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At that point it becomes more a question of whether buying an inverter driven heat pump that maintains good efficiency well below freezing is more than the cost of a gas backup furnace and the additional cost of propane over the service life, less the savings from going with an older heat pump that only works down to 40. In my case the was no question the new, inverter driven heat pump cost less than adding gas backup since I'd have to buy propane at market rate. No way I'd ever break even buying propane or oil even at the low rates we got this last winter.
Oil for heating and hot water, your call for forced air or hot water baseboard for the heat. If I had a choice I'd do forced air.
Heat pump for A/C only.
I thought you had natural gas out there.
I'm for oil in MD for heat if you don't have NG at the curb. Propane is $$$$$ crazy. I have a friend who hates it.
My neighbor's HP runs 24/7 during the winter.
I have a standard AC unit - don't know the tonnage - it works fine.
All is forced air. If I had the huge old cast iron radiators I would do those if building anew. My sister has those in Arlington and they can get hot enough to run you out of the house.
I'm for oil in MD for heat if you don't have NG at the curb. Propane is $$$$$ crazy. I have a friend who hates it.
My neighbor's HP runs 24/7 during the winter.
I have a standard AC unit - don't know the tonnage - it works fine.
All is forced air. If I had the huge old cast iron radiators I would do those if building anew. My sister has those in Arlington and they can get hot enough to run you out of the house.
Were is out there in central MD? PGC?
He's in Frederick. I'd call it Western MD but Westsideboy would get upset.
If you can afford it, geothermal is the way to go. Heat pump would be second. We have a heat pump that is heat/AC combined. I wouldn't use any fossil fuel if it is avoidable.
If you can afford it, geothermal is the way to go. Heat pump would be second. We have a heat pump that is heat/AC combined. I wouldn't use any fossil fuel if it is avoidable.
Cat
GeoThermal is pretty much out. No one goes below the surface without a 'rock clause' in the contract. Even fence contracts have them. I know of two attempts at GeoThermal near here one hit an aquafer and ended up with a well that they contracted out to the town to add to the water supply. The other hit solid rock and had to abandon the hole.
He's in Frederick. I'd call it Western MD but Westsideboy would get upset.
Yea - I've considered anything north of DC West of Baltimore and East of South Mountain to be Central MD. Westsideboy would probably say east of Sideling Hill
GeoThermal is pretty much out. No one goes below the surface without a 'rock clause' in the contract. Even fence contracts have them. I know of two attempts at GeoThermal near here one hit an aquafer and ended up with a well that they contracted out to the town to add to the water supply. The other hit solid rock and had to abandon the hole.
We are in SW Ohio. When they were drilling the wells for our geothermal, they were ecstatic when they hit limestone about 10' below the surface. The remainder of the 150' wells were pretty much solid limestone. They said drilling in rock is easier on them and their equipment than drilling in soil. they started at about 9:30 in the morning and had both holes in and were packed up by about 3 in the afternoon.
You said your lot is deep. What do you mean by deep. Is a trench loop a possibility?
One was oil, and I don't recommend that. The price is too volatile over the season; during February, when you really need it, that's when the price is highest! And if you have a 275 gallon tank, that's all you can buy...275 gallons. No way to stock up when the price is lower.
You can buy a second oil tank, assuming you have somewhere to put a tank.
Oil is commonly will-call delivery, you can shop around for the lowest price, no contract.
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Propane was the second method, both in house #1 and #2. We used it for back-up in both houses. It was a slight improvement over oil because you can choose which size tank you want to lease, and can have it filled up in June, when propane is lowest. If you have a 1,000 gallon tank, fill 'er up!
Downside with propane is that tanks are almost always leased, which looks you into a single vendor.
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Wood heating is our current main heat source, but with house #1 we used a pellet stove. You can leave a pellet stove alone to heat a house while you're out, as it feeds with electricity. Both of these methods were way lower cost than either heating oil or propane.
Can you go away for more than 3 days and run a pellet stove unattended?
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I would definitely go with 2 sources of heat, and I'd make one of them propane, as a back-up. It's very reliable, and with a larger tank (500 gals or more) you can somewhat control your costs. The second source I'd recommend is either a wood stove or a pellet stove. Both are very economical, and you can buy the wood/pellets off-season for a better rate.
A 275 gallon oil tank provides the same amount of heating energy as 1400 gallons of propane. With two 330 gallon tanks, you can fill them in the summer when oil prices are at their lowest, and have enough fuel to last you all winter.
Was assuming it was warmer climate than Md., consider coal. Before you dismiss that is as a whacky idea do a little a research.
This particular unit can also burn wood pellets or corn but they recommend you mix it with coal. People were doing that for along time and they went with the dual fuel label so customers could get the $1500 credit. Not sure if it would meet current EPA regs so they may have to go back to coal only label.
It can also be fitted with a oil burner but it is not something you just flip a switch.
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