[allenwrench]

How much does it cost to heat a average house house with heating oil?

On another forum someone thought it would cost $3000.

If you use heating oil what do you spend?

[basil_hayden]

House built in 1990, 2x6 exterior wall construction with insulation, 1600 square feet, baseboard hot water and domestic hot water, 100 gallons per winter month, 33 gallons per summer month, $X per gallon, where X has been anywhere from $0.69 to $3.69 over the past 20 years, or $500 to $2500 per year, 5x increase over 2 decades.

The wood stove should be up and running by October....

[purdum]

That's about right. We were regularly using 900 gallons per year before changing over to a ground loop geothermal heat pump. Neighbors paid an average of $3.50/gal this past season. So our oil cost would have been about 900x$3.50/gal = $3150. Geothermal was $909. (south Michigan climate, old farmhouse, 2600 square feet).

[NTBKtrader]

how do you use geothermal in michigan? are you close to some hot springs or something? sorry heating ignorant southerner here

[nocar]

We used about 3.5 cubic meters of oil a year which is about 900 gallons, for space heating and hot water. After switching to geothermal heat pump about ten years ago we use around 13 000 kWh per year. Of course we used electricity before also, for cooking, lights etc.

House built in 1945, 160 sq meters which is about 1600 sq feet. Location: Suburban Stockholm Sweden

To the heating innocent Southerner: A geothermal heat pump depends on getting cool heat from the ground. A narrow hole is drilled 90-130 meters down (this is the most expensive part of the investment) into the granite bedrock (in our case at least). A tube with water and antifreeze (alcohol actually) goes down and up into the hole, collecting the cool heat (about 6 Celcius, or 40? F) which goes into the heat pump; which by the help of electric energy upgrades the cool heat to 50 C, enough to heat the house when it circulates in radiators. Actually there is a heat exchanger , transfering the heat to the radiator water. Then the water with antifreeze, now devoid of its 'heat', has cooled to 0 C or colder, and goes down into the hole again to be 'heated' to 6 C.

Its kind of high tech. Won't work without electricity, but it is a very efficient way to use electric energy. Luckily, we do have a fireplace for emergency blackouts. Never has happened so far though.

nocar

[purdum]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NTBKtrader', 'h')ow do you use geothermal in michigan? are you close to some hot springs or something? sorry heating ignorant southerner here

[heroineworshipper]

About 1/100th the annual housing inflation in San Jose.