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natural gas vs. oil heat

rh71

rh71

No Lifer
--> . <-- that space reserved for "gas" cracks...

Now that that's out of your system... 😉 ... we all know oil prices have skyrocketed. Would converting to natural gas be worthwhile ? I am hearing that even natural gas prices have risen - is this true ? ... is this because of demand (people switching) ? Anyone know the costs associated ? PPG on oil is $2.29/gal according to the local company. It was $1.49/gal for '03 into '04.
 
I moved from a house with oil to one with gas, and I'm much happier with gas.

I didn't like the way oil companies operate.
As soon as the weather starts to warm up and you're about to
turn off your heat, BAM! , here's a $300 delivery, have a nice spring!
 
I'd go to a geothermal heat pump system if you want to be serious bout getting outa the 'fossil fuels'
 
Originally posted by: desy
I'd go to a geothermal heat pump system if you want to be serious bout getting outa the 'fossil fuels'
Click to expand...

Those are pricey, but gas and oil systems are pricier and dangerous...
 
Originally posted by: ElFenix
heating oil :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...
Agreed.
I would rather split wood than pay an oil company.
< Had a house with heating oil in the Central Valley of CA, while attending Yuba College that was Heating Oil. SUCKED all my meager student wages for fuel.

 
anyone privy to some natural gas prices ? How does it compare to oil prices in terms of volume (bang for the buck, etc.) ?

I believe oil to gas conversion ran up to $5k.
 
You should consult with a local HVAC pro
He could work up a cost comparrison for you
Do you have a boiler or forced air furnace?
 
Geothermal payback is bout 10 yrs at current NG prices.
Less if gas goes up, anybody think gas is gonna go up?
Cheaper if you can put in your lines with a ditch witch instead of drilling. Even cheaper if you have access to flowing water then only one line is required.
No it isn't for everybody but worth it if you can meet the criteria
 
Originally posted by: AlienCraft
Originally posted by: ElFenix
heating oil :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...
Agreed.
I would rather split wood than pay an oil company.
< Had a house with heating oil in the Central Valley of CA, while attending Yuba College that was Heating Oil. SUCKED all my meager student wages for fuel.
Click to expand...

Why didn't you just turn off the heat and wear a jacket like a good college student? 😉
 
OK i can speak from experience on this! heh my last farmhouse had both!

When we moved in it had a OLD oil setup. Now OIL is nasty. it stinks and makes the house dirty. So when that furnace died we just had it converted to gas. The cost was $3900 to do it. Considering a new oil furnace was going to cost 2k i thought it was worht it.

Also when i was getting oil it was at $.99 a gallon (well over 5 years ago). I just filled up my 500 gallon nat gas furnace for $1.23 a gallon!

The natural gas is much cleaner, Cheaper, more efficient then oil ever was.


Oh we did have to pay a extra $50 to remove the old oil tank from the basement.
 
Ummm, forecasts show natural gas prices to skyrocket in te next 5 years while oil prices won't increase at the same rate. If I were going long-term (10+ years) on deciding a heating system, I would go with oil any day.
 
looking at my most recent Natural gas bills

Basic Service Charge: $10.00
Delivery Charge: 56therms x 0.20652
Pipeline Transport Charge: 56therms x 0.06085
Gas Supply Charge: 56therms x 0.61523

This is for both hot water and heat
approximately 10 of the 56 therms are for Hot Water

56therms is derived from this formula:
57CCF(?) x 0.974 Pressure factor x 1.000 BTU Factor = 56 therms
57CCF is the volume of gas I use
0.974 Pressure factor is, well I assume, the pressure in the gas line
1.000 BTU Factor, I assume, is affected by the "Average Temp per billing period"
 
Originally posted by: J0hnny
Ummm, forecasts show natural gas prices to skyrocket in te next 5 years while oil prices won't increase at the same rate. If I were going long-term (10+ years) on deciding a heating system, I would go with oil any day.
Click to expand...


two major factors I can think of
1. the dozens of Ethanol plants going up in the Midwest use massive amounts of natural gas to heat their process
2. Everyone's favorite energy scapegoat...Increased Chinese demand
 
Originally posted by: desy
Geothermal payback is bout 10 yrs at current NG prices.
Less if gas goes up, anybody think gas is gonna go up?
Click to expand...
It's not going anywhere but up. NG is too cheap as is compared to other fuel sources, the market is going to force it up to alignment with everything else.
 
Thats my point.
Doable for you?

I built a new house 5 yrs ago and put in Gas, we all do gas round here, but I made sure it was high effciency. Just so happened there was a big natural gas spike that winter and it paid for the upgrade first year 🙂
My buddy looked into Geothermal at the time too and cause he was considering an acerage researched it all out. If I build again 'might in a couple of yrs' I'll prolly go that way.
 
Originally posted by: redly
looking at my most recent Natural gas bills

Basic Service Charge: $10.00
Delivery Charge: 56therms x 0.20652
Pipeline Transport Charge: 56therms x 0.06085
Gas Supply Charge: 56therms x 0.61523

This is for both hot water and heat
approximately 10 of the 56 therms are for Hot Water

56therms is derived from this formula:
57CCF(?) x 0.974 Pressure factor x 1.000 BTU Factor = 56 therms
57CCF is the volume of gas I use
0.974 Pressure factor is, well I assume, the pressure in the gas line
1.000 BTU Factor, I assume, is affected by the "Average Temp per billing period"
Click to expand...
ok, since I can't derive a direct cost comparison between oil and gas from your information, can you tell me how much you pay for your gas bill in the winter (per month, approximately) ? For us, one fill-up of the oil tank is good for a little over a month... and it costs between $175-$250.

And waggy, how were you able to determine the "per gallon" price of natural gas ?
 
one other question - if I convert to natural gas, I would have to get a new stove/oven/range, etc., no ? Not exactly sure how everything works behind it all...

Anything else need to be switched out (besides the oil burner/hot water heater) ?
 
Not sure where waggy gets his information on oil being dirty &amp; smelly. My dad's place has an oil furnace, and we've never seen the oil, and the furnace certainly doesn't generate any dirt.

I have natural gas at my place .... prices have gone up quite a bit, and will probably continue to rise sharply because alot of new power plants being built burn gas now to meet the emmisions requirements. Hell, if you can swing it, burn coal 🙂

One advantage of oil ... if you have a big enough tank (my dad has 1000 gallon) you can time your buys for the summer when prices are low, whereas with natural gas, it's ussually an on-demand system, so you pay the going rate. It's not unheard of for my dad to pay $0.2 to $0.4 per gallon less in the summer then if he had to buy it at the peak of the heating season.
 
Originally posted by: rh71
one other question - if I convert to natural gas, I would have to get a new stove/oven/range, etc., no ? Not exactly sure how everything works behind it all...

Anything else need to be switched out (besides the oil burner/hot water heater) ?
Click to expand...
All of your oil devices will need to be switched out with gas devices. Otherwise you can replace the dryer, stove, etc with gas devices, but you don't have to since they'd be electric right now.
 
Originally posted by: rh71
one other question - if I convert to natural gas, I would have to get a new stove/oven/range, etc., no ? Not exactly sure how everything works behind it all...

Anything else need to be switched out (besides the oil burner/hot water heater) ?
Click to expand...

What kind of range do you have now? Electric?
If you get gas into the house, you could ... cooking with gas >> electric. But running gas line is expensive, so unless your range is near where they would run the gas line for the furnace, it might be pretty pricey
 
Natural gas prices are also very volatile. Prices shot up last year in the Northeast. I had a month last year where my heating bill was $550.

The big drawback with oil is it lowers the price of your home if you have it compared to natural gas.
 
Originally posted by: Doggiedog
Natural gas prices are also very volatile. Prices shot up last year in the Northeast. I had a month last year where my heating bill was $550.

The big drawback with oil is it lowers the price of your home if you have it compared to natural gas.
Click to expand...

Like I said ... a good reason to have oild &amp; a big tank. Ride out the volatility. Requires a bit of market timing, but you can at least buy in the summer vs. the winter you should be ahead of the game.
 
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