Considering buying country cottage with no natural gas (Walworth: lease, vacation home)

[DougStark]

Hi Wisconsin forum,

I'm considering buying a small home on a pretty 1+ acre property in Walworth County (extreme SE WI.) I like everything about the place except the fact that there is no natural gas or cable available (I don't know how far away these utilities are from the home, but I put an inquiry in to the area's gas utility for info.)

I suspect I can install a dish for DirecTV or Dish satellite TV, but internet will be harder to come by (right?) And of course I'll have an antenna on the roof for broadcast TV.

As far as no natural gas, I've been looking into heat pumps. Some of the newest mini-split heat pumps claim they deliver heat all the way down to -5 F outdoor temperature. The house has a wood burning stove and baseboard electric heat too that I can use to use as backup if it gets below -5 F. And during the summer, the heat pump will be great for air conditioning the small house.

Anyone else had this issue? And what steps did you take?

[Milwaukee City]

I don't have natural gas, I have oil heat and I love it, yes one of the few people that likes oil heat. It cost me about $500 to warm my 1,200 sq/ft home a year. Plus I get to choose who I buy oil from which is nice. My father in-law heats his home with his wood burner and it's a big nice one and it gets the whole house hot, so hot we have to open the windows in winter when we are over there and he has a big house. I have another buddy who heats his home with wood pellets and it does a great job. Also there is propane heat, never heated a house with it but I heat it's the best option when out in the sticks.

[guidoLaMoto]

Are you intending to move to this new place, or is it just a vacation home? If it's for part-time use, you can rough it a little and leave it the way it is. Being from Phoenix, you'll probably be wearing a sweater & long-johns on the warmest summer days in WI without AC.


LP, delivered by truck once or twice a yr and stored in a tank supplied by the vendor, leased from them at a nominal fee, is as cheap or cheaper than piped in NG (LP burns hotter). ...A problem with wood heat is that you gotta be there to feed it or the place goes cold and you risk freezing the plumbing. (How are they preventing that now?)


I have no experience with it, but as I understand it, heat pumps are ok for mild weather: they don't heat as well as a dedicated furnace, nor do they cool as well as an actual AC system. WI weather isn't really moderate.


We've been adequately happy with Dish for TV for 20 yrs (why bother with a tower & antenna if you're gunna have a dish anyways?) and Internet service is also available via a dish. (We didn't like the service plan for Dish Internet, so we changed as soon as they finally ran a cable to our rural location 10 mi from town.) The only actual problems with a dish service is the loss of service when thunderhead clouds are particularly high. Nasty summer thunderstorms usually mean a black-out until the storm passes.


If not for mental illness, why are you moving from AZ to WI?

[ranger17]

we lived in SC for a few years and had a heat pump in the home we built. Worked decent enough but note that at temps below 30 or so “emergency heat” came on. A nice way of saying electric heating elements were kicked on to help. Not cheap and insure wouldnt want to rely in that for a WI winter. And we still ran the central ac unit in summer, the heat pump itself did not cool the house down. Different climate than WI but there is a reason pumps seem pretty rare up here for heating units.
Our niece and her family live out in the country and have an external wood burning furnace that they really like; not sure how it all works exactly but perhaps an option. As for
lp, it has been many years since i have had to use it, but for most out of urban areas an LP tank is common. Seems some years back it was outrageous for cost one winter, not sure if that was a fluke or if it became the norm.

[damba]

Just go with LP. Much easier.

As far as internet is concerned, you may have WISP as an option now in rural Walworth. Fixed wireless internet from a nearby broadcast tower. Call the township to verify your provider options.

https://maps.psc.wi.gov/apps/WisconsinBroadbandMap/

Try this list too-

https://geoisp.com/us/WI/walworth/

[DougStark]

Hey thanks, everyone. Good ideas, suggestions.

BTW, I'm not totally nuts to consider a heat pump for SE WI small house without nat gas. The heat pump technology has come a long way over the years. Daikin makes one that delivers heat all the way to -5F.

I'm on the fence about the purchase. I'd have to get used to a more rural lifestyle and long cloudy winters ��

[damba]

Originally Posted by ranger17

we lived in SC for a few years and had a heat pump in the home we built. Worked decent enough but note that at temps below 30 or so “emergency heat” came on. A nice way of saying electric heating elements were kicked on to help. Not cheap and insure wouldnt want to rely in that for a WI winter. And we still ran the central ac unit in summer, the heat pump itself did not cool the house down. Different climate than WI but there is a reason pumps seem pretty rare up here for heating units.
Our niece and her family live out in the country and have an external wood burning furnace that they really like; not sure how it all works exactly but perhaps an option. As for
lp, it has been many years since i have had to use it, but for most out of urban areas an LP tank is common. Seems some years back it was outrageous for cost one winter, not sure if that was a fluke or if it became the norm.

I was always under the impression that a modern heat pump would only be more efficient than a higher quality furnace if the home was extremely well sealed/insulated. It might be worth it though if the OP keeps the existing heat sources as backup. YMMV.

[ranger17]

Originally Posted by damba

I was always under the impression that a modern heat pump would only be more efficient than a higher quality furnace if the home was extremely well sealed/insulated. It might be worth it though if the OP keeps the existing heat sources as backup. YMMV.

I actually wasnt a real fan of the heat pump that’s just the norm down there. Our home we built (all brick exterior) was pretty efficient as our elec bills werent bad when running central ac for 8 months lol. In winter the thermostat maybe said 70 but the air didnt feel the same as 70 in our homes with gas furnaces here. And knowing how low temps “can” go here in WI that isnt a system I would rely on. Only my .02 of course.