I just got a $724 bill for oil. The way the prices are going, a change needs to be made. My oil furnace is 20 years old, so it needs to go. My current options are: 1)Replace the oil furnace with a new more efficient one. 2)Convert to Natural Gas. The gas company is willing to install service up to the house for free. It would be my responsibility to have a contractor run a line from the house to the furnace and buy a new furnace. 3)Purchase and install a coal stove: I live in Central PA (coal region). 1 ton of coal is about $200. My buddy burned 3 tons this winter in his larger house. 4)Purchase and install a corn/wood pellet stove. Also, cheap in the area. I would appreciate anyone with experience in this field's opinion. No way I can afford to heat the house next winter if oil prices continue to rise. Thanks.
Anonymous2008-05-01T19:22:53Z
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Your best choice would be Option 2. Obtain 3 proposals from local established HVAC companies. Oil burns and leaves your duct system dirty so locate a good Duct Cleaning company. Have the ducts and return airs cleaned prior to installing the new furnace. Natural Gas furnaces are available in: A. single stage units. B. 2-stage units. C. 2 stage with variable speed blowers. Good manufacturers include American Standard, Trane, Amana, Rheem, Carrier, Tempstar, Lennox. Stay away from Janitrol and Goodman furnaces. A Good HVAC company knows how to do heat/cool load calculations to determine the proper sized equipment for the house. Bigger is not necessarily better! Coal also burns dirty and corn stoves easily get clogged due to the high sugar content in corn. Good hardwood pellets such as oak are becoming expensive also. As you can tell, my recommendation's are gas forced air furnaces. Good Luck!
Get a new oil heating system. The new ones are usually about 20-30% more efficient than something that old. Depending on if you have baseboard or steam heat the prices will be very different. If its a hot water system with 1 zone your looking at about 5000 installed or if its steam about 6000. Also one more thing DO NOT have a plumber install it, have an oil company do it, in most states a plumbing license does not cover heating systems and plumbers dont know the state regulations. Another thing i see every other source of heat going up much higher than it is now too because the more ppl switch over the more expensive it will become.
Go with the wood pellet stove. I have experienced this myself and it was wonderful. The stove fed itself about 10 pellets every half hour or so and it was nice and toasty. It is very easy to install and pretty darn cheap if you buy bulk (not bagged-way to expensive). I live in Central PA as well and we have been pricing them for a year now and do believe we will be getting one before this coming winter. There is a place in Carlisle that sells them at a decent price, I don't remember right off the top of my head but it is on Simpson Ferry Road (I believe). Good luck with your decision.
I have a house of 1600 square feet. I purchased 10 years ago a 1000 gallon propane tank which provides fuel for heat, hot water, cooking and a clothes dryer. This gives me more than one year's fuel (600-700 gal) at my most recent price of $2.00 a gallon. A 1000 gallon tank gives me the ability to call many suppliers for the best prices in Aug-Sept when prices are lowest of the year. I do have a very well insulated house with 2x6 exterior walls fully insulated and double thick insulation in the attic. I find this very convenient and relatively low in cost
Some varieties of Cabbage, Broccoli and Spring Greens are planted at this time of year for harvest next year. Most other vegetables you will need to wait until the Spring. If you can visit a garden centre you will find large racks of seed packets on dis play. On the back of each packet you will find good information on planting and harvest time along with how to grow them.