Propane Heating cost
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charlz
Elite Member
Propane is cheapest in the Midwest and gets more expensive the further you get away from there.
I have a 3000 sq ft house built in 2000 and the first winter heating with propane was serious sticker shock. I ran the numbers and figured out the cost of pellet heat is about 45% that of propane heat so I installed a pellet stove. this is on a straight btu-btu basis, the efficiency of both is pretty close so I don't bother to adjust for it.
When we are in the single digits the pellet stove cannot keep up at night so I run the propane on top of the pellet stove. I do this by setting the pellet stove to like 72 degrees and then set the propane to what I really want which is 68 degrees. This makes the pellet stove run wide open all the time and the propane furnace only kicks on as needed. I had a fireplace that I replaced with a quadra-fire 1200i insert. Pricey but I figure it is paying me back at 20-25% per year in propane cost avoided. After it pays for itself it is all gravy, try and find a better return on your money.
I would be looking real hard at getting that wood stove installed, could pay for itself in short order. Not to mention the safety factor of having heat in a prolonged power outage.
Charles
I have a 3000 sq ft house built in 2000 and the first winter heating with propane was serious sticker shock. I ran the numbers and figured out the cost of pellet heat is about 45% that of propane heat so I installed a pellet stove. this is on a straight btu-btu basis, the efficiency of both is pretty close so I don't bother to adjust for it.
When we are in the single digits the pellet stove cannot keep up at night so I run the propane on top of the pellet stove. I do this by setting the pellet stove to like 72 degrees and then set the propane to what I really want which is 68 degrees. This makes the pellet stove run wide open all the time and the propane furnace only kicks on as needed. I had a fireplace that I replaced with a quadra-fire 1200i insert. Pricey but I figure it is paying me back at 20-25% per year in propane cost avoided. After it pays for itself it is all gravy, try and find a better return on your money.
I would be looking real hard at getting that wood stove installed, could pay for itself in short order. Not to mention the safety factor of having heat in a prolonged power outage.
Charles
3RRL
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I just paid $1.52 per gallon to have my 500 gallon tank filled. This was right after Christmas. I am shocked that what I paid is cheaper than most posts I've seen, considering I live in California, where most stuff is 10x as expensive as you all pay.
rcaretti
Bronze Member
bg71361 said:
midlf
Platinum Member
$1.699/gallon on budget billing plan for this heating season.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
First of all, see how much insulation you have in the attic. There are plenty of websites out there that will tell you how much R value you should have in the attic. Insulation is cheap compared to how much you are spending in propane.
Windows can be another comfort/energy issue. In our old house we had metal frame windows that where just aweful. Whatever the temperature outside you felt it inside. And the windows leaked. Our new house has lots of windows. The major rooms have at least one 6'x8' wood clad casement window. There is NO draft and very little energy transfer from outside compared to the old house.
If you have old or cheap cheap vinyl windows there can be air leakage.
We heat the house with wood. We don't have the winters that you have thankfully! We will drop into the 20s and every once in awhile into the teens. The wood stove keeps the living room at 71 to 75 when I get up in the morning if I fed the fire in the night. When we are home the stove keeps the room at 75-80. The other side of the house will stay between 68 to 72. This year it looks like we will burn 4 cords in our 2400 square foot house.
The only major expense I have ever had on a heat pump was replacing the one at our old house. The heat pump was 20 years old when I bought the house and I knew it needed to go. In the ten years with the new heat pump we did not have any expensive repairs at all. Our new house has a heat pump that is rarely used during the winter and is mainly used in the summer for AC. Our average power bill per month is about $112. I figure most of our power consumption is the water heater and the clothes dryer.
Wood can be expensive though. If I had to pay for wood I'm not sure it would be worth it on a dollar basis. BUT, this last week we had the threat of ice storms and its real nice knowing that if we loose power we won't be cold. AND the wood stove puts out very nice heat that a heat pump can't manage. Heat pumps stink once the temps go into the 30s.
Later,
Dan
Windows can be another comfort/energy issue. In our old house we had metal frame windows that where just aweful. Whatever the temperature outside you felt it inside. And the windows leaked. Our new house has lots of windows. The major rooms have at least one 6'x8' wood clad casement window. There is NO draft and very little energy transfer from outside compared to the old house.
If you have old or cheap cheap vinyl windows there can be air leakage.
We heat the house with wood. We don't have the winters that you have thankfully! We will drop into the 20s and every once in awhile into the teens. The wood stove keeps the living room at 71 to 75 when I get up in the morning if I fed the fire in the night. When we are home the stove keeps the room at 75-80. The other side of the house will stay between 68 to 72. This year it looks like we will burn 4 cords in our 2400 square foot house.
The only major expense I have ever had on a heat pump was replacing the one at our old house. The heat pump was 20 years old when I bought the house and I knew it needed to go. In the ten years with the new heat pump we did not have any expensive repairs at all. Our new house has a heat pump that is rarely used during the winter and is mainly used in the summer for AC. Our average power bill per month is about $112. I figure most of our power consumption is the water heater and the clothes dryer.
Wood can be expensive though. If I had to pay for wood I'm not sure it would be worth it on a dollar basis. BUT, this last week we had the threat of ice storms and its real nice knowing that if we loose power we won't be cold. AND the wood stove puts out very nice heat that a heat pump can't manage. Heat pumps stink once the temps go into the 30s.
Later,
Dan
rcaretti
Bronze Member
Just checked the tank this morning, and its at 30%. I'll probably need a fill up in a couple weeks.
I'm half afraid to find out what propane will be going for with the cold snap here in the eastern U.S.
If you're planning on staying at your place for more than a couple years, buying your tank would make financial sense. If I fill up 4x a year at 400 gallons each and save approx 30 cents a gallon - that's $480 a year.
I have to wonder if the builders get a kick back from the propane delivery companies...
I'm half afraid to find out what propane will be going for with the cold snap here in the eastern U.S.
If you're planning on staying at your place for more than a couple years, buying your tank would make financial sense. If I fill up 4x a year at 400 gallons each and save approx 30 cents a gallon - that's $480 a year.
I have to wonder if the builders get a kick back from the propane delivery companies...
scott_vt
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rcaretti said:
Afternoon Rcaretti,
I locked in at $1.94 / gal in the fall, Im thinkin I will get the tank topped off at the end of heating season just to play it safe
LBrown59
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Boy am I glad we have Natural Gas.
It's higher n a kite but propane must be in orbit.
It's higher n a kite but propane must be in orbit.
Wesdor
Gold Member
The original post sure sounds high to me.
We have a 2400 sq ft home that was built in 2005. We heat the full basement as well. Have propane for hot water, stove and furnace. Cost is right at $3 per day for the entire year.
Filled up the 500 gallon tank in mid January at a cost of $1.49 / gallon.
You guys are making me feel very fortunate.
We have a 2400 sq ft home that was built in 2005. We heat the full basement as well. Have propane for hot water, stove and furnace. Cost is right at $3 per day for the entire year.
Filled up the 500 gallon tank in mid January at a cost of $1.49 / gallon.
You guys are making me feel very fortunate.
rcaretti
Bronze Member
bg71361 said:
I'll post here or send you a private message when I fill up, at least it will give you a better idea of how much extra you pay for having their tank.
I have a cap of something like 2.49, but I'd like to pay less than that!
I need to have a good look around at insulation after the weather warms up a litte. I feel I burn more propane than I should. It's a newer home, but these newer homes come with cheap windows and have 2x4 exterior walls.
Someone posted this link some time ago, it gives some average pricing in NY, which was the best thing I've been able to find:
Monthly Average Propane Prices
rcaretti
Bronze Member
Wesdor said:
You are fortunate! I just took a look and I paid $2620 for propane last year. That's about $7.18 a day. That's for hot water and heat. We keep the house at 68 while we are here, and I have thermostats that turn the heat down to 59 while we are away. The house is probably about 2500 sq feet, so that doesn't account for much of the difference. I am paying about 60 or 70 cents more for propane, so that makes it 40% or 50% more than you, just based on cost alone.
ultrarunner
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You guys are getting very good prices for Propane. I just paid $2.97 a gallon, including taxes and "Recovery Fees" for the Family cabin at Tahoe
Amerigas took over my local independent and Propane has become quite expensive. I have a nominal 250 gallon tank and an agreement for the gas company to come by and top of the tank at their convenience.
Anybody else have Amerigas??? What are you paying?
Amerigas took over my local independent and Propane has become quite expensive. I have a nominal 250 gallon tank and an agreement for the gas company to come by and top of the tank at their convenience.
Anybody else have Amerigas??? What are you paying?
dmccarty
Super Star Member
rcaretti said:
O U C H ! ! ! !
That is a huge amount of money! I saw what you where paying and figured you where up Nawth somewhere.
I have heard of people around here in NC paying a couple hundred dollars for propane per month but I find it so hard to believe. Our electric bill averaged $112 per month in 2006. We heat with wood but if we used the heat pump it would add another $75-100 per month for six months. Maybe.
We are in a 2400 sf house with lots of windows and 10 foot ceilings which works great in the spring, summer, and fall but not so good in winter. A big part of our power cost has to be the hot water heater. The Feds give a tax break for solar water heating. Maybe MD does as well. For what you are paying in propane solar hot water may make a lot of money sense. If I had the cash I would put one in. Hopefully this year we can do it. I think the Federal tax credit goes away this year unless Congress extends the time period.
Later,
Dan
DK35vince
Super Member
We recently had our 500 gallon tank refilled. Price was $2.05 per gallon.
Valley Gas is our supplier and they own the tank.
Valley Gas is our supplier and they own the tank.
Matt_W
Bronze Member
ultrarunner said:
I have Amerigas, locked in at $2.10 in august of 06
My home was built in 2003 and to avoid the cost of installing a 1100' gas line I installed propane.
Propane has steadily gone up since!
rcaretti
Bronze Member
Matt_W said:
I feel your pain. Why do things always seem to work out that way?
Though I bet compared to the cost of a 1100' gas line, you could buy a lot of propane.
Matt_W
Bronze Member
rcaretti said:
At the time of building the house weighing the 2 was basically $5 a foot for the ditch plus a registered plumber to install then cost of materials.
Or $75 for installation fees and putting the tanks there for nothing and cost of intial fill.
I think Im still ahead of the game.
