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I bought a 1000 sqft row house in Easton,PA. I have baseboard electric heat. The winter months electric bills were huge. I'm wondering if it makes sense to convert to coal both for resale value and lower bills. Thanks for any input.
I don't know and I'd like to find out. I brought a home in MD and the oil that I went through even on low temps was outrageous and I won't do that again. Right now, I have plug in electric heaters but that will again put my electric high.
I have a gas heater in my livingroom but thinking of taking that out and getting a wood burning converter for the fireplace to heat the downstairs.
Coal burning...I don't know much about it but would love to learn. I just need something to really lower my heating cost and be self sufficient.
Certainly would make sense. Not sure why you posted in this forum but before the greenies go ballistic they need to understand we're talking about anthracite coal which is the purest form of coal, it's nearly all carbon. Due to the low energy costs associated with using a local fuel and the high efficiency of the appliances you would in fact be more environmentally friendly than using oil or electric.
As far as the economics go it's a no brainer, basing it on the delivery cost of about $200 you could heat a 2000 sq. ft home with adequate insulation and windows for about $1000 for the entire heating season and that includes domestic hot water. There's calculator here to compare costs, you'll need to use your local rates.
Right now, I have plug in electric heaters but that will again put my electric high.
With the cost of oil right now it's a wash.
Quote:
I have a gas heater in my livingroom but thinking of taking that out and getting a wood burning converter for the fireplace to heat the downstairs.
Coal appliances come all shapes and sizes from fireplace inserts, small stoves for in the living space up to enormous boilers. You can even pick up antique baseburners that are ornamental but still functional for $$$. There is a coal appliance to fit any need.
When I was a child in upstate NY we heated with anthracite coal and the house stayed warm. We switched to oil and the house was cold (like really cold over a 30 deg below zero night) in the middle of winter. We use electric heat in our condo because I do not want any kind of flame in these tinderboxes and propane is more expensive than electricity.
I suggest inspecting your row house and see what kind of heating system was installed when it was built. I would guess it was single pipe steam fueled by anthracite coal. Maybe you could remove the "improvements" and switch to a similar system using an automatic stoker fed boiler.
Insulation always helps but it still isn't going to help with the exorbitant amount of money electric heat costs compared to coal. Typical home 2000 sq. ft. home with adequate insualtion and decent windows in Northeastern PA might need 1,000,000 BTU's for the heating season.
In this area for the coal @$180/ton delivered it would be $900, for electric @$0.10/kWh it would be $2800.
Virtually any other form of heat will beat baseboard electric units -- natural gas (if available) propane or oil should also be considered. All will require some capital investment for ducts or piping.
Virtually any other form of heat will beat baseboard electric units --
Depends what the rates are for electric in your area but with the cost of oil it's more in lot of areas.
Electric @10 cents/kw= $29.31 per million BTU
Oil @$4/ gallon = $41.20 per million BTU
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