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I am trying to figure out how efficient/inefficient our home is heating-wise. I've never lived in a house with oil heat so I have no clue.
Our stats:
131 year old house
Three finished stories (cellar is not living space)
~2100 sq feet
Filled tank just over a month ago, ~$700
Tank as of today is half full
So about $350/month so far, but we've only lived here about one month and the weather has been fairly mild. However, we did have a period of five days where the heat was turned up really high and basically heating the outdoors (lots of doors/windows open) because of our floors being redone.
How big is your tank? Do you have forced air heat, or hot water heat? How old is your furnace/boiler? How leaky are your windows?
My house is smaller, although it has no insulation and a 35-year-old furnace, and I live farther south. I filled up on January 4, and still have 3/4 of a tank left, but the winter has been exceptionally mild. On days like today -- 50 degrees and sunny -- the furnace hardly comes on at all.
In a more typical winter, though, 250 gallons of oil lasts me anywhere between 10 and 12 weeks.
We're running about $230/month right now, in a 75 year old home, 1450sqft home, and with new windows. It's been a mild winter here as well, but because of various reasons, we do keep the temp set to 68-69, which is higher than I would like it. (We would all wear our coats indoors all winter long if I had my way). Our furnace is fairly new, and highly efficient, and also heats our hot water.
There's no getting around that oil is just pricy.
ETA: The heat keeps our basement warm as well, simply because of how it's run, and I did not include this unfinished space in my numbers, but it probably adds another 400-500 sq ft.
My father uses oil. The house is abot 2300 s.f. I think. Built in 1971. He said that at the beginning and end of winter he pays $200-400 a month. During the peak of winter as much as $1200 for about 40- 45 days. This year is probably much better. The weather was really mild and I think he said that oil prices were down.
Wow, my house must be really small (900 sq ft) or very well insulated. I use about 200 gallons a year. I buy COD and just got 100 gals yesterday and won't order again until October or so. I do have a pellet stove as well but I only run it a few hours at night, maybe that makes a bigger difference than I thought.
How big is your tank? Do you have forced air heat, or hot water heat? How old is your furnace/boiler? How leaky are your windows?
The tank is 275 gallons. The heat is hot water/steam radiator. I don't know how leaky the windows are--you can't feel cold air coming through/around them with your hand but I guess that doesn't mean much.
Wow, my house must be really small (900 sq ft) or very well insulated. I use about 200 gallons a year. I buy COD and just got 100 gals yesterday and won't order again until October or so. I do have a pellet stove as well but I only run it a few hours at night, maybe that makes a bigger difference than I thought.
A lot depends on where you live. How often does it get below 0?
Also a lot depends on wind conditions. IN a windy place you will often use more fuel even i it is not super cold.
Average house in the Northeast that is 2000 sq. ft. needs about 80 to 100 million BTU's so you're right in the ballpark. Actually doing pretty good. That 80 to 100 million BTU varies widely though because of many factors, new 2*6 construction that is well insulted would cut that by 1/3 to a half.
What you need to do is a heat loss calculation and that will give you a more accurate number on what you can expect to use each winter.
There is a simple calculator here in spreadsheet form:
If you search the internet you can find better ones.
I'd suggest ditching the oil and look at other forms of fuel like coal or natural gas. New boiler will pay for itself in a few years and it's all gravy after that.
Average house in the Northeast that is 2000 sq. ft. needs about 80 to 100 million BTU's so you're right in the ballpark. Actually doing pretty good. That 80 to 100 million BTU varies widely though because of many factors, new 2*6 construction that is well insulted would cut that by 1/3 to a half.
What you need to do is a heat loss calculation and that will give you a more accurate number on what you can expect to use each winter.
There is a simple calculator here in spreadsheet form:
If you search the internet you can find better ones.
I'd suggest ditching the oil and look at other forms of fuel like coal or natural gas. New boiler will pay for itself in a few years and it's all gravy after that.
Thanks, this is very useful info. We already have a gas service to the house for the dryer and the stove, so that's an option.
We already have a gas service to the house for the dryer and the stove, so that's an option.
You're lucky! I have no such option. If there were a gas line on my street, I'd switch over in a heartbeat.
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We already have a gas service to the house for the dryer and the stove, so that's an option.
