Heat and Gas bill during winter

Hi, we recently purchased our first brownstone and are in the process of remodeling. We are still in the first few phases so no one currently lives in the property and renovation/ demo will likely start in the Spring.

Now, I just received my first National Grid and almost off my chair. How do we keep costs at bay? It seems ridiculous to pay hundreds of dollars every month when no one lives in the property? Are we able to turn the heat and gas off since pipes will need to be replaced anyways, or will we risk water damage in the long run? OR is this just par for the course?

The property is over 100 years old and heat runs on old cast iron heaters. The one thermostat we’ve seen is an old Honeywell one with the adjustable knob……

Please, does anyone have advice on how we should handle this?

Much thanks!

david-lewis

in Heating and Cooling 7 years and 6 months ago

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southsloppy | 7 years and 6 months ago

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you pay $.50 / therm all in? My bill from National Grid is usually closer to $1/therm including delivery + supply charge. Wonder if they are gouging me somehow.

yudashasom | 7 years and 6 months ago

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What did your energy audit say about that big boy boiler? It sounds very oversized.

murph | 7 years and 6 months ago

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I have a 3,554 sq. ft. semi-detached 3-story BS with 3,210 sq ft of exposed exterior walls. My recent GRID bill was $193.00–some 400 Therms @ $0.48/Therm?–to feed a 330k burner(Big Boy) with an indirect-fired HW tank attached and I feel fine. GRID says I’m good.

First, seal the house tight! Tight double or triple-pane windows and insulated doors. Caulk all frames–important. Seal the cellar front & back. Blow in as much insulation under the roof as you can–good year-round. Wrap all the HW & pipes & heating lines in the cellar. You can do this yourself. Then get an energy audit to check yourself out. Do what they say.

Better still get them in first. You like to throw around money?

slopefarm | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Our house was being renovated by a flipper during contract prior to closing (long story, never again, lawsuit ensued, buy me a beer — make that two — and I’ll tell you about it etc). Flipper got SWO, turned off the heat, house was vacant all winter and the pipes froze and burst. tons of damage. So yes, drain the pipes if you are going to shut the heat.

RobertGMarvin

in Heating and Cooling 7 years and 6 months ago

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If you drain the system do you have to put antifreeze in the traps?

greenworks | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Had freestanding house on mountain in Vermont and had plenty of neighbors who didn’t want to piss away a few bucks a month to keep their house at 60 and wound up pissing away plenty more when their pipes froze and burst. Glad you were lucky.

Down here there’s always the risk of frozen pipes no matter what – had three neighbors with full heat and bad insulation in certain areas get frozen pipes this cold stretch.

I’m with the plumbers here tho – turn water off and drain the system. Sound much easier than I thought.

cate | 7 years and 6 months ago

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For an attached row house, gas and/or oil bill should *average* $200 to $300 a month over the course of an entire year for heat and hot water. We live in a drafty 2,700-square-foot house with no insulation and it’s $300 a month. Actual bills in the winter months can be much higher — $750 for example. Major factors affecting how much fuel you use are (1) attached vs. semi vs. detached (2) how high you run the heat (3) insulation. Things like what kind of thermostat you use (analog or digital etc.) don’t make that much difference. A hot water system with radiators is typically the most effective, efficient and comfortable delivery mechanism (hot air not so much).

RobertGMarvin

in Heating and Cooling 7 years and 6 months ago

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I think what camp6ell suggests would be fine with MOST houses, but not all. One of my neighbors had the pipes to their kitchen sink freeze during the last cold spell while they were home, with the heat ON. I presume those pipes were near an outside wall, so, if you have similarly run pipes, keep kitchen cabinet doors OPEN.

camp6ell | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Our rowhouse was fine all winter long with the heat off during gut renovation. Turn off water, check location of pipes and if you must, set thermostat to 38-49 degrees.
BTW, we used to have a old Victorian stand-alone house in Vermont and kept the thermostat at 40 degrees while we were away and the pipes never froze, so don’t piss away your money by setting it to 60 degrees as someone above suggested.

ixmfrteyhywobz | 7 years and 6 months ago

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If you’re remodeling while living elsewhere I assuming that the monthly heating bills must be a tiny part of your budget? Warm weather is coming soon so I would focus your attention on other matters such as the upcoming stop work orders and mechanic’s liens.

SoSlope | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Few thoughts:
1) I agree with the suggestion to turn the water off and drain the system.

2) I would be careful before you follow @eman134’s suggestion to lower the temperature to 38%. If you have pipes in exterior walls (or even some interior walls that have drafty connections to exterior walls), it is very easy for the interior of the wall to drop below freezing even if the house is at 38 degrees. An old house will often have spots in the walls that are surprisingly cold.

3) I wouldn’t put any weight in @Gennady’s figure of $200. It depends on size, insulation, drafts, temperature setting, etc. You cannot use one generalized figure for all houses.

4) If you are looking at a bill that covers late December and early January, remember that that period was unusually cold for a long period (10+ days without rising above freezing), so you should expect to have a higher than normal bill for that period.

CarmenR | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Our house is originally from 1855, is attached on both sides, we have two above-ground stories and one 40% below grade floor (smaller windows) and we gutted it 3 years ago so most of it is brand-new: insulation, hvac, windows, doors, etc. We’ve been really happy with our electric and gas bills, even in the hottest/coldest times of year (so far!)

ko.michele | 7 years and 6 months ago

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I live in Brooklyn in a relatively small, freestanding, 100 year old townhouse, 3 stories, hot water heat, and my winter National Grid bills have been about $280 a month.

WRPListings | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Mine is attached with hot water heater. Four floors, but only about 2800 square feet

Master Plvmber | 7 years and 6 months ago

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There are lots of variables, of course. I’m not sure where Gennady is getting his $200 benchmark from but there is a big difference between attached rowhouses vs corner units vs free-standing homes, and steam vs hot water vs radiant floor vs forced air, and big house vs little house, etc.

WRPListings | 7 years and 6 months ago

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This is an interesting thread. We also just bought, and so far our bills are around $300 for the winter months. Is that typical, or is there a problem? I was expecting more, so I was ok with that amount…but $200 sounds even better. What are some ways to bring it down further? For those who say $200, was that the cost for this past month when it was so brutally cold?

CarmenR | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Stickerhappy, we have hot water heat (and gas for heating water for showering, etc.)

yudashasom | 7 years and 6 months ago

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If you turn the water off and drain the system you don’t need to heat the building

stickerhappy | 7 years and 6 months ago

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Carmen, you have steam or hot water heat? That seems so low for all those sq ft.