[explorearkansas]

The cost to heat with propane has proven unstable in Illinois. Propane is cheaper than electricity until the costs exceed ~$3 per gallon. Natural gas is almost always a less costly option where I live in Illinois, if it is available. We added a wood burning furnace to our house to supplement heat and help defray costs. However, for that to work, I must collect or purchase wood. When propane shot up over $6 per gallon, I was highly motivated to collect wood. Not so much now that propane cost is at $1.65 per gallon.

[Hollynla]

While I'm not in Bella Vista, I wanted to chime in. Many propane companies will allow you to pre-buy propane in the summer at the summer rates, which can save hundreds. We bought two tanks worth of propane at $1.39/gallon in July. We now just call them when we need a fill. If we had waied till now, it's up to $1.79. Last New years, it was $1.99/gallon. Check with the company on when they offer the pre-buy.

We heat with wood and propane. This is the case for 95% of the homes in this area. There is no natural gas here and electric is too expensive. We have wood burning stove and a few propane wall heaters for a 1700 sq. ft log home. We have a 500 gallon propane tank but the companies will only fill it to 80% capacity. We fill twice a year.

[mgforshort]

Thanks for everyone chipping in.
We were planning to leave Paradise before the town burned, but now we are even more motivated. The cost of insurance will skyrocket and even so might become impossible to find.
And I don't want to see flames coming 10 feet from my car towards us, never again. So we are coming, for sure, if we can sell our home.
California in general and now Butte County in particular has a tremendous housing need, so I think we can sell. There are thousands and thousands residents flush with the fire insurance money, but nothing to rent or purchase.
All I ask is to get back the money we spent in 2015, not a cent more.

I was considering Arkansas and North Carolina long before we retired, but we decided to go with Paradise to avoid the huge hassle of moving from Orange County 2-3 K miles. Eventually fate caught up and now we must do it anyway.

[duke944]

Originally Posted by Hollynla

While I'm not in Bella Vista, I wanted to chime in. Many propane companies will allow you to pre-buy propane in the summer at the summer rates, which can save hundreds. We bought two tanks worth of propane at $1.39/gallon in July. We now just call them when we need a fill. If we had waied till now, it's up to $1.79. Last New years, it was $1.99/gallon. Check with the company on when they offer the pre-buy.

We heat with wood and propane. This is the case for 95% of the homes in this area. There is no natural gas here and electric is too expensive. We have wood burning stove and a few propane wall heaters for a 1700 sq. ft log home. We have a 500 gallon propane tank but the companies will only fill it to 80% capacity. We fill twice a year.

Propane at an avg cost of $2 to fill two 500 gallon to 80% is about $1600 for a year. We have a 1900 sf house in Bella Vista using nothing but a heat pump. For the 4 months out of the year our electric bill approximately doubles, adding an average of about $120/month, so about $500/yr is added to our normal avg electric bill of $120/mo to heat the house in the winter. Propane would undoubtedly cost more than $500/yr if we were to add a propane furnace to supplement the heat pump during times it was below the 40s when the heat strips are kicking in.
If you are just comparing an electric furnace to a propane furnace you may be right, I have no idea what those bills would be. But our heat pump is cheaper than using propane. It's not nearly as comfortable though, because it runs all the time blowing luke warm air from the vents.

[Hollynla]

Originally Posted by duke944

Propane at an avg cost of $2 to fill two 500 gallon to 80% is about $1600 for a year. We have a 1900 sf house in Bella Vista using nothing but a heat pump. For the 4 months out of the year our electric bill approximately doubles, adding an average of about $120/month, so about $500/yr is added to our normal avg electric bill of $120/mo to heat the house in the winter. Propane would undoubtedly cost more than $500/yr if we were to add a propane furnace to supplement the heat pump during times it was below the 40s when the heat strips are kicking in.
If you are just comparing an electric furnace to a propane furnace you may be right, I have no idea what those bills would be. But our heat pump is cheaper than using propane. It's not nearly as comfortable though, because it runs all the time blowing luke warm air from the vents.

You're only heating for 4 months out of the year? We have to heat from late October until April. Last year, we had temps down to 20 in April along with ice and snow. That's 6 months of the year using forms of heat. My propane tanks filled twice yearly, getting them at summer rates, runs me $1100 per year. The wood cost me nothing since we split our own. I've never dealt with a heat pump before so I don't know about them. Most homes around here with central heat here use a wood burning furnace.

[duke944]

Originally Posted by Hollynla

You're only heating for 4 months out of the year? We have to heat from late October until April. Last year, we had temps down to 20 in April along with ice and snow. That's 6 months of the year using forms of heat. My propane tanks filled twice yearly, getting them at summer rates, runs me $1100 per year. The wood cost me nothing since we split our own. I've never dealt with a heat pump before so I don't know about them. Most homes around here with central heat here use a wood burning furnace.

The other approximately 8 months of the year the heat strips in the air handler don't kick on so the house is heated by just the heat pump, which is cheap to run. The only reason the price doubles is because of the energy required by the heat strips necessary to keep the house warm when the temps outside drop under low 40s. Here's a breakdown on our electric bill last year:
Nov/Mar/June/July/August - about $130 avg
April/May - about $110 avg
Sept/Oct - about $110 avg
Dec/Jan/Feb - about $225 avg

Everything is elec including water heater so no gas bill, the fireplace isn't used much and is mainly for looks rather than heat. You could compare this to your propane + electric bills to see the difference in utility cost. I'm not sure where you are but I'm assuming Bella Vista is about the same climate, and yeah it was pretty cold last winter.

[TRex2]

I don't suppose anyone has figured in the cost of replacing the compressor unit in a heat pump.
They only last so long...

[mgforshort]

Before this thread gets buried and forgotten, I'd like to ask about the lakes of Bella Vista.
I understand there is a monthly fee to use the lakes, and I don't mind.
Then there is a place called, "The Beach at Lake Avalon".

My questions are:
Once we pay the lake-use fee, can we visit all the seven lakes or only one designated lake?
Can we go swimming in any lake or only at the Beach at Lake Avalon?
Can I jump off my kayak in the middle of the lake? (Not allowed here in Paradise).

Boating or kayaking - once we pay the boat or kayak registration, can we go boating or kayaking on any lake or only one?

Fishing - can we fish from the shore of any lake after we paid the monthly lake-use fee?

Are there any daily launch fees ? (Here it is $ 5 a day, most places).

[duke944]

You don't have to pay any lake use fees if you have a photo id card, which costs $38/yr, and this applies to all the lakes. You can swim in any of them, but I've heard it's not the greatest idea as the lakes have parasites and you will get swimmer's itch (don't know this for sure, just what I've been told). You pay $20/yr for kayak registration and you can use all the lakes. There are places at all the lakes you can fish from the shore.

https://bellavistapoa.com/fee-schedule/#lakes

Beaver lake is only like 45 minutes away, do some googling on it - 500 miles of shoreline, it's a fantastic place to bring a boat.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Hollynla

You're only heating for 4 months out of the year? We have to heat from late October until April. Last year, we had temps down to 20 in April along with ice and snow. That's 6 months of the year using forms of heat. My propane tanks filled twice yearly, getting them at summer rates, runs me $1100 per year. The wood cost me nothing since we split our own. I've never dealt with a heat pump before so I don't know about them. Most homes around here with central heat here use a wood burning furnace.

we usually start heating around the end of Oct. OUr goal is Nov 1st but we rarely last that long.Of course the heat, at that time of year is only on about an hour in the morning. Then turns itself off We continue to heat until mid April as a rule, maybe even late April. the months we really have our heat pump pumping is: Nov until mid Mar. Maybe that is what he meant: I don't know. In BV most of us do have heat pumps. I have to say it is convenient to just have the one product for all your heat and air, but I do not think it is an efficient as having separate heat and A/C. And we love having our propane fireplace. Heat rises so much and we have very high ceilings.