Cost of heating and hot water system

I purchased a brownstone recently. Heating is oil tank based ( hot water + Heating ). Oil tank needs to be filled every week in winter and every month in summer ( about $ 1000 for each time). Seems like a lot of money. Any suggestions about controlling the cost ? I thought about seperating heat from hot water. Is it a cost effective idea?

rockstar

in Heating 13 years and 1 month ago

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ellenlourie | 13 years and 1 month ago

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**1 family brownstone heating and hot water bill with properly set up efficient system utilizing gas should be in area of $1,200-$2,000 per year depending on how many people in the household and their preferences.**

eman134 | 13 years and 1 month ago

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the numbers that you quote seem impossibly large.. for a free consultation contactme at my email on my profile

Master Plvmber | 13 years and 1 month ago

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A big factor contributing to the costs of heating a home with oil is that most oil boilers use an internal tankless coil to make hot water. It’s an easy sell for the oil companies because it means you get to not buy a separate appliance to make hot water, so the initial installation costs are lower than the gas-guy’s proposal. 
I’m willing to bet you’ve got one of those.
Here’s the U.S. Dept of Energy: **http://tinyurl.com/yaxepgu**

BrownstoneDuplex | 13 years and 1 month ago

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We use oil heat and hot water in our brownstone and our oil usage is about the same.  But the weekly to week and a half deliveries only last from the middle of January through February.  I’m sure if I replaced the original windows and insulated the roof, my heating costs would go down.  And when my shower-loving kids move out, another savings.  Have you tried to lock in your per gallon oil cost with the dealer? or tried to negotiate the price?  They would like to keep you as a customer.

nintzk | 13 years and 1 month ago

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I agree with people here that these numbers sound high.  I own a brownstone and my heating / water is about half that.  Is this a single-family or multi-family building?

Master Plvmber | 13 years and 1 month ago

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I feel like this post is a setup to something.
What do you mean $1,000/wk for oil in a Brownstone?

rockstar | 13 years and 1 month ago

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This estimate is from previous owner. They were correct about summer and this tank was empty in one month. They told me that in winter it takes one week.

Bklnite | 13 years and 1 month ago

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If you purchased it recently, I assume you haven’t been through a heating season. The estimates $1000/week winter and $1000/mo. summer sound like an exageration. You probably have a 275 gal oil tank and the fuel company probably has scheduled deliveries every week in the winter, less frequently in the summer, but you shouldn’t be filling up an empty tank every time.  Gas has been getting cheaper while oil got more expensive, so switching heat and hw to gas is a good move.

elbow | 13 years and 1 month ago

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Wow! That sounds super expensive. Why not look into switching the whole think over to gas. We have a gas boiler and 2 75 gallon hot water heaters and pay about $3,800 a year for heat and hot water for an 8 unit 4,100 sf brownstone. In winter I have the thermostat for the boiler programmed for 55 degrees late night, but run at 68 degrees otherwise. Water is marked at the enrgy saver temp.

fexleycb | 13 years and 1 month ago

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Am I reading this correctly – that you’re paying something like $30K per year for heat and hot water?  it should be more like $4K per year.  Something is wrong.  Most people have natural gas hot water heaters that cost about $50 or $75 per month to operate.  You should probably switch to natural gas for your heating also.