furnace. Henkels and McCoy then met my heating contractor, they installed the gas meter, fired up the furnace, and there ya go.

I got 400 bucks rebate for the gas line and 400 bucks for converting to natural gas. After the rebates my complete package ran about 5K which included a 97 percent high efficiency gas furnance. Since then I had a gas fireplace installed and I am ready for the winter.

Check out Peco's gas conversion calculators to see how much you can save by the conversion. I am so happy that I am not at the mercy of oil prices anymore! Good Luck!

[nancy361]

Thanks Rick
I was on pecos site too and read all about the CREDITS they give if you dont have a gas line to your home and need one, and for every other appliance you add in you get more credits.. And yes they offer 400 in rebates for converting and getting a new furnace (gas) and then another 300 if you get a HIGH EFF furnace....Not sure when i called that number why to guy told me it would cost 3400 to run a line from the street out front, to my house...house isnt far from street it would go straight in and right into basement to the heater which is right there...The guy that KNOWS the exact info about if i have a line or an inactive line, which im sure thats what it is, was supposed to call me back yesterday but didnt. I called them again, peco and they said the guy wont be in til monday and to call him then.. what a joke.... So once he cks out the property and all, and tells me about the line, i guess then he will say what itll cost...how much did it cost you just for the line from the street to your house ?? I called a cpl of contractors.....they both said it doesnt cost that much to run a line to your house, no way....but did say peco drags their feet, and it would be about 7wks to get job done...I also asked the contractors about my current furnace and converting it....They make a burner exactly like one i have , only for gas..1 guy said they wont do the converting, cause if something fails they dont want to be held liable... other guy said he does conversions all the time and yes we would get a new burner and they know exactly what they are doing....we would have to have the chimney liner cked to be sure its compatible for the gas...prev owner just had the liner put in before we moved in.....so if liner is good, and they come see the furnace and say yes we can convert this and put in new burner, then thats the only cost outside of the gas line and connection to htr......we will wait til spring or summer to decide, too late to do anything now...I did do the calculators and yes id save money.....we only use oil for heater thats it, and would be same with gas...only for heat.... so i cant imagine our gas bill would be all that much each month in the winter... we only use it from time we turn it on to turning it off for good....but as most things, its the upfront costs that get you.....oil as of yesterday was 3.79 a gal. we have about 1/4 tank in there now, prev owner filled the tank 275 gal, before we moved in last july...house is about 1400sq ft and 120yrs old. so it gets chilly in here when its cold out...although last winter was mild, oct and nov were chilly....i like it at 66-68 maybe 70 IF its really chilly in here...we have a good furnace too. its 5yrs old.. Williamson-Thermoflo low boy very eff model and works great, so that helps to not use so much oil....So i dont know if we will need to fill it 2x thru the winter....right now we are debating on just sureing up the tank, legs are rotted so bad, and just filling it and get thru the winter then switch over in spring or summer.....i had 2 guys come out and ck out the tank and remove and replace it, 1600 bucs, then another 750 for us to get oil put in it....so why put that all out and get new tank if we think we may switch it out.....contractor said just get bricks and cradle them around the legs and under the tank to support it and just get thru the winter, its not leaking... so we may just do that........Have you gotten a gas bill yet?? thanks

[Rick672]

I think my run from the street was only about 50 feet. They quoted me 1600. You have to stay after them because there are many people converting over to gas. Keep in mind if you have to get your chimney relined the new high efficient heaters do not use a chimney. They vent through a plastic PVC vent pipe and have an intake pipe the same size. No need for a chimney. They closed mine off. My gas and electric bills have not been noticeable yet due to warm weather.

[mashepotato]

I was quoted $2400 from street to house and it does not include running the line into the house. I was told I would have to hire a plumber/contractor for that. I am 100ft from an existing line on the street. $2400 + the $1500 for a new heater. That's bad business for a life time customer.

Originally Posted by nancy361

Hi again

Wondering if anyone knows off the top of their head or had it done, what it costs to have a gas line run from street to my house for my furnace?

Thinking maybe next spring or summer MAYBE we would convert from oil to gas just for heat....House is 120yrs old. remnants of the gas lights they used are in the walls...we have the gas shut off thing out on our sidewalk where the water shut off thing is....SO yrs ago im sure there was gas, but no more....mustve went from coal then to oil.....I called PECO and the guy that would know the info wasnt there...another guy said it would cost 3400 to put a line in from the street to my house and a meter too...other contractors said thats way too high....if there is a pipe there its retired/inactive, there is no meter at all....
the oil tank is ancient and so we are going to just put bricks around the legs and all to give extra support so we can fill tank and get thru the winter.....Called a good contractor to ask about converting our oil furnace to gas, he said he does it all the time ...But we would need the gas line 1st and just not sure what the costs are.....does PECO gas comp have to run the line or can a qualified plumber do it?? peco does offer credits to people that convert and also rebates if you get all new equipment....our htr is 5yrs old and very good one at that..
any info would be appreciated
thanks

[ChuckH19]

It is a farce. The main line stops at the end of my street and PECO wanted $100/foot to extend it to my house. Like I have $30,000 + I don't know what to do with. They want us off oil dependency but want to do nothing about it. I have talked to a lot of my neighbors and they would switch if it was available. Even if I had the money, I know I am not paying to run the main line and then have every other person be able to hook up at my expense. PECO should be proactive and go to these older neighborhoods and see if homeowners want to switch and get the written agreements then do the job.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by ChuckH19

It is a farce. The main line stops at the end of my street and PECO wanted $100/foot to extend it to my house. Like I have $30,000 + I don't know what to do with. They want us off oil dependency but want to do nothing about it. I have talked to a lot of my neighbors and they would switch if it was available. Even if I had the money, I know I am not paying to run the main line and then have every other person be able to hook up at my expense. PECO should be proactive and go to these older neighborhoods and see if homeowners want to switch and get the written agreements then do the job.

Amen to that. In Harrisburg area UGI couldn't be bothered to think about coming around from the next block (place behind me that's been unoccupied/for sale 10+ years has gas, our block doesn't).

We hear about state incentives for fueling stations for nonexistent CNG vehicles, meanwhile oil trucks still stop at row homes in southcentral and southeast PA. Can't we encourage gas companies to extend service areas using government financial tools, as is done for electric and telephone (not to mention water and sewer) services?

[Ohiogirl81]

PECO must not want new gas customers. I gave up after repeated phone calls when they couldn't even figure out where the nearest gas line was.

[sunguy13]

I asked PECO and the lady on phone quoted me $40,000......
Can you imagine Comcast or Verizon quoting that number for internet/cable? I know cable wires are much cheaper than natural gas but shouldn't they be offering some sort of financing (based on units consumed) plan like the solar energy sector currently does?
In solar energy if you go the financing/leasing route - you have to buy/pay for minimum units but then that cost is recouped if you are a customer for more than 5+ years. Win-win IMO