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Natural Gas or Oil Heating?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by kingston73, Mar 24, 2011.

  1. Mar 24, 2011 at 6:11 AM
    #1
    kingston73

    kingston73 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    OK, not sure where to put this so I'm just going with the general 'off topic' category. Our street is getting a natural gas line and so now I have a choice of converting or just keep my oil furnace. Have any of you converted, and if so was it worth it? Our furnace is about 30 years old and needs some serious servicing, but we don’t use a lot of oil, less than $700 for the past 6 months. The natural gas company said it will cost about $850 for them to run the line from the street to our house, but then we still need to pay somebody else to install the new furnace and get rid of the oil tank, and I don’t have any idea how much that’ll be. Opinions and ideas welcome, thank you ahead of time.
     
  2. Mar 24, 2011 at 6:15 AM
    #2
    T@co_Pr3runn3r

    T@co_Pr3runn3r XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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    I would rather deal with NG vs. oil and am pretty sure NG is cheaper month to month but............have to consider what the monthly bill difference would be and how long it may take to catch back up on the extra costs of the line to house, new furnace & getting rid of the oil tank. My NG bill is about 40 in winter and 25 or so in summer in a 2700 sq ft house, no crazy temp inside and we have every NG thing possible, not just furnace. Hot water heaters, stove, oven, clothes dryer and furnace all NG. Still, in the long run it'd be in your best interest to go NG. Don't have to depend on truck coming out to fill it either. Could you keep the oil tank, have it cleaned out and keep gasoline in it for onhand supply?
     
  3. Mar 24, 2011 at 6:22 AM
    #3
    90YotaPU

    90YotaPU The Messiah

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    I've never had oil heat but I can say I'm a big fan of the natural gas. My first place had electric heat which was very costly. It was well worth the conversion. Also, not sure if they're still in place but when I converted in 2007, it cost me 6,500 to run the lines from the condo below me and replace the heater / ac unit. I got 3,800 in rebates though from the gov't and gas company. Just a thought.
     
  4. Mar 24, 2011 at 6:25 AM
    #4
    brow

    brow Well-Known Member

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    if you are planning on selling at any point in the future I would suggest converting to gas. the hassle of an oil furnace is not going to attract a lot of potentiial buyers.
     
  5. Mar 24, 2011 at 7:02 AM
    #5
    Simon's Mom

    Simon's Mom Wag More Bark Less

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    I have had Fuel Oil & NG and will never go back to FO.
    All my appliances are now natural gas as well.
    No more huge 275 oil tank.
    Many people in my area have converted this season due to the energy incentives.
    One thing I have heard from all of them is get quotes & references before you commit, there is huge demand & not everyone's work is equal.
     
  6. Mar 24, 2011 at 7:07 AM
    #6
    Fever

    Fever Well-Known Member

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    I am surprised they are charging to connect to the gas line. The gas company made the connection to my house for free , ran the internal piping and actually gave me a furnace (I had to pay for installation from a private plumber). You can always hold off, use what you have until it dies then make the switch.
     
  7. Mar 24, 2011 at 7:11 AM
    #7
    pudge151

    pudge151 Well-Known Member

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    its gunna cost you at least 3k to remove old tank and furnace and get a new one installed and plumbed for gas, plus whatever the gas co. is charging to run a line into your house, if your old furnace is 30years old its on its way out and it will prob cost you 2 or 3k for that anyway. go gas
     
  8. Mar 24, 2011 at 7:20 AM
    #8
    woodygg

    woodygg Well-Known Member

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    well, for one - take into consideration the fact that your current system needs some 'serious servicing'. this is a system you don't want to let get too bad, as it can be dangerous. it's a good investment to switch to cheaper ng, and would be good for resale value, but only you can decide if it's worth it. you should monitize it, of course as others have pointed out - but if you're going to have to put a bunch of money into a old system to keep it going, make sure you include those costs in your analysis.

    fyi -a lot of government agencies have incentives right now... make sure you check those out, they could pay for part of it. not sure if the 30% federal tax credit is still going on, and even if that switch to ng would be covered....
     
  9. Mar 24, 2011 at 7:23 AM
    #9
    TacoNH

    TacoNH Well-Known Member

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    Natural gas, this shouldn't even be a serious question.
     
  10. Mar 24, 2011 at 8:13 AM
    #10
    kingston73

    kingston73 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I've heard that from many other people, but a rep from the gas company came out to look at the house and gave me an $850 quote, just to connect the line. They won't install a furnace at all. We aren't moving anytime soon, we just bought the house 2 years ago, and I really want to do what's best for long term value.
     
  11. May 11, 2011 at 7:29 AM
    #11
    kingston73

    kingston73 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    t’s been a while since I first posted but I’ve gotten a few other estimates since then, could you all take a look and tell me what you think of these? Best estimate for converting to a 95% efficient nat. gas furnace and water heater is $7500, plus about $900 to connect our house to the street, so a total of $8400. That includes a direct vent water heater and removing all the old oil equipment.
    Option 2 estimate is basically the same but with an 80% efficient nat.gas furnace and using our chimney to vent (relined with metal liner) for $5600

    With this last company their estimate for new oil equipment was $6800, so it really doesn’t make any sense to stay with oil at all. Do these seem like reasonable figures, and is there anything else I should ask or find out?
     

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