Super User clayton86 Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 So with this winter being a bit cold how do yall heat your houses? Oil, propain, electric, wood/pellet? We have a oil furness and its killing us lol. We just fill it with diesel and it seems like it's lasting shorter and shorter each time but then again it hasn't made it out of the negatives and single digits in like a week. I used to put 3 cans in(15gal) and that would last us 4-5 days now it's 1-2 days if that. The gfs dad and I were discussing finishing the basement and putting an addition on the house and he wants to switch to propain guess it's pretty simple to go from oil to propain. Quote
preach4bass Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Wood. Hard work, but very cost efficient! Quote
Super User F14A-B Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 Around here, I'm using a carrier heat pump.. With a emergency electric heating element. I use to use propane & a wood burning stove..but have moved on from those heat sources. Quote
a1712 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Nat. Gas. We switched over from oil this fall and so far we've saved around 25%. It would be significantly more if the oil prices had not come down. It's already paid for the conversion. Brian. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 My home heating all starts with a Stihl MS 391 Farm Boss with a 20 inch bar ~ A-Jay 3 Quote
Super User Lund Explorer Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 So with this winter being a bit cold how do yall heat your houses? Oil, propain, electric, wood/pellet? We have a oil furness and its killing us lol. We just fill it with diesel and it seems like it's lasting shorter and shorter each time but then again it hasn't made it out of the negatives and single digits in like a week. I used to put 3 cans in(15gal) and that would last us 4-5 days now it's 1-2 days if that. The gfs dad and I were discussing finishing the basement and putting an addition on the house and he wants to switch to propain guess it's pretty simple to go from oil to propain. It's not the fuel, the problem you have is the space you are trying to heat. Back when we bought our home oil wasn't very expensive and for twenty some years I just kept watching the delivery truck drop off a tank full twice a year. When it came time to put on new shingles, I spent an extra $500 and had 12" of insulation blown on top of the 6" of the rolled insulation we already had. First year - We saved almost 100 gallons of fuel needed to heat our home. I was so happy that I spent a few thousand the next spring to replace windows, doors, and siding. We also added an inch of foam insulation, and put on new house wrap under the new siding. Results? We went from using approximately 700 gallons of fuel in an average winter down to where we barely use 300 a year now. In a mild winter, I can have the tank filled up in September and I don't see that darn truck until the next fall. I kick myself every winter now that I waiting so long before to upgrade our home. Four hundred gallons of fuel oil @ $3+ per/gallon is a lot of extra cash in my pocket. If you girlfriend's father is willing to spend cash to remodel this house, I'd suggest you talk him into spending a lot of that on upgrading what you already have before any money is spent trying to increase the amount of area you need to keep warm. Quote
Super User clayton86 Posted February 17, 2015 Author Super User Posted February 17, 2015 It's not the fuel, the problem you have is the space you are trying to heat. Back when we bought our home oil wasn't very expensive and for twenty some years I just kept watching the delivery truck drop off a tank full twice a year. When it came time to put on new shingles, I spent an extra $500 and had 12" of insulation blown on top of the 6" of the rolled insulation we already had. First year - We saved almost 100 gallons of fuel needed to heat our home. I was so happy that I spent a few thousand the next spring to replace windows, doors, and siding. We also added an inch of foam insulation, and put on new house wrap under the new siding. Results? We went from using approximately 700 gallons of fuel in an average winter down to where we barely use 300 a year now. In a mild winter, I can have the tank filled up in September and I don't see that darn truck until the next fall. I kick myself every winter now that I waiting so long before to upgrade our home. Four hundred gallons of fuel oil @ $3+ per/gallon is a lot of extra cash in my pocket. If you girlfriend's father is willing to spend cash to remodel this house, I'd suggest you talk him into spending a lot of that on upgrading what you already have before any money is spent trying to increase the amount of area you need to keep warm. Agreed I said that when I first moved in and I sealed the doors where I could see cracks and windows got the same treatment then the ole plastic trick. It's all going out the roof though the outside of the house we have 7' icecles hanging around the entire perimeter of the house. The addition is happening either way though the house is to small for us and my credit is to crappy to use my VA loan for at least another year or two but I'm working on it. Quote
Super User Lund Explorer Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 Agreed I said that when I first moved in and I sealed the doors where I could see cracks and windows got the same treatment then the ole plastic trick. It's all going out the roof though the outside of the house we have 7' icecles hanging around the entire perimeter of the house. The addition is happening either way though the house is to small for us and my credit is to crappy to use my VA loan for at least another year or two but I'm working on it. Without a doubt, heat loss is usually most severe through the roof. I would still highly suggest looking into adding more insulation in the attic, and as far as I'm concerned, the blown in cellulous is the way to do it. Rolled or bat insulation just doesn't give you a solid seal. Check out the local big box building suppliers in your area. Ours will rent out a blower at a very reasonable price if you buy the material from them. Before you change fuel source, look into this chart to see what each will cost on a per/btu basis. Prices of fuel keeps changing, but I've always found that fuel oil costs much less than propane when you consider the amount of heat in each gallon used. Might not be that way today, but it was back in the day. I always wonder about that when I see the propane truck pull into one of the neighbor's once every three weeks or so. A 300 gallon tank of that stuff doesn't seem to last very long. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/energy-content-d_868.html Quote
Super User Bankbeater Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 Furnace is natural gas. Quote
fish365 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 It's not the fuel, the problem you have is the space you are trying to heat. Back when we bought our home oil wasn't very expensive and for twenty some years I just kept watching the delivery truck drop off a tank full twice a year. When it came time to put on new shingles, I spent an extra $500 and had 12" of insulation blown on top of the 6" of the rolled insulation we already had. First year - We saved almost 100 gallons of fuel needed to heat our home. I was so happy that I spent a few thousand the next spring to replace windows, doors, and siding. We also added an inch of foam insulation, and put on new house wrap under the new siding. Results? We went from using approximately 700 gallons of fuel in an average winter down to where we barely use 300 a year now. In a mild winter, I can have the tank filled up in September and I don't see that darn truck until the next fall. I kick myself every winter now that I waiting so long before to upgrade our home. Four hundred gallons of fuel oil @ $3+ per/gallon is a lot of extra cash in my pocket. If you girlfriend's father is willing to spend cash to remodel this house, I'd suggest you talk him into spending a lot of that on upgrading what you already have before any money is spent trying to increase the amount of area you need to keep warm. +1 . I have electric heat pump, but added insulation and wrap under new siding. Savings paid for heat pump over 1st 5 winters. Quote
nick76 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 We built our home back in 2003 and we have used propane the entire time. We would go through about 1500 gallons a year to heat the home (~2500 sqft). Well a few years ago we had a really mild couple of winters so I saved the cash and invested in more attic insulation. We had 10-12 inches of blown into the attic as it was, but I added rolled r30 over the top like a blanket. Did the same thing at my office as well, total cost about $1000 for both places just materials. The last two winters have been cold as heck and I just had my second fill up of propane this winter. Total so far is 550 gallons and there is a chance it will get me through until next fall if spring hits a reasonable time. We also upgraded our thermostat to a programmable one and drop the temp in the house at night. No other changes and the insulation has already paid for itself after last winter and this one. Quote
Super User Sam Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 Two heat pumps and then turning on the propane fed fire place to really heat things up. Water heater is natural gas. Quote
Super User Raider Nation Fisher Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 Blankets on the bed and couch. Why waste money running a heater? Quote
Super User J Francho Posted February 17, 2015 Super User Posted February 17, 2015 Natural gas furnace, and wood burning forced air insert in the old fireplace. Quote
KayakKid Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 My family heats with wood, and we haven't had to use the backup furnace for years. As long as you enjoy cutting wood and being outside heating with wood is the real deal. Quote
BasshunterJGH Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 +1 on wood. We heat our house with a wood stove. House was built in 1899, we don't even have AC! Of course it doesn't get very cold here in central cali but still. Quote
Hyrule Bass Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 this house had baseboard at first, we installed a heat pump and ripped out the baseboard heat...we also have a wood stove we can use as a backup if need be... Quote
plumworm Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 REDEARTH, I'll bet your using that wood backup tonite. Quote
EvanT123 Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Natural gas with forced air. I hate it dries my sinuses out crazy. I keep a water pot next to every vent and it helps. Growing up we had oil and radiant heat through the floor. I haven't lived in a place with radiant heat since but that's my favorite type of heat delivery. Quote
Djf3864 Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Natural Gas piped directly into the house, don't need to do anything but pay the bill. Quote
Hyrule Bass Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 REDEARTH, I'll bet your using that wood backup tonite. nope, even though it got down to single digits, the heat pump is kicking butt. set it to 69-70 and its all good in here. power bill isn't outrageous either. i guess it helps this house had a fairly new roof on it when we bought it. the old house had wood only heat and a couple small electric heaters the power bill was about the same as what it is here with the heat pump. i'll tell you one thing im loving, not exactly about heating your home, but heating your water. we recently added a water softener/filter and a tankless water heater. the tankless water heater is great. never run out of hot water... Quote
Super User Ratherbfishing Posted February 20, 2015 Super User Posted February 20, 2015 Not sure. I just keep payin' the power company and heat keeps comin' out. 1 Quote
tholmes Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Natural gas. We did a lot of improvements in insulation, windows, etc, in the last 15 years so, with a levelized payment plan, we spend around $70 per month. Tom Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.