Hot Stuff! Or, More About Replacing Your Home’s Heating System—Part Three of Three

• barrieabalard
• December 17th, 2009

Something else to consider when replacing a heating system is the future cost of the fuel used. If you plan to live in your home for a long time, changing to a different fuel can save you money down the line. However, you must include the additional costs of changing to a different heating system—your replacement costs are almost always greater if you change the fuel source. The exception to higher installation/changeover costs is replacing a central heating system with a wood or coal stove, supplemented with space heaters as needed.

The figures that made the most sense to me showed that oil and natural gas usage costs are not terribly different (you can see conflicting stats here and here. I am also including this link because it covers the cost of many kinds of alternative fuels.) The cost of oil and natural gas being roughly equivalent over time squares with my anecdotal experience gained while living in New England for twenty-five years. (The Northeastern US contains more oil-heated houses than any other section of the country.) I’ve lived in both gas- and oil-heated homes all my life, and my personal preference is for natural gas. That’s mostly because someone has to come fill your oil tank (I didn’t like the possibility of running out of fuel during an extreme, prolonged cold spell), and because of the expense of the tanks themselves. Oil tanks, if they leak or otherwise break down, can cost you money, so I don’t like this wild-card aspect.

However, consider that the future cost of oil, long-term, is likely going up, and that we have few sources of oil in this country. The price of natural gas, while very low at the moment, will also likely go up in the future, especially if more demand arises. We do have more natural gas in this country than oil, so we would not need to rely on imported gas as much they way we need to do for oil. On the other hand, switching your fuel source will usually cost thousands more, so run the numbers and be sure you know how much you’d save (or not).

One thing that is clear, however, is that using an electric central heating system is, by far, the most expensive way you can warm your home. A middle man (the electric utility) uses fuel to create the electricity, so costs are higher. And, if you live in a cold climate, an electric heating system, even in a small apartment, can cost you an amazing amount of money (I speak from experience). If you live in a warm climate where winter isn’t very cold nor very long, the costs might not be as much of an issue. Note, though, that replacing or installing an electric system generally costs less than an oil or gas system.

With propane, you will often pay more for fuel than when heating with natural gas or oil, but less than heating with electricity. Propane is often found in homes that are not on a natural gas distribution network, so you will find propane systems in rural areas. I was unable to locate any hard figures on how much it would cost to replace a central heating system that uses propane, but anecdotal evidence indicates replacing an old propane system is somewhat cheaper than replacing either a natural gas or an oil system. Like oil, however, you will have to install a tank to hold the fuel. For your installation or replacement costs, do the homework with a local company.

Costs for wood and pellet stoves, and so on are a bit difficult to pin down. Generally, wood stoves will be cheaper than a central heating system, but it’s impossible to say just how much cheaper because a lot of the cost depends on how you get your wood. If you’re chopping up your own trees or getting your wood cheaply in other ways, then you’re going to save more money than if you drive out to Ye Olde Wood Hut and buy cords. Make sure you know whether the seller is providing face cords or full cords, and figure your costs accordingly to find the seller with the best prices. A full cord is bigger, often much bigger.  Pellet stoves limit you to whomever provides these, so it’s not as inexpensive as using wood found on your own lot, or from a cheap local source—say, someone who is cutting down a large tree or two who will give you large chunks you will have to chop or saw down yourself.

Coal stoves are not terribly common any more (I am old enough to remember my grandmother’s coal chute), but a Massachusetts acquaintance once told me that his coal stove consistently cost less to operate than a wood stove. I will leave environmental considerations of heating with coal or “clean coal” to you.

Finally, here is a long list of links covering the many aspects of home heating systems, their replacement, and their maintenance. Don’t forget to take care your system properly to receive maximum lifespan and efficiency from it. We have a contract with a local provider who services our system twice a year and who also gives us priority for service calls. It has been worth it to us to pay for the service calls and contract (about three hundred a year total), because I am convinced that regular servicing has kept our system going beyond its normal lifespan.

Is It Time to Replace the Furnace?
http://www.bankrate.com/dls/news/advice/20060217a1.asp

Steps to Take Before Investing in a New Furnace
http://www.bankrate.com/dls/news/advice/20060217b1.asp

Repair or Replace an AC or Heating System?
http://www.airconditioning-and-heating.com/ac-hvac-repair-vs-replace.php

Limitations When Replacing Existing Heating Systems
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12320

When Is It Time to Replace Your Heating System?
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=heat_cool.pr_checklist_consumers

Selecting a New Heating System
http://www.aceee.org/Consumerguide/heating.htm#new

Improving the Performance of Your Existing System (Maintenance)
http://www.aceee.org/Consumerguide/heating.htm#improve

Electric Vs. Propane Heating (mostly anecdotal but some good info here)
http://www.thefrugallife.com/heating.html

Comparing Fuel Costs of Heating and Cooling Systems
http://www.engext.ksu.edu/henergy/space/Heat_Cool_Costs.pdf

Heating Systems: Furnaces and Boilers (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy)
http://www.aceee.org/Consumerguide/heating.htm

NOTE: Next Thursday, Christmas Eve, there will be no blog entry from me because I will be on vacation. Look for my return on December 31. I hope you have the most joyous of holidays, whichever one(s) you celebrate!

Tickers: alternative fuels, coal stoves, electric heating systems, electric space heaters, future cost of heating fuels, heating fuel costs, heating system maintenance, heating system replacement costs, heating systems, pellet stoves, propane heating systems, wood stoves

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