Heating Costs

Keyspan gives this to any customer upon request and I have it but I'm sure as hell not helping you.

Posted by: guest at October 28, 2007 8:46 PM

Why would you not give it 8:46? That's not nice. Maybe it's because you don't know how to use punctuation?

Posted by: guest at October 28, 2007 11:06 PM

Using the same modern furnace oil will be cheaper (unless you overpay i.e. bayside or boro oil). Check with Apple fuel. Ive been buying from them for 20 years. prices cant be beat

Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 9:50 AM

All the oil people and companies will show you how oil is cheaper. All the gas people and companies will show you how gas is cheaper.

The reality is that one year one will come out a little cheaper and the next year it will switch. There are many large scale consumers of both fuels who have the ability to switch between the two (think electricity providers and large factories, etc.) so the market is constantly correcting itself to bring the two in line.

The most important things to ensure cost savings are a high efficiency boiler that is properly serviced, good insulation, programmable thermostat, etc.

Personally I prefer gas because you don't have to deal with deliveries, it's cleaner so less soot in the boiler room, no oil tanks, less frequent need for chimney sweeps, plus a larger percentage of gas comes from the US than does oil.

Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 9:55 AM

CMU, OP here.

For oil, i pay the price/gallon plus 4% tax and thats it. At $2.60/gallon the final cost to the consumer is $2.704/gallon.

Is the $1.67/therm an all inclusive costs? ie Does it include taxes, surcharges and other bs line item charges?

If you divide your total monthly bill by the the # of therms used, what is the cost/therm?

This would give a more realistic price for comparison purposes.

Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 12:07 PM

I agree with 9:55. The answer really lies in having the mose efficient system and proper weatherization practices in place (good windows, reduced draft, good thermostat, etc.) I was considering a move to gas and spoke with several friends who have similar houses. All of the ones with gas spent about the same as I did last year to heat my home with oil. The interesting thing is that they all have fairly new (less than 5 years old) system. My system has been in the house since 1899. My math said that by converting to a more efficient oil system I would actually come in less expensive than the gas consumers. Also, all of the research I came across said that it takes more gas to achieve the same level/quality of heat as with oil. For me, the more efficient oil system was the way to go. Good luck

P.S. Keyspan wanted $11,000 for me to convert from oil to gas. This was a big factor in the decision as well!!!

Posted by: guest at October 29, 2007 3:41 PM

I concurrently owned two homes - one using oil and the other using gas.

Both have risen but I would say convert to gas, one of the main reasons being, God forbid, you can't pay your oil bill, you won't get a delivery. With Keyspan, though, you will still get gas, you can make a payment plan, go on a level-payment plan or if worse-came-to-worst, have time to save money before the Marshall comes. (The last one sounds dramatic, but I've been through this a couple of times and people from ALL walks of life are down there paying at the last minute LOL).

Also, I would check out the rebates that are being offered if you convert from gas to oil.

Sandy

Posted by: guest at October 30, 2007 1:52 AM