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We will be relocating to CT within next few months. The areas that we are interested in (Haddam, Chester, Deep River, Essex) do not have natural gas available. We've always had natural gas and I am concerned at the cost of oil. Can you provide some insight into the monthly cost - especially in the winter? Thanks in advance. . .
This is a really tough question to answer. Your cost is going to depend on many variables such as;
The square footage of the house
The amount of insulation in the house
whether the house has newer thermal windows and doors
the age and make of the furnace
whether you have /and/ or the type of service plan you might use
How you buy your oil ( automatic delivery or shopping around every time you need a fill up)
the temperature you maintain in the house
and finally . the cost of oil, which changes each year and usually during the course of the year.
A home with heavy insulation / good windows and doors/ new higher efficiency furnace with interior temperature kept as low possible and still be comfortable is going to have much lower fuel costs than an older home which leaks air like a sieve and in which you want to set the thermostat at 75 degrees.
When you find a house you like, the best thing to do is to ask the real estate agent to provide the last year's oil receipts. It will give a general idea of what heat might cost you.
Try to give the forum an idea of the square footage of the home you seek. I am sure there will be others on board who can relate to their homes of similar size.
We will be relocating to CT within next few months. The areas that we are interested in (Haddam, Chester, Deep River, Essex) do not have natural gas available. We've always had natural gas and I am concerned at the cost of oil. Can you provide some insight into the monthly cost - especially in the winter? Thanks in advance. . .
I live down on the coast not too far from those areas:
One thing that seems to have worked for us is having an electric water heater. With the cost of oil rising so fast…while the cost of our electrically rates just went down slightly…it seems like a better deal. An electric hot water heater might not be as efficient, but at least you’re not burning oil to heat hot water. If you have a choice when you buy a house, I would consider that option.
In my case we shut the furnace off from late April to early October and burn zero oil. Again, I’m not too far from the immediate coast, so even in mid fall nights are somewhat mild. So I’m really only paying for oil in the cold season when of course you have little choice. I would say about $1500 a winter would be the best guess. I would stick with a newer house (post 1970). Stay away from any of those cheaper “historic houses” in the lower Connecticut River valley. Many of them need massive amounts of work, are poorly insulated, have meter board issues, and the humid climate of southeast Connecticut makes the battle with carpenter ants all the more worse when you have old house that is poorly ventilated.
If you’re looking in those towns you mentioned above - I would also look in Clinton, Westbrook, East Lyme, Waterford, Old Lyme, and Saybrook. There are newer houses and these towns are more convenient to shopping/beaches/I-95/commuter trains…etc.
Good Luck, southeastern Connecticut is a great place to live.
2100 sf house, hot water off the furnace, temp kept 65 to 68, 17 years old with new windows= $220 a month x 9 monthes a year (or 10, not sure) so around $2000 a year and we also use a propane fireplace in the evening to cut down on oil use. And I'm still cold.
Per gallon prices fluctuate, as we all know, and as already mentioned, the amount of oil you use will be tied to how efficient your house is. My house is 1800 SF, over 40 years old, has newer double pane windows, we added better insulation to the attic, and we have weatherized the house so it is fairly tight. We keep the heat at 65-68 when home and 60 when at work, overnight, etc. We have tankless hot water, but as mentioned above, the amount of oil used in the summer is barely a blip on the radar. We use 600 gallons a year.
Edited to add: We have two fireplaces and installed a wood stove insert in one of them and have cut our oil usage in half.
Thanks to all for the info. Ideally, we would like a home around 2,500 sq ft. We will look for no older than 20 years. As mentioned, older houses have more problems. (Our current home is 40 years old and we've learned from our mistakes here!)! Assuming that we keep the temp around 68 during the day and 60 at night. I would think that we would just have a regular scheduled delivery as opposed to shopping around every time we need a fill up. My MIL lives in Farmington and I have heard stories of $1,000/month oil bills. That's just not feasible!
I was told by our realtor that gas was cheapest, followed by oil, then electricity. Is that not the case?
In NY, our Con Ed bill charges more for the delivery charges than the actual usage itself. How I long for the good old days of city-run DWP!
I can echo the comments about your home making a big difference. Our last home was on concrete slab with hardwood, no insulation and crappy windows. I was always cold. ALWAYS.
Thanks to all for the info. Ideally, we would like a home around 2,500 sq ft. We will look for no older than 20 years. As mentioned, older houses have more problems. (Our current home is 40 years old and we've learned from our mistakes here!)! Assuming that we keep the temp around 68 during the day and 60 at night. I would think that we would just have a regular scheduled delivery as opposed to shopping around every time we need a fill up. My MIL lives in Farmington and I have heard stories of $1,000/month oil bills. That's just not feasible!
$1000 month sounds way out of line, although filling an empty tank can cost that much.
No one I know shops around, because if you don't have a regular oil company, you'll have a hard time getting service if you need it.
No one I know shops around, because if you don't have a regular oil company, you'll have a hard time getting service if you need it.
I found auto-delivery to be a ripoff...every company I have used (or researched) charges you 10+ cents a gallon more as opposed to calling for a fill-up from a decently priced oil company. My furnace is cleaned/serviced once a year by an HVAC company whom I also have a service contract with for emergency purposes. For my home, this worked out much, much cheaper than just going with whatever price the oil company gave me.
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