Actual Cost Of Commercial Heat

[majorwager]

OLD RED,
Duplication can be a form of flattery, not insulted by the copy of a thread. However,

Larry Caldwell,
The argument did drift into the weeds with the death, taxes and hardened arteries. The point in Not that commercial heat is without cost. Yet firewood production/use includes ancillary expenses that are often overlooked and ignored

 

[ultrarunner]

I like the approach of my European friends... they often have several ways of keeping warm...

Radiant Floor heat is the heat of choice and the boilers are multi-fuel... often oil, gas and wood... for the same system.

Plus... those 400 year old Farm Houses had a ceramic tile wood fired oven in the living room... called a Kachelofen.

Masonry heater - Wikipedia

The moral is no one freezes when you have options... and having the old people will tell you wood was still available during the war years... where nothing else was...

Even a law that every home built must have a chimney suitable for wood heat... Just In Case

 

[majorwager]

Larry Caldwell,

Argument doesn't belong here but a definitive position on fracking is NOT within the preview of any single individual. I am in favor, If the southern border towns of NY with PA were allowed to engage in this practice, the economy in that part of the state would not be in the doldrums. The towns just over the border in PA are flourishing, economically. Since I did NOT bring up the subject, it will be left there.

 

[Old Red]

Oh yes, off the charts. But just remember, the markets go DOWN just like they go up. Ie as recent as 2008.

Yes sir....I lost 1/2 twice....I lost 1/2 in 1999 dot com bust and 1/2 in 2008. I didn't have much to loose back then tho!

Funny thing....I was just starting my career back in June of 1998 walked out of the Pike house in May '98 and started my career and the job I still hold today. Mom was trying real hard to get me to be a saver....even so much so that she gave me $2,000 to invest in a Roth IRA. So I did....Bought Janus Twenty Fund in 1999 right before the bubble burst....It got down to like $500...I have just held it all these years....I checked it earlier today and it sets at $3,443.77. So the huge bust did come back....good thing about our 401Ks we just keep on buying now matter what the market does. Wife and I are super savers, just wished we were super saves back from the beginning like mom tried so hard to get us to do.

 

[goeduck]

I like the approach of my European friends... they often have several ways of keeping warm...

Radiant Floor heat is the heat of choice and the boilers are multi-fuel... often oil, gas and wood... for the same system.

Plus... those 400 year old Farm Houses had a ceramic tile wood fired oven in the living room... called a Kachelofen.

Masonry heater - Wikipedia

The moral is no one freezes when you have options... and having the old people will tell you wood was still available during the war years... where nothing else was...

Even a law that every home built must have a chimney suitable for wood heat... Just In Case

Radiant floor heat is so nice. I doubt in this country, no matter how bad it got, they ever require a chimney suitable for wood heat in every home. Times change. But those of us that have them can enjoy them.

 

[dragoneggs]

Yes sir....I lost 1/2 twice....I lost 1/2 in 1999 dot com bust and 1/2 in 2008. I didn't have much to loose back then tho!

Not quite half for me for each of those episodes but my 401K did take a 50% hit when my wife divorced me. :smiley_aafz: Why I cannot see retirement until 70 instead of 60, I am guessing.

 

[majorwager]

Goeduck,
Your are so correct, radiant floor heat is beyond description. Have been involved in several projects then failed to incorporate the concept in my own. A mistake I will always regret. And the source boiler can be as mundane as a 40 gallon HW Heater with a circulating pump, or a multi-fuel unit consuming wood, coal or an oil gun back-up.

 

[LD1]

Actual cost of commercial heat.

Bought house with electric strips.....and a chimney that hadnt been used in 10 years. Bought place going right into winter.

So that first november electric bill was extreme. Something like $400 and november is pretty mild. And to make things worse....since the baseboard heaters are only in the upstairs, the basement stayed a good 15 degrees colder. Wasnt looking forward to even higher bills when jan and feb rolled around.

So cleaned and inspected the chimney and put a wood burner in. Bills went to ~1200 kwh usage and about $150 on average for the next two years I ran the woodburner.....at 6 cord per year.

That summer inbetween those two winters was brutal....as no AC.....so running a couple of window AC units.

So the following spring after the second winter with wood, I broke ground on geothermal.

Spent $8500 on the geothermal stuff, $1000 for a new water heater to run a second tank....buffer tank style, and another $2500 for ductwork because the house had none. Total of $12k

But local rebates and uncle sam were generous. Gave me ~$5000 back. So I have $7000 invested in my system and on the second winter now.

My bills now run me ~1800-2000kwh usage and $200-$220

So about a $60 increase per month over wood. But I have better (even) heating.....AC, And no bugs and mess in the house, no chimney cleaning or worries of a fire, no worries about being away for 14 hours and hoping the wife dont let the fire die out....etc.

So in a 6 month season.....my bills are ~$360 more than when I was burning wood. But I still cut that same 6 cord of wood Just like if I were to heat with it. Just choose to sell it rather than burn it. $160/cord x 6.....thats $960....which covers my electric bill AND puts $600 in my pocket on top of that.

If at any point in time the zombie apocalypses happens......I still have the option to burn wood if I so choose. Though, without any electric for a blower or a way to circulate the heat....it isnt gonna be very efficient.....but it will keep one from freezing to death.

 

[kenmac]

If you want heat that's not going to cost you an arm and leg every month. Switch your systems out to a VRF .
I'm going to replace my system with a VRF unit within the next few months

 

[ultrarunner]

Radiant floor heat is so nice. I doubt in this country, no matter how bad it got, they ever require a chimney suitable for wood heat in every home. Times change. But those of us that have them can enjoy them.

The chimney is really nothing more that a 14" diameter flue in the wall.... kind of like all the old 1920 homes around here have. No open fireplace or anything more than just a flue kept in reserve...

When I built in Austria I learned of this requirement so I put in a double... one of each floor as the cost was only about 25% more to have two dedicated flues... it was something I built myself... one is used for the Masonry Wood Stove in the center of the home and serves as primary heat.