Like many others, opr six-unit coop building is about to convert our oil-burning furnace (boiler) from oil to gas.
I would welcome the experience of others who have made this conversion, especially in recent months.
I'm trying to get an idea as to how much we will save. I know, of course, that prices fluctuate widely -- and wildly.
You won't save as much as you could if you change to a dual fuel burner so you don't lock yourselves into a nat. gas monopoly and can still buy oil during off peak times since it stores fine, vs. always buying nat. gas at the current market rate.
Nobody can know what you will save, nobody knows what you pay for Ng or oil, thats your job. Nobody knows future priceing or your conversion cost. As Pete says go dual fuel and run numbers.
Nobody can know what you will save, nobody knows what you pay for Ng or oil, thats your job. Nobody knows future priceing or your conversion cost. As Pete says go dual fuel and run numbers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keep in mind that the gas company, like many, probably has the bill broken down into different items, the gas itself, delivery charge and administration charge. When you change to oil you will not save that much either because you will still have to pay the administration charge or minimum bill each month, whether or not you use the gas, so add that portion to the oil costs to see if switching is worth it. If you sign a long term contract, you may be under obligation to take X number of units of gas per month/year. It is difficult to win, they get you in the end. At least gas will require less servicing than oil. I hope you guys are buying a high efficiency unit.
On Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:54:47 -0500, "Pete C." wrote Re Re: Gas vs. oil? ? ?:
I second this suggestion. Since you already have the oil storage tanks in place, a "dually" is the way to go.
You can plug in some numbers here
Other considerations in annual cost are maintenance. Gas burners need little cleaning compared to the oil that has to be torn down frequently.
I appreciate all of the answers, but what I asked for was actual experience from someone who has made the change.
Can anyone give me that?
By the way, we are not going dual, but we are keeping the oil burner, which can be reinstalled at relatively low cost if gas prices should surge and oil fall.
I operate a heating boiler that was converted, but it was done before we bought the building. I'd take gas over oil any day. My production boilers are gas. years ago we had an oil boiler but replaced the entire boiler, not just the burner.
Do you have specific questions? Gas is just cleaner, cheaper, less trouble prone.
First contact whomever decided to switch to gas to see the numbers they used to justify the conversion.
You need to do some research for your set of conditions such as determining your historical consumption and the historical costs of natural gas and fuel oil in *your* area and then plugging in current costs and trends and the costs of the conversion.
determining your historical consumption and the historical costs of
gas and fuel oil in *your* area and then plugging in current
and the costs of the conversion.
with this. I hope this could help. Posted from the Free Home Improvement Forum at
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.