[KoZmiC NinJa]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I
I've heard a lot of people complain about heating cost, but I've never heard anyone near Kozmic's numbers.

Yep, Johnson Energy of Rutland did our oil.
Believe me, our jaws dropped the first time
it got into the 400.00 range because with
the buy-in the year before it was 350.00 a
month but we got a credit for next winter.
I still cant figure it out. Old house, yes but
only 1100 sq.ft with 18" thick marble base,
updated windows etc. I dont know.....The
electricity in Proctor came from the marble
factory and was cheaper than the surrounding
areas. I dont know if I can find an old bill in a
timely fashion but if I do, Ill scan it and post it.
Maybe you natives can make sense of it. In
Fl. we are paying 80.00 a month for electricity
and thats with th AC turning on at 82 degrees.

[vter]

We have a 5 year old house and use propane for heat, hot water, stove, etc. We get about 4-5 tank fill ups per year at about $500 a pop. 3 of the 5 are in winter though I'd have to go look it up to get exact #s.....so we're talking on average over 12 mos about $150 to $200 a month.

[flu189]

The cost of energy in Vermont cannot be accurately judged by just asking what someone pays per month because every household has different size and age houses, appliances, etc. I get my power through Vermont Cooperative Electric and the rate per kwh comes out to .176 cents after adding on all their surcharges. If I use 750 kwh a month I will pay $132.00. Heating oil is a crap shoot year to year. Last night on the news the average COD rate per gallon is now $2.90. I was able to prebuy for the season back in July at $2.60 p/gallon. Last year I used 780 gallons and it was in terms of heating degree days a slightly milder year than average. Looks like gasoline will be approaching $3.00 p/gal here shortly and with two vehicles used for commuting we use about 750 gallons per year just to get to and from work. So in our case our current annual average energy bill runs almost $6 k p/yr. Who knows how much it will be next year or three years from now.

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Originally Posted by Psherryred1

I left Vt. in 1994 for San Jose, CA. I HATED the weather. I used to cry when I had the shovel the car out. I even tried to put "pam" on my snow shovel. I remember a snow storm we had in April. There was so much snow that when I opened the door, the snow was as high as the door and the door left it's imprint on the snow. I remember crawling on the ground during an ice storm. I remember making a trip to Burlington and on the way back the road had frozen and turned to ice. I was born there and lived there until I was 40. The winters are LONG and BRUTAL. Unless you're a ski instructor it's not worth it.

Builds character.

[arel]

Is there a more convenient way to build character?

I don't really like shoveling snow, but when I am done, I feel terrific. I love how exercise in the cold air makes me feel.

What scares me about Vermont winters, though, is the snow and ice on rural roads. I imagine flying off the road into a lake or river, or into a ditch. You can call for help but what if you don't have cell service where you are? Also, the road may not be well traveled, so it might be some time before anyone finds you.

I guess you need to be prepared with winter emergency supplies, e.g. candles, blankets, a sleeping bag, etc. A prayer book would probably be helpful, too.

BTW, how does "pre-paying" for your heating fuel work?

[flu189]

Most of the heating oil companies have a window of time to pre buy a fixed quantity of oil at a given rate. My dealer allows this around June and July. However, you can only buy the quantity for the next season with the last delivery of pre purchased oil to be delivered no later than May 31st. They also know based on heating degree days how much oil you will likely consume so for example if the calculation comes out at 750 gallons you will not be able to buy lets say 1250 gallons. I buy enough so that at the end of May I'll have my tank full for the start of the next heating season which at this summers rate of 2.59 looks like it will be a good deal.

[MRVphotog]

Pre-paying is a hard decision to have to make in June/July especially when a few winters ago the monthly price was cheaper than the pre-pay people were locked into. By a stroke of just plain stupid luck my wife forgot to get it done that year and we missed the deadline so we paid the cheaper monthly price.

As Flu said most years your gonna come out ahead if you sign up for the pre-pay but paying for oil starting in July is very very hard. It seems like it was about $1.69/gallon just a few years ago, oh well.

In Maine we get our oil from BJ's, very good prices. In Vermont I tore out the electric baseboards and installed a couple of Rinnai propane heaters. Much cheaper and more efficient than oil or electric.

[arel]

Does anyone use natural gas in Vermont?

I use it. No hassle. No deliveries. No time spent getting and storing fuel. No worry about running out. If you smell gas (it's normally odorless but they put in an additive so people can smell a leak), you call the gas company and they are at your house in a flash.

There have been a few incidents, however, although thankfully quite few, of houses blowing up because of leaks.

It seems that just living in Vermont is so much more work than here in NYC. I like the idea of self-reliance and the idea of being more in touch with the daily aspects of life. Also, sometimes house chores are satisfying. But I also like to veg out on weekends and not to have to do things I don't want to do.

[vtmetsfan]

Originally Posted by arel

Does anyone use natural gas in Vermont?

I use it. No hassle. No deliveries. No time spent getting and storing fuel. No worry about running out. If you smell gas (it's normally odorless but they put in an additive so people can smell a leak), you call the gas company and they are at your house in a flash.

There have been a few incidents, however, although thankfully quite few, of houses blowing up because of leaks.

It seems that just living in Vermont is so much more work than here in NYC. I like the idea of self-reliance and the idea of being more in touch with the daily aspects of life. Also, sometimes house chores are satisfying. But I also like to veg out on weekends and not to have to do things I don't want to do.

I use natural gas, and it is very convenient. Natural gas service is more prominent in the urbanized areas in Vermont. Although the rates for natural gas have been steadily climbing, it is probably the most cost efficient way of heating a home outside of alternative and greener heating methods.

I also do not like to be tied up with house chores every weekend. If mowing the lawn and weedwacking every weekend is not your cup of tea, you can look into townhouse living. Sure you pay the association fee. But I'm sure it's considerably cheaper than the maintenance fees that you would pay for co-ops in NYC.

[Lilybeans]

We use natural gas for heat and hot water, along with wood for heat.