Oil vs. gas heat in this scenario?

[Paul M. Eldridge]

Hi Banty,

Do you have to replace your boiler at this time? At 18 years, a good quality boiler should still have plenty of life left in it.

I've talked about ductless heat pumps throughout this thread. You might consider one as a secondary heat source, especially if the a/c benefits enhance the overall picture (the Fujitsu 12RLQ has a SEER rating of 21, btw).

Cheers, Paul

[Banty]

OK. But you have no ideas on a primary heat source instead of oil, where there is no gas service....?

Banty

[Paul M. Eldridge]

Hi Banty,

There are other options such as electric or propane but I can't see either being more cost effective and even if they were somewhat cheaper per BTU, it would hardly justify the cost of swapping out what you have now if your current heating system is relatively efficient and in good working order.

My recommendation, if your primary objective is to reduce your home heating costs is to keep what you have now and add one or more ductless heat pumps as a secondary heat source. As noted, the operating costs are considerably less than that of oil and you gain the benefits of a/c.

Cheers, Paul

[Banty]

furnaces

Thanks, Paul.

Well, I have pretty much decided already to sit on my oil fired Burnham and tankless coil system for awhile (windows have been replaced and some insulation work has been done, too!).

But the question that bugs me is - if the boiler gives out and I have to make a decision regarding a primary heat source tomorrow (no, let's say, January 18

2009 ;-), what would be the best way to go.

Banty

[Paul M. Eldridge]

[... snip ...]

Hi Banty,

I don't think anyone can accurately predict what will happen in the energy marketplace, one, five or ten years from now but I can tell you that I'm in meetings this week with a senior representative from a major New England utility and he's painting a rather bleak picture and from what he's been telling us, his fears appear to be well founded. I don't say this lightly, but if you haven't already taken steps to make your home more energy efficient and to reduce your personal energy needs to the greatest extent possible, I strongly advise you to do so now.

Cheers, Paul

[Banty]

Well, OK, of course. Which makes me glad (if I weren't glad enough already) that I've tightened up the house with new Marvin windows and added insulation where it was found to be lacking.

But what I'm trying to get at is - should I be ready to make a conversion from oil should my boiler go, or is propane (I'd have to have a propane tank) and electric going to follow oil anyway?

Banty

[Paul M. Eldridge]

Hi Banty,

FWIW, the previous owners of my home used some 5,700 litres (1,505 gallons) of heating oil a year for space heating and domestic hot water purposes and with various thermal upgrades plus the addition of a ductless heat pump, I was able to get that down to 700 litres last year. Now, with a small electric water heater pre-feeding my boiler's indirect tank, that number should drop to perhaps something in the range of 250 litres (66 gallons). When you get your consumption down to this level the price of fuel oil could double or triple overnight and your out-of-pocket expenses are still minimal. Had I done nothing at all, today, I'd be paying over $7,000.00 a year to heat my home; as it stands now, I pay less than $700.00 and our winters are significantly colder than those of Buffalo, NY.

If money were no object and you wanted to stick with a central heating system, then a ground source heat pump would likely be your best bet. However, at the end of the day, one or two ultra high-efficiency Fujitsu 12RLQ ductless heat pumps could reduce your home heating costs by almost as much but, in this case, your upfront costs would be substantially lower and the money you save could be used to pay for additional upgrades to your home's thermal envelope. To me, this is a more sensible way to go.

BTW, crude oil is currently trading at $134.75 a barrel and the Nymex heating oil futures price is $3.96 a gallon. Retail is normally another $0.60 to $0.75 above that so, as of now, residential fuel oil would be priced at $4.60 to $4.70 a gallon. You should expect to pay

**at least** $5.00 by this fall and perhaps $6.00 if things continue at their current pace. So for a homeowner who uses an average of 1,000 gallons a year, budget $5,000.00 to $6,000.00 just to be safe (the cost to fill a 275 gallon tank that's roughly 1/4 full could be $1,000.00+).

I'm trying hard not to be alarmist, but when I say I'm being told the situation in New England this coming winter will be bleak I mean this in the truest sense of the word.

Cheers, Paul

[Banty]

Thanks, Paul.

I'll look into the heat pump - I take it it greatly raises the efficiency of circulation. For my primary, should it go, maybe I should go for the downsized indirect tank system but stick with oil as other fuel options aren't great either. And emphasize conservation. As in the end the only real way to address this.

One thought I had when backing out of the System 2000 (other than getting a stong feeling I should rethink everything, and that I had time to do so) was that the $$$ could better be put into a few more things, like replacing certain doors.

My house isn't particularly well situated for solar (north side of a hill, with the major roof surfaces facing east and west), but maybe there's something I could do there too.

Banty

[Doug]

I'm a bit puzzled by the literature of that heat pump. The electrical wattage for heating is over double that of cooling. The compressor shouldn't draw any more when its cycle is reversed. Is it that they are using an electrical strip heater when temp drops in order to maintain output?

Doug

[Paul M. Eldridge]

Hi Doug,

I'm looking at the specs for the M24YF (page 6 of this brochure) and without the benefit of morning coffee I can't find where this is printed. The only wattage I see listed is for cooling and this is shown as 2.31 kW. Power consumption in heating mode is normally slightly lower and will more or less follow heat output, so as heating capacity starts to taper off with outdoor temperature, so too will wattage. There are no backup strips in these units.

As I recall, my ductless unit (a 14,000 BTU/hr Friedrich, nee Fujitsu), draws 1,290-watts in cooling mode/1,230-watts in heating (nominal) and, again, as it gets colder the number of watts pulled will dimmish.

Cheers, Paul

[Paul M. Eldridge]

Hi Banty,

Crude oil hit $135.09 yesterday and is trading this morning slightly lower ($132.27). However, heating oil futures are now $3.991 a gallon so, again, based on normal margins, we should expect to pay between $4.60 to $4.75 a gallon retail. Due to a growing world-wide demand for distillates, that will most likely pass the $5.00 mark within the next few weeks. [Looking at this week's numbers, U.S. distillate inventories, which includes both heating oil and diesel came in

800,000 barrels below analyst expectations.]

So, again, homeowners who heat with oil will be in for a shock when their tanks are topped up this fall. Best get consumption down now or you will pay dearly in the months ahead.

Cheers, Paul

[Banty]

Well, thanks, but no news there.

Looked into the heat pump, BTW. Not recommended for where most of our heating needs are when the outside temps are well below freezing. Plus I already have A/C.

Banty