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Old 12-27-2021, 07:47 PM   #1
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Default Comparing cost of oil and electricity for heat

References:
State energy website: https://www.nh.gov/osi/energy/energy-nh/fuel-prices/
Eversource charge: https://www.eversource.com/content/n...delivery-rates


Cost per million BTU
Oil @ $3.29/gal: $29.67
Electricity @$0.1937/ kwh: $53.18

Looks like oil is considerably cheaper. What's confusing me: Eversource lists a consumer price of 5.177 cents/kwh, compared to the state's price of $0.1937. Why that discrepancy?

I heat my house with oil plus a 1500-watt heater in the room I'm in. I like to know whether the heater is saving me money or costing me more per month.
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Old 12-27-2021, 08:18 PM   #2
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The .05177 is just the distribution charge embedded in the overall rate. You are missing the energy charge, transmission cost, stranded cost recovery charge, and system benefits charge. See rate R in the Eversource document you attached. Costs should come out in the .18 - 19 per KWH.

https://www.eversource.com/content/d...sn=2947c862_14
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Old 12-27-2021, 08:29 PM   #3
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The other thing you are missing is the power from electricity can be used to generate heat via a heat pump which multiplies the heat output by a pretty good factor, making it more competitive or when oil gets more expensive cheaper. The issue is that fossil fuels are used to make electricity and sometimes the increases in electricity, which somewhat follow oil, lag oil. I've done these calculations many times, for me oil generally comes out ahead of electricity, and natural gas always wins. The energy market is in turmoil right now due to the current administration shutting down leases and generally enacting the "green" agenda, which in the end makes energy more expensive.

The comparison you showed, shows resistive electric heat against oil. Resistive electric heat always loses.
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Old 12-27-2021, 10:04 PM   #4
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https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/17/us-h...ter-cop26.html

Our markets are not in turmoil.

The ANWAR leases are shutdown... the ten tracts were purchased by two speculators, neither of which has a history of producing one drop of crude from the ground. They were never even bid on by the only two major US oil companies that have the capitalization and technical expertise to drill and transport oil.

The price of West Texas Intermediate is set by market action based on the price of Brent. The price of Brent is set by the only two oil/distillate exporters in the European market - Saudi Arabia and Russia - that have significant production reserves that can be brought to market rather quickly.

We do not price short term futures contracts based on supply that could not reach the market for years or decades.

Our demand rose back to pre-pandemic levels, our production has not returned that quickly. It takes a while to shutdown and a while to reopen.

Natural gas production, though down is not significant, the largest change in that market is the enhanced opportunity to ship to Europe that has a higher market price through the LNG channels. That was initially started by President Obama and further enhanced by President Trump on June 20th, 2020. President Biden was petitioned to end the exports, or at least curtail them, and stated that he would not on October 14th, 2021.

The answer to your question SailnAway is bit more than you suspect. Depending on the temperature between the room your in and the rest of your house, it may be the means that you are using is the most cost effective. You would need to determine what it would cost to heat the entire house to the temperature you desire (provided you have only a single zone), and then determine if the increased electricity cost is less using the portable heater.
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Old 12-28-2021, 12:21 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SailinAway View Post
References:
State energy website: https://www.nh.gov/osi/energy/energy-nh/fuel-prices/
Eversource charge: https://www.eversource.com/content/n...delivery-rates


Cost per million BTU
Oil @ $3.29/gal: $29.67
Electricity @$0.1937/ kwh: $53.18

Looks like oil is considerably cheaper. What's confusing me: Eversource lists a consumer price of 5.177 cents/kwh, compared to the state's price of $0.1937. Why that discrepancy?

I heat my house with oil plus a 1500-watt heater in the room I'm in. I like to know whether the heater is saving me money or costing me more per month.
Fuel is one thing, how that fuel is covered to heat is a completely different story.

https://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-h...st-comparison/

Notice #2 and #3 are Electric, #10 is Oil (at almost twice the cost).

#3 is a mini split.

#14 is electric baseboard (same as most space heaters), which is double the price of Oil.

Even though heat pumps do drop in efficiency when it gets really cold. Those costs are annual in Maine.
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Old 12-28-2021, 05:03 AM   #6
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Is the 1500-watt heater one of those oil filled heaters that resembles a tall cast iron steam radiator on four caster wheels and has NO fan? Am a little wary of these heaters because their cord looks to be a 16-gage lamp cord and the cord will get very warm?
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Last edited by fatlazyless; 12-28-2021 at 08:14 AM. Reason: ... corrected weary to wary.
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Old 12-28-2021, 08:08 AM   #7
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Default Heating cost calculator

I know of a software engineer that reprogrammed a Nest thermostat that bases the auxiliary cutover of his electric heat pump to the NG condensing boiler based on the price of NG vs electricity that he manually enter into the thermostat. He thinks this will be the future of 'intelligent' thermostats.

I also know of a fairly large building in Center Harbor built in the 1800s, switched from an antiquated oil boiler to a state-of-the-art geothermal heat pump. Owner claims heating cost went from $1500 @ month to $150 @ month. Pretty impressive!
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Old 12-28-2021, 10:38 AM   #8
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As others have pointed out, it is not the cost per kWh, it is how the fuel is converted into heat. Electric mini split heat pumps are WAY cheaper than oil. In many cases, less than half the cost. Every home is different, of course. A Mitsubishi installer can do the math for your house to tell you annual savings and how long it would take you to pay for a system.
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Old 12-28-2021, 02:21 PM   #9
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As others have pointed out, it is not the cost per kWh, it is how the fuel is converted into heat. Electric mini split heat pumps are WAY cheaper than oil. In many cases, less than half the cost. Every home is different, of course. A Mitsubishi installer can do the math for your house to tell you annual savings and how long it would take you to pay for a system.
I installed an NG condensing boiler from a standard boiler. I realized a 30% savings in fuel with the degree days calculated in. That put me just below the geothermal category on the Maine calculator. So yes it is how energy is converted. What the calculator does not show you is the efficiency of the heating appliance used in the calculation.
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Old 12-28-2021, 03:01 PM   #10
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I installed a Goodman split system 9 years ago with a 16 SEER heat pump. The heat pump is super efficient, but only good down to around 32 degrees F. In the fall and spring months, it heats the house at a cost of around $25-30 a month.

The propane side of the heating equation is not so good, although the furnace is rated at 95% AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) and it is maintained annually.

BH, curious if the geothermal system that cost $150 a month to run includes the proportional installation cost of the GTH system.
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Old 12-28-2021, 03:53 PM   #11
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I installed a Goodman split system 9 years ago with a 16 SEER heat pump. The heat pump is super efficient, but only good down to around 32 degrees F. In the fall and spring months, it heats the house at a cost of around $25-30 a month.

The propane side of the heating equation is not so good, although the furnace is rated at 95% AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) and it is maintained annually.

BH, curious if the geothermal system that cost $150 a month to run includes the proportional installation cost of the GTH system.
Yes, this kid of hybrid system is a good improvement over propane-only, but it is not really in the same league as Mitsubishi mini splits, which are effective even at 5 or 10 below zero.

I appreciate these posts--I have mini splits in Mass, but only traditional in NH. I'm going to check out both the hybrid furnace and the condensing water heater as Summer projects.
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Old 12-28-2021, 04:13 PM   #12
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When I was working one of my offices was in Sandwich, MA. Not a huge office heated by hot air electric with a heat pump. The monthly bill was around $50 year around. I had always heard that heat pumps were not good in cold weather and I went over one day despite the snowy, icy roads. The temperature was -10. We set the thermostat at 50 when we were not there.
This day I slowly turned up the thermostat so as to not turn on the furnace.
I set it at 70 and it took about 10 minutes to reach 70 using the heat pump.
Surely today that monthly bill would be higher.

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Old 12-28-2021, 05:07 PM   #13
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Looking around the IoT, I see a lot of variation as to how low a Heat pump can generate heat. I was told that my heat pump was good down to around 32 degrees F, but I am now not sure - I guess some more research is required.
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Old 12-28-2021, 06:27 PM   #14
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BH, curious if the geothermal system that cost $150 a month to run includes the proportional installation cost of the GTH system.
No, he did not factor in the installation cost, be he expects the payback will be 7 years.
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Old 12-28-2021, 06:38 PM   #15
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Regarding the minimum operating temperature of an air-source heat pump (ASHP), it's a matter of how it was designed. All heat pumps, including ones used for heating or cooling a house, providing air conditioning for your car, or a refrigerator, use a refrigerant fluid chosen for its thermodynamic properties. Two heat exchanger surfaces are involved. In heating mode, the refrigerant must evaporate by absorbing heat at some low pressure (but above atmospheric) and corresponding temperature somewhat below that of the outside air (or ground or well water in the case of geothermal). The refrigerant vapor is compressed to a pressure at which it condenses by losing heat to the inside air (or water if that is the purpose of the heat pump); the condensation temperature must be somewhat above that of the air or water absorbing the heat. The high temperature/high pressure liquified refrigerant then passes through a throttling valve to the low side (evaporator) coil to complete the cycle. The heat rejected at the high side is the total of heat absorbed at the low side plus energy input by the compressor. The Coefficient of Performance (COP) is the ratio of heat energy delivered divided by the energy input to the compressor.

An ASHP designed for operation in a milder climate than ours might well be limited to outside air temperatures above freezing. For New England, a cold-climate heat pump can indeed operate well to -13 F or even lower. As has been mentioned, the COP drops as outside air temperature is colder. It's like pumping water up hill; it takes more pump energy to move a given amount of water higher up the hill. So with an ASHP, the greater the "lift" in temperature, the more compressor power needed to move a given amount of heat absorbed to the destination temperature. Or, given the maximum compressor input power, less heat can be absorbed and delivered over a greater temperature difference. Good ASHPs can achieve a seasonal average COP of around 3, although at very low outside temperatures this drops to 2 or lower.

By choosing the right refrigeration equipment and refrigerants, it's quite possible to absorb heat at cryogenic temperatures (think air liquifaction) and reject it to the "low" side of another complete refrigeration system, which then can reject the heat at more moderate temperatures. It's all a matter of operating conditions and refrigerant selection.

More than you wanted to know, huh?
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Old 12-28-2021, 06:50 PM   #16
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Quick...look out the window and see if you can see my head spinning from the cold air breeze! Ha...great info, but yes, more than I think I can absorb.
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Old 12-28-2021, 09:42 PM   #17
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Is the 1500-watt heater one of those oil filled heaters that resembles a tall cast iron steam radiator on four caster wheels and has NO fan? Am a little wary of these heaters because their cord looks to be a 16-gage lamp cord and the cord will get very warm?
FLL, you're a sharp tack again today. An oil-filled heater literally almost burned down my house once. There was some kind of fault in the cord---yes, it was very warm to the touch---and sparks started shooting out of the wall. I had to call the fire department. On top of that, the heater leaked oil (they crack at the seams) and ruined a wood floor. Upon research I discovered that these things are not safe.

I now have a Lasko ceramic 754200, very effective and safe little heater.
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Old 12-28-2021, 09:46 PM   #18
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Gentlemen, gentlemen, a simple answer if possible: at current rates, is my 1500-watt heater saving me money or costing more than it would cost to turn the oil heat up a few degrees? Without going into too much detail, which is cheaper per million BTU, oil or electricity?
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Old 12-28-2021, 10:12 PM   #19
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Oil is. But the oil would be heating a larger space, so the M/BTU would have a lesser effect on ambient temperature than a space heater putting out the same amount of heat in a lesser space.
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Old 12-29-2021, 01:08 AM   #20
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Gentlemen, gentlemen, a simple answer if possible: at current rates, is my 1500-watt heater saving me money or costing more than it would cost to turn the oil heat up a few degrees? Without going into too much detail, which is cheaper per million BTU, oil or electricity?
If the space you're heating with the 1,500 watt heater is much smaller than what you would have to heat with oil AND it's a well-insulated space AND it's for a finite period of time, then I would say yes, it would save money.

If, however, you have a leaky space or door open and will run it for a while, no, it would not be a savings.

I would add that what you're probably saving, unless you have an incredibly drafty or large area beyond the one room, is negligible given a difference of a degree or two, especially if you open the door to go to the bathroom or have the slightest gap under the door, etc.

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Old 12-29-2021, 01:16 AM   #21
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Oil is. But the oil would be heating a larger space, so the M/BTU would have a lesser effect on ambient temperature than a space heater putting out the same amount of heat in a lesser space.
Thank you. Sounds like what I'm doing now makes sense.

P.S. I ordered oil yesterday. CN Brown was quite a bit cheaper than AD&G/Dead River, but delivery was two weeks out! Dead River always delivers in a day or two. CN Brown just doesn't have enough drivers and/or trucks for efficient delivery, and they require prepayment but not at today's price, rather the (higher) price two weeks from now. They also don't provide any type of service. I guess I have to stop trying to get oil from them. Nice folks though---their driver once backed into my car, putting a very small dent in it. The company paid me the $3000 repair estimate with no quibbles. (No, I did not get the dent repaired.) I love those kinds of accidents.
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Old 12-29-2021, 01:21 AM   #22
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If the space you're heating with the 1,500 watt heater is much smaller than what you would have to heat with oil AND it's a well-insulated space AND it's for a finite period of time, then I would say yes, it would save the money. If, however, you have a leaky space or door open and will run it for a while, no, it would not be a savings. I would add that what you're probably saving, unless you have an incredibly drafty or large area beyond the one room, is negligible given a difference of a degree or two, especially if you open the door to go to the bathroom or have the slightest gap under the door, etc.
That makes total sense, thank you. I think what I'm saving could work out to a full tank of gas for my car each month, so it's worth it.
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Old 12-29-2021, 01:31 AM   #23
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That makes total sense, thank you. I think what I'm saving could work out to a full tank of gas for my car each month, so it's worth it.
That's where the subjective part comes in, for sure. If I recall, you've got a small car, so ~$40/tank right now? For that, I'd rather not worry about opening doors or having it chilly when I go to the bathroom, etc. Especially where you can probably make up the difference by programming the thermostat well.

But that's moi!

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Old 12-29-2021, 12:24 PM   #24
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That's where the subjective part comes in, for sure. If I recall, you've got a small car, so ~$40/tank right now? For that, I'd rather not worry about opening doors or having it chilly when I go to the bathroom, etc. Especially where you can probably make up the difference by programming the thermostat well. But that's moi! Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Yes, small car $38 a tank. I was raised in a cold house. My dad worked for the electric company and he policed the lights and heat in the house. When Jimmy Carter asked Americans to lower their thermostat to 65 during the gas crisis, my parents lowered it to 60 because it already was at 65. You acclimate to that. I don't heat the upstairs of my house at all. If the outside temperature is above 25, I open the bedroom window at night (last night, for example). I also like to camp in the winter. Photo below: January, 5 degrees the previous night. Toasty! Tip: Don't leave bird feeder over your tent at night.
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Old 12-29-2021, 01:09 PM   #25
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Yes, small car $38 a tank. I was raised in a cold house. My dad worked for the electric company and he policed the lights and heat in the house. When Jimmy Carter asked Americans to lower their thermostat to 65 during the gas crisis, my parents lowered it to 60 because it already was at 65. You acclimate to that. I don't heat the upstairs of my house at all. If the outside temperature is above 25, I open the bedroom window at night (last night, for example). I also like to camp in the winter. Photo below: January, 5 degrees the previous night. Toasty! Tip: Don't leave bird feeder over your tent at night.
Soooo it's not about saving money? Color me confused.

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Old 12-29-2021, 01:12 PM   #26
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Yes, small car $38 a tank. I was raised in a cold house. My dad worked for the electric company and he policed the lights and heat in the house. When Jimmy Carter asked Americans to lower their thermostat to 65 during the gas crisis, my parents lowered it to 60 because it already was at 65. You acclimate to that. I don't heat the upstairs of my house at all. If the outside temperature is above 25, I open the bedroom window at night (last night, for example). I also like to camp in the winter. Photo below: January, 5 degrees the previous night. Toasty! Tip: Don't leave bird feeder over your tent at night.
Awesome! Pretty much the same here. I used to love Deep Freeze and Polar Bear weekends as a Boy Scout. When my Dad offered me the choice of my own unheated bedroom on the third floor, or sharing a room with my kid brother, it took just moments for me to move upstairs
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Old 12-29-2021, 06:13 PM   #27
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Thank you. Sounds like what I'm doing now makes sense.

P.S. I ordered oil yesterday. CN Brown was quite a bit cheaper than AD&G/Dead River, but delivery was two weeks out! Dead River always delivers in a day or two. CN Brown just doesn't have enough drivers and/or trucks for efficient delivery, and they require prepayment but not at today's price, rather the (higher) price two weeks from now. They also don't provide any type of service. I guess I have to stop trying to get oil from them. Nice folks though---their driver once backed into my car, putting a very small dent in it. The company paid me the $3000 repair estimate with no quibbles. (No, I did not get the dent repaired.) I love those kinds of accidents.
Just be careful that you are not heating the room with the thermostat that runs the oil burner. If you do, the temperature in the other rooms could drop low enough to cause plumbing issues.
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Old 12-29-2021, 08:48 PM   #28
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Soooo it's not about saving money? Color me confused.
Yes, it's certainly about saving money.
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Old 12-29-2021, 08:57 PM   #29
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Awesome! Pretty much the same here. I used to love Deep Freeze and Polar Bear weekends as a Boy Scout. When my Dad offered me the choice of my own unheated bedroom on the third floor, or sharing a room with my kid brother, it took just moments for me to move upstairs
Course, there's no need to suffer in a cold tent these days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouMZE1KI15g Scroll to 8:40.
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Old 12-29-2021, 09:52 PM   #30
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Default Wood and oil

Two years ago we did not burn any wood and just heated with oil (outside tank = kero). Last year we waited till the last minute to decide to burn some wood and got two cords of "seasoned" wood. Around $800 for the two cords.

This year, we cut and split close to 3 cords with the help of a few friends. Started off hand splitting until one of my neighbors stopped by and let me know I could borrow his gas log splitter. (Who knew he had one??? I didn't )

Wood sat on the driveway from the end of June until mid-September. We did not start to burn wood until mid-December because we were not around Nov to mid-Dec.

We burn from when we get up in the morning around 530 or so and last load goes into the stove between 630-700 usually.

I have a Nest learning thermostat and looking at the history while we were away, with the temp set at 50, the furnace ran around 3.5 - 4.5 hrs daily.

Burning the wood during the day, the furnace is only running around 1.5 to 2.5 hrs daily. Given the fact the wood cost me nothing but my time and effort plus about a gallon of gas for the splitter, I'm feeling pretty good about our savings on the fuel oil cost.

Now if I could just find a way to use swim noodles to make wood splitting easier.

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Old 12-29-2021, 10:27 PM   #31
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We did that experiment.
One home wood and oil boiler with tankless; other just the oil boiler with tankless. Wood savings over a three year period averaged about 100 gallons.
Home using the wood has since switched to a mini-split... but still uses about 100 gallons annually less than me. Hot water, and the standby, eats up a lot of the usage.
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Old 12-29-2021, 11:51 PM   #32
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Gentlemen, gentlemen, a simple answer if possible: at current rates, is my 1500-watt heater saving me money or costing more than it would cost to turn the oil heat up a few degrees? Without going into too much detail, which is cheaper per million BTU, oil or electricity?
No











Sorry I couldn’t keep it to just No because this site requires filler. So here it is.
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Old 12-31-2021, 05:41 AM   #33
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Default Oil Heat or Mitsubishi Splits?

I’ve always used oil furnace to heat our home but this year installed Mitsubishi Splits with heat pumps for main floor and upstairs master bedroom. Basement is unfinished.

I keep the home at 50 degrees in the winter and sadly am rarely there.

What is the best solution (most efficient manner) to keep my home heated at 50 through the winter? Use the Splits exclusively? If super cold, somehow have it set up so that oil furnace kicks in?

I just can’t quite get my head around the optimal thermostat setup and how to balance use of both the Splits and oil heat to most efficiently heat the house. Got the Splits primarily for AC but included heat pumps to give me options for the winter.

Thanks for any wisdom you all can share.
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Old 12-31-2021, 08:51 AM   #34
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I just can’t quite get my head around the optimal thermostat setup and how to balance use of both the Splits and oil heat to most efficiently heat the house. Got the Splits primarily for AC but included heat pumps to give me options for the winter.
Now that requires a little 'rocket science'. You would have to take in the factor of efficiency of the appliances in cold weather, cost per btu etc. It can be done to determine the 'crossover'.
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Old 12-31-2021, 09:54 AM   #35
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Having both for the past few years I have found mini spilts heat well. But, don’t recover quickly. Most efficient when kept at temperature. Dropping at night and raised in the morning caused inconsistency in room temperature. Running mini spilts this season due to the price of oil. Last season I ran oil.


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Old 12-31-2021, 10:38 AM   #36
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Originally Posted by Glendale Deli Boy View Post
I’ve always used oil furnace to heat our home but this year installed Mitsubishi Splits with heat pumps for main floor and upstairs master bedroom. Basement is unfinished.

I keep the home at 50 degrees in the winter and sadly am rarely there.

What is the best solution (most efficient manner) to keep my home heated at 50 through the winter? Use the Splits exclusively? If super cold, somehow have it set up so that oil furnace kicks in?

I just can’t quite get my head around the optimal thermostat setup and how to balance use of both the Splits and oil heat to most efficiently heat the house. Got the Splits primarily for AC but included heat pumps to give me options for the winter.

Thanks for any wisdom you all can share.
For me that question would be a strict decision of cost. Unfortunately, figuring it out accurately is a bit of a chore. Electricity costs more than oil. The heat output of heat pumps varies with outside temperature so the efficiency varies also.

Honestly, without having done this calculation recently and assuming your oil heat is in the 80 to 85% range, I wouldn't worry too much about it and just do what made me feel best.
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Old 12-31-2021, 10:53 AM   #37
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As I have written in the past. Heat from the mini spilts are a comfortable heat. Not as dry as baseboards and air movement is a plus. Must vacuum each head unit once a month as they do have a small filter.


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Old 12-31-2021, 11:57 AM   #38
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Originally Posted by Glendale Deli Boy View Post
I’ve always used oil furnace to heat our home but this year installed Mitsubishi Splits with heat pumps for main floor and upstairs master bedroom. Basement is unfinished.

I keep the home at 50 degrees in the winter and sadly am rarely there.

What is the best solution (most efficient manner) to keep my home heated at 50 through the winter? Use the Splits exclusively? If super cold, somehow have it set up so that oil furnace kicks in?

I just can’t quite get my head around the optimal thermostat setup and how to balance use of both the Splits and oil heat to most efficiently heat the house. Got the Splits primarily for AC but included heat pumps to give me options for the winter.

Thanks for any wisdom you all can share.
I don't think you will need any oil (but it would be foolish to bank on that, haha).

My guess is that you have these on two separate controllers. If that is correct, you could set the mini splits at 50 and the oil at 45. Also, if you put the oil on a Nest, it's easy to control remotely.
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Old 01-03-2022, 09:47 AM   #39
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Our previous house was a modern 2x6 construction with oil heat.
So I used to keep it at 40F.

It was a HUGE difference, heat didn’t even come on until around January.

I had multiple alarms that would call me if temp dropped below 40F.
It didn’t give much buffer in the event of a power failure but I never had a problem.

We used about 200 Gallon oil a year.
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Old 01-04-2022, 10:05 AM   #40
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Default A Bit Off Topic ......

..... I have an oil-fired boiler at my vacation home. I employ several methods to monitor the heating system & temperature of the house.
I recommend (for those with a modern Honeywell R7284 controller on their burner) a little-known Honeywell Alarm Module (#W8735S3000). It closes a contact if it detects any system faults on the data bus. It's pretty cheap (around $45) and gives you a few hours advance notice before the house temperature drops. I have mine integrated into the house alarm system which notifies me of any number of adverse situations. Solid and reliable.
The Carlin controller (#70200) has the contacts already built in; making life a little bit simpler.
J
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Old 01-04-2022, 01:08 PM   #41
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..... I have an oil-fired boiler at my vacation home. I employ several methods to monitor the heating system & temperature of the house.
I recommend (for those with a modern Honeywell R7284 controller on their burner) a little-known Honeywell Alarm Module (#W8735S3000). It closes a contact if it detects any system faults on the data bus. It's pretty cheap (around $45) and gives you a few hours advance notice before the house temperature drops. I have mine integrated into the house alarm system which notifies me of any number of adverse situations. Solid and reliable.
The Carlin controller (#70200) has the contacts already built in; making life a little bit simpler.
J
I had an Industrial type Electric Heater with a blower in the cellar. Set at a few degrees lower in case Furnace failed. Furnace never failed in 20 years.

If house is calling for heat and doesn’t get it, it doesn’t take long to know something is wrong.
Some smart Thermostats have that built in.
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Old 01-15-2022, 09:11 AM   #42
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For those interested my mini spilts are still pushing heat at -6 degrees. Room was a bit cooler this morning so I assume they lost some efficiency last night.


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Old 01-15-2022, 10:13 PM   #43
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Mr. W. Z,
Any consumer-grade heat-pump that can still function in these single digit temps is an impressive machine! ☃️
J.
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Old 01-15-2022, 10:33 PM   #44
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For those interested my mini spilts are still pushing heat at -6 degrees. Room was a bit cooler this morning so I assume they lost some efficiency last night.


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Which model?

My HomeDepot model was running fine down to 20F.
But it would go into defrost mode about once an hour for 10 min (no heat).
Considering the place has no insulation under the floors and lots of drafts it did fairly well.

Gonna be a cold week.
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Old 01-16-2022, 09:32 AM   #45
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I have DAIKIN equipment. They tell you each will push heat -13. But here we are at -6 and I have heat.


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Old 01-16-2022, 02:08 PM   #46
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Mitsubishi is also good sub zero. Very important for all these units is the age. There have been big advances over the past several years, so older units of any brand are not representative of current brand performance
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Old 01-28-2022, 02:08 PM   #47
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Is anyone here heating solely with splits and staying year round (not just to maintain temp for off season)? We will be renovating our new (to us) home in Gilford this spring and need to replace all systems. It is currently full of electric baseboards and a few single zones of hydronic baseboard tied to an old boiler that needs to go. There are also 2 pellet stoves which we will keep.

Thinking of putting in new multi-zone hyper heat Mitsubishi units throughout the house. Also investigating the Daikin VRV. It seems to run dual fuel with propane as well, so you can set it to run LP when really cold and switch to electric when a bit warmer. Any experiences with this setup?

One of the Mitsu contractors I spoke with was also a geothermal guy and was really pushing me that way, which we aren't interested in.
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Old 01-28-2022, 02:28 PM   #48
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Is anyone here heating solely with splits and staying year round (not just to maintain temp for off season)? We will be renovating our new (to us) home in Gilford this spring and need to replace all systems. It is currently full of electric baseboards and a few single zones of hydronic baseboard tied to an old boiler that needs to go. There are also 2 pellet stoves which we will keep.

Thinking of putting in new multi-zone hyper heat Mitsubishi units throughout the house. Also investigating the Daikin VRV. It seems to run dual fuel with propane as well, so you can set it to run LP when really cold and switch to electric when a bit warmer. Any experiences with this setup?

One of the Mitsu contractors I spoke with was also a geothermal guy and was really pushing me that way, which we aren't interested in.
In Massachusetts we are virtually 100% Mitsubishi mini splits. (our bathrooms have little kick board type units). They have been fine even on the coldest days--I think we reached -8 or -10 a couple of years ago. Our home is well insulated. If we were building a new home today, we would also go 100% mini splits. But the lake has gone down to -15 or so over the past week or two, so you should check the specs from Mitsubishi or another forum member to confirm those last few degrees. Or maybe your pellet stoves are enough for the very small number of sub -10 nights? Good luck!
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Old 01-28-2022, 06:32 PM   #49
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The Lavalley-Bristol store is largely mini-splits.
We are only running the propane in the lower level... but that could change as we renovate to increase retail space down there.
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Old 01-28-2022, 07:35 PM   #50
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Default Comparing cost of oil and electricity for heat

I have two daikin units. 6 heads total that I run year round. Backup is forced hot water boiler on the first floor. Have had no issues at all with these units the past few years. Would have no problem going mini splits on new build with pellet or gas backup. Would radiant heat the bath floors if I could


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Old 01-29-2022, 04:50 PM   #51
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I have new builds all around me.

I always suggest a backup redundant heating system.
Central heat and add a monitor heater, pellet stove, wood stove, or even baseboard electric heat. Just something.

Of course, most don't install such. Too much money I hear - as they have their $800,000 mcmansion constructed.

One neighbor who just had a new Cargill home constructed - put in a super high efficiency system put in by a well known heating contractor.
I have seen over past 6 months - the heating contractors truck in their driveway at least 8 times. May be making "adjustments" or some such issues.
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