Heating System and Heating Cost (Boston: renting, condo, how much)

[Chayleah]

We are moving from the midwest and live in a 35 year old house so our furnace is gas forced air.

The houses I have been looking at that are in our price range are older and either have radiant hot water heat or oil heat. I have no experience with either so I am looking for insight on if one is better or cheaper than the other and maintenance issues for either type.

Those who live in the Boston area, particularly North Shore...

What kind of heating system do you have and what is your average winter bill??

[ScituateAl]

"Mileage may vary" based on several factors. Here's ours:
- 100 year old house
- Approx 1400 sq ft
- Oil hot water with mix of radiators & baseboard
- New furnace with 87.5% efficiency
- 3 Zones on programmable thermostats
- We like it warm; 70 during the day, 67 at night in those rooms we tend to be using at the time.
- Cost: Approx $1500 per season. Budget plan from oil company this year is targeting $1300 for this season.

[wmass]

First off, fuel type: oil vs. natural gas. Oil is common in the Northeast and has historically been cheaper. However, in recent years (2008) it skyrocketed and is at best comparable with gas now. (there are other options like propane and electric, which I would avoid ($$$)). I think gas would be your best bet, but you can always convert to gas (if available in your street). I would also look for a high efficiency furnace (90%+); gas tends to be more efficient. Oil furances need a professional cleaning every year, which runs about $100 plus any parts needed.

With gas, you are subject to a monopoly utility co. If you have oil, you deal with a local fuel co., and you can always shop around and decide when/how much to buy. Obviously, you need to store oil on site (usually a 275 gallon tank in the basement.)

Second is the heating system, which could be fueled by either - usually forced hot water (with baseboard units) or a warm air furnace (with vents). Baseboard heat tends to be more consistant, as the water pipes hold heat and radiate it. Vents/ducts tend to fluctuate more in comfort level, though more expensive furnaces moderate it better. You might also find some old steam radiator systems in older homes.

Last year we switched from oil to gas (with a new 93% furnace). Our house is about 1600 sf, 100 years old and a little leaky. We had been using about 675 gallons of oil/season. At 2.50/gal, it's about $1700/year. My last gas bill was $125 (includes about $25 woth for cooking and hot water). Last year, my highest bill was about $250 mid winter. I would guess we'll be around $1000-1200 this winter for heating. Supposedly gas is cheaper this year. My wife is home all day and we keep the house at 68 degrees, but drop down to 60 at night. I am in western mass, so boston area will be a little warmer.

I would also recommend looking for a fireplace or pellet stove which can augment other heating sources, if prices spike again. Use of a humidifier (stand alone or as part of the heating system) can make your house feel warmer.

[gf2020]

Most houses ~50 years old and newer in MA have forced hot water baseboard heat, either fired by oil or natural gas.

Except for the spike in heating oil prices for the '07-'08 season, oil has been cheaper than natural gas for the past decade.

For my 55 year old, 2300 square foot house, with a family of 4, I use about 1200 gallons of oil per year. I think oil is about $2.59 per gallon right now, you can do the math.

[mmyk72]

I want to resurrect this thread as I may be buying a house with oil HW heat. Has anyone added a pellet stove and saw a savings in heating cost. Please share your learnings re selecting pellet stove, how much do you spend per season on pellets ($ and # of tons), and what your heating bill is before / after.

[NY'er lost in MA]

Pellet stoves are a great way to augment your primary source of heat. For them to be the primary source some work would have to be done to the home so the heat could reach most rooms. The problem is that most homeowners put them in the wrong location. They aren't meant to be used as wood burners are and placed in family rooms. If you have a basement, that is where they need to go.

You can also add vents to the 1st floor so the heat travels directly into certain areas. Adding a fan system you can have a fairly toasty house. But in January/February you probably need the the regular furnace as well. Shoulder seasons are easier to control with a secondary system.

We use a split mini-system (AC/heat pump) for our upstairs. We have one wall unit in each bedroom. The system will work down to 20 degrees or so. It pulls heat out of the cold air believe it or not and is very efficient.

In our 1800 sq ft 3 level expanded Cape we have: radiant heat (both water and electric, electric heat, the mini split systems, and 2 zone forced water/baseboards with a gas furnace).

The gas furnace alone is much better than oil ever was. Oil can be unpredictable. We heat our home for less than we did with our old 800 sq ft condo that was on oil.

But it also is hard to say as it really depends on the house (insulation, windows, basement, roof, venting). Many, many factors!

[breezy1]

Moved here from NY State where forced hot air via a gas furnace was the norm. We are renting a house and have hot water baseboard with gas furnace. I like the way the house heats much better that forced hot air - more consistent. The house also seems less dusty than with forced air heat. However, perhaps because the system in the house is old, but in some of the rooms, especially upstairs, when the water circulates into the pipes in the baseboard it makes very loud gurggling noises - so loud that it routinely wakes me up - and it happens whenever the heat comes on. It occurs most loudly in the one bedroom, however it is noticeable in other rooms. It does not make much sound downstairs though. If we owned the house, this would drive me crazy. When we go to buy, I want to be sure this doesn't occur (since most homes seem to have this baseboard heating). Perhaps the system needs updating. I've also heard that these systems cause big $$$ to replace - all thoses pipes going through the walls.

[mmyk72]

Breezy, it could be air trapped in the pipes. You can bleed it - do a search and you'll find instructions on how to do it on the internet.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

Breezy, it could be air trapped in the pipes. You can bleed it - do a search and you'll find instructions on how to do it on the internet.

That's exactly what it is. The trapped air acts like a hammer when the forced hot water tries to flow through the pipe.

The older portion of our house still has radiators built into the wall. We automatically bleed them every fall before we turn on the heat. It's not very complicated -- just be sure you have a pan or a cup to catch the water.

[breezy1]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

Breezy, it could be air trapped in the pipes. You can bleed it - do a search and you'll find instructions on how to do it on the internet.

Thanks for the advice! We're renting the house - never had this kind of system before. (I do like the way it provides a more consistent heat better than forced air though.)