Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My home heating oil supplier was charging $4.99/gallon a few weeks ago - I use about 300 gallons a season for a 1,280 square foot (uninsulated old brick barn of a) house. So it's going to be pricey this year. Last year I paid $3.40/gallon and it was a mild winter. Hoping for another mild winter this season.
Home heating oil prices wax and wane, just like gasoline prices. Some years heating oil has been lower than the price of gasoline, sometimes, like this year, much higher. It's always a crap shoot.
Your cost, and anyone's cost of heating is capped by the cost of electricity in your area. ( or at least could/should be) Electric is usually the most expensive source available per BTU (Kwhr, any unit you like).
heating oil is about 140,000 BTUs per gallon x the efficiency of your unit - and apply the price of a gallon. electricity: BTU = 0.2930711 whr. Now you can use the price of your electric supply to compare.
If diesel, or propane or firewood, or whatever gets out of line you can use simple resistive electricity at 100% conversion efficiency. Or do better with a heat heat pump.
Years ago I made up spread sheets that compare all that, with input field calculations. I'll have to go find it.
During heating season it makes little sense to turn of lights. The energy they use is lost to the house as heat, at or near your cost of heat and you have light all the time. You save very little to almost nothing (or even lose on the deal) by turning them off if you are currently heating.
ETA: $5 FO at 90% eff comes to $0.03968254/KBTU Electric @ $0.12/Kwhr comes to $0.035168532/KBTU for example
Also current natural gas prices are well below $7 /Million BTU - if that is available at your location use it. It has always been the cheapest form of energy. https://www.oilcrudeprice.com/natural-gas-price/
Last edited by ManApplet; 10-24-2022 at 10:35 AM..
Your cost, and anyone's cost of heating is capped by the cost of electricity in your area. ( or at least could/should be) Electric is usually the most expensive source available per BTU (Kw, any unit you like). heating oil is about 140,000 BTUs per gallon x the efficiency of your unit - and apply the price of a gallon. electricity: BTU = 0.2930711 w/hr. Now you can use the price of your electric supply to compare. If diesel, or propane or firewood, or whatever gets out of line you can use simple resistive electricity at 100% conversion efficiency. Or do better with a heat heat pump. Years ago I made up spread sheets that compare all that, with input field calculations. I'll have to go find it. During heating season it makes little sense to turn of lights. The energy the use is lost to the house as heat, at or near your cost of heat and you have light all the time. You save very little to almost nothing (or even lose on the deal) by turning them off if you are currently heating.
My oil heater is on its last leg (40 years old) and we are actually getting quotes for replacing and going to natural gas or remaining with oil. I took at a look at an electric heat pump, it makes zero sense to go that route, not only is an electric heat pump inferior, the cost is astronomical and could only fathom the scenario that makes sense to have one is if you're sitting on top of the hoover the dam.
Your cost, and anyone's cost of heating is capped by the cost of electricity in your area. ( or at least could/should be) Electric is usually the most expensive source available per BTU (Kw, any unit you like). heating oil is about 140,000 BTUs per gallon x the efficiency of your unit - and apply the price of a gallon. electricity: BTU = 0.2930711 w/hr. Now you can use the price of your electric supply to compare. If diesel, or propane or firewood, or whatever gets out of line you can use simple resistive electricity at 100% conversion efficiency. Or do better with a heat heat pump. Years ago I made up spread sheets that compare all that, with input field calculations. I'll have to go find it. During heating season it makes little sense to turn of lights. The energy the use is lost to the house as heat, at or near your cost of heat and you have light all the time. You save very little to almost nothing (or even lose on the deal) by turning them off if you are currently heating.
OK easy now.
1. You are right incandescent light bulbs are about 99% effective as space heaters in terms of output/yield. However, straight up resistive heat is usually the most expensive proposition possible outside certain solar and or esoteric means.
2. Per heat pumps you need to be much more specific. There are a bunch of different heat pump types.....ground source, air source, water source, and several hybrid types to include solar and gas and several combination types.
A. Air source heat pumps work great in the south. But aren to worth a flip in very cold climates. They more or less stop working around -3 though about 4 degrees F and are cost infective below about 25F.
B. Ground and water source heat pumps work great but are much, much more expensive to install. FE at my lake house in North Texas we took bids on ground (actually very wet ground) based geothermal HPs, air HPs and conventional central HAVC @ 9 tons. I don't have the numbers in front of me but the geothermal HP bid was nearly $50K, Air HP $29K and conventional HVAC was just under $17K. I went with Air HPs. To be clear this was a very difficult install.
Point being it's a little silly to throw HPs out there as short term fixes for someone who uses HHO currently.
My oil heater is on its last leg (40 years old) and we are actually getting quotes for replacing and going to natural gas or remaining with oil. I took at a look at an electric heat pump, it makes zero sense to go that route, not only is an electric heat pump inferior, the cost is astronomical and could only fathom the scenario that makes sense to have one is if you're sitting on top of the hoover the dam.
I had to replace mine, earlier this year, bank on about $12k for the job, as far as switching to natural gas -- depends on your view of natural gas prices vs oil going forward. We just kept the oil burner, and either way they are going to get their money from you. I didn't like having to worry about gas leaks so that was a factor.
I had to replace mine, earlier this year, bank on about $12k for the job, as far as switching to natural gas -- depends on your view of natural gas prices vs oil going forward. We just kept the oil burner, and either way they are going to get their money from you. I didn't like having to worry about gas leaks so that was a factor.
Thanks for the heads up. Just got my first quote for $21k this morning, which I knew was ridiculously high. As for the conversion, haven't got the cost for that yet. I can imagine running the line into the house being pretty expensive, if the energy company isn't paying for it.
Usually HHO and diesel track each other very closely because the two are only subtly different.
I'm aware, but thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ManApplet
Also current natural gas prices are well below $7 /Million BTU - if that is available at your location use it. It has always been the cheapest form of energy. https://www.oilcrudeprice.com/natural-gas-price/
I would in a heartbeat, but I live in the antiquated mid-Atlantic where in many neighborhoods - like mine - natural gas is nonexistent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyHobkins
I can imagine running the line into the house being pretty expensive, if the energy company isn't paying for it.
Depends on your natural gas supplier - some will pay to bring the line up to your house, and you pay for the connection and lines inside the house. Others won't pay squat.
I think it was obvious from the start that they stuck Kamala in there just to keep people from getting rid of Biden knowing she would take his place. Do you really want Kamala as President?
I don't want anyone. Look at all the fails since Carter. RR was a fake, Bush 1 was a joke at least Bill was good, Bush 2 was about the worst with his two failed wars and record oil prices. Obama was the worst by far. trump was doing ok until he messed up near the end and Joe is Obama number 2. And peeps crying about heat pete then move to FL and never use heat at all.
It depends on how cold it is, but before I installed a pellet stove in 2006 my house would use 1000 to 1200 gal a year, with the pellet stove its about half or 500 to 600 gal a year.
My delivery yesterday was for 173 gals, total cost was $952
The USA does not have an energy policy, a transportation policy or an industrial policy. Having these types of national policies would be against the principles of libertarian hyper capitalism.
Your cost, and anyone's cost of heating is capped by the cost of electricity in your area. ( or at least could/should be) Electric is usually the most expensive source available per BTU (Kwhr, any unit you like).
...........
During heating season it makes little sense to turn of lights. The energy they use is lost to the house as heat, at or near your cost of heat and you have light all the time. You save very little to almost nothing (or even lose on the deal) by turning them off if you are currently heating.
.............
[/url]
The curly q energy saving bulbs create more heat than the leds since both are basically a small electric circuit. So will the old incandescent bulb. It's also reason to turn off lights when using the ac or make a room cooler without.
There's numerous ways to conserve heat/energy but in they end heating most buildings/homes require energy that must be produced en masse for a power grid or heating oil supply and that's what many don't understand or get.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
