[Kingcoal]

Global warming is helping us out with fuel use for heating. I expected this which is partly why last year I replaced my aging oil furnace with a natural gas unit. Peak Oil is a liquid fuels crisis. I expect $70/bl light sweet by the end of next year.

However, as light sweet becomes scarcer, use of natural gas will increase as it will be used to manufacture refinable crude out of the plethora of heavy crude varieties. Oil heat is a horrible choice from now on because fuel oil is really nothing more than highway diesel with pink coloring added for tax reasons. Diesel fuel distillates are the most widely used distillates in the world. From tractor trailers to jet airliners, there is enormous price pressure on liquid fuels. Remember, transportation makes up about 70% of world crude consumption.

[dukey]

the whole gas thing is stupidly short sited
in 5 years uk will be producing very little gas at all. And we use a huge amount of gas seeing as how most of our power is generated this way.

[dissident]

No need to worry, the UK and US establishment are sure that they can stage a colored revolution in Russia and stupid Russians will be shipping gas and oil to the west for free!

[KevO]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnergyHog', 'T')his is wonderful news, now we can all afford to burn more fossil fuels! Up with the thermostat!

[DantesPeak]

Heating oil prices hit record highs today. Demand for distillates – heating oil and diesel – is running at 1.7% over last year’s levels, based on the latest four week period in today’s EIA inventory report. Total distillate inventories are also 15 million barrels less than one year ago.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N').Y. Heating Oil Rises to Record on Drop in Crude Supplies

By Jordan Burke

Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Heating oil futures in New York rose to a record after a U.S. Energy Department report showed that crude-oil supplies declined unexpectedly last week.

Oil inventories fell 1.67 million barrels, or 0.5 percent, to 320.1 million barrels. A Bloomberg News survey of analysts showed an expected increase of 1.08 million barrels. Reports of higher-than-forecast company earnings may signal rising demand for crude and refined products in the months ahead.

``With earnings good, that is just going to increase industrial production, which is going to use more crude oil,'' said Fain Shaffer, president of Infinity Trading Corp. in Medford, Oregon.

[basil_hayden]

That would explain why my heating oil company showed up today to the tune of $2.799 a gallon.

Thanks, guys.

[KevO]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'f') you haven't felt it yet just wait a few months.
Old man winter is about to knock on may of our doors and so will the heating oil and natural gas bills, likely to be 30% to 40% higher than last year.

With an economy already reeling from high agriculture prices, a subprime housing problem and mounting debt, the specter of high gasoline and heating costs is likely to break the bank for many Americans.
The fact of the matter is that many more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, even people who have never had to before.

[rdsaltpower]

Strangley, Our gas provider just applied for a rate
Decrease of 55 cents per mcf effective immediatley. The company is Mountaineer Gas of WV and our present rate is 12.89 per mcf, what gives?

[mattduke]

Americans are poor.

"For perhaps as many as 27 million American adults, keeping warm this winter will mean borrowing money and 20 million will use credit cards to be able to afford their heating bills, according to a CreditCards.com poll.

Nearly 12 percent of Americans say they will need to borrow money to pay winter heating bills; 9 percent will need to use credit cards to be able to afford their heating bills."

link

[gnm]

sigh.... Yup I borrowed....

My neighbors timberjack to ease log cutting this past fall...


And disconnected my last propane space heater.

-G

[truecougarblue]

I saw that story as well. How long 'til this thread turns into a south vs. north relocation debate?

Oops!

[heroineworshipper]

Not like they weren't borrowing before. Now that home equity isn't rising fast enough to pay it off, its "really" borrowing.

[frankthetank]

Heats overrated. Turn it off.



Be interesting if we could top that high spot above.

[sicophiliac]

I am curious to how economical electric heaters are compared to heating oil or nat gas for example? With high heating oil costs might it be worth it for people to plug in an nice electric heater in the bedroom to get through a cold night?

[something_awfull]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sicophiliac', 'I') am curious to how economical electric heaters are compared to heating oil or nat gas for example? With high heating oil costs might it be worth it for people to plug in an nice electric heater in the bedroom to get through a cold night?

[retiredguy]

Around here, just one electric heater in the bedroom would mean lots of work for plumbers: frozen pipes.

I'll stick with wood. And hope people who don't like winter and high nat gas prices move south.

[Armageddon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sicophiliac', 'I') am curious to how economical electric heaters are compared to heating oil or nat gas for example? With high heating oil costs might it be worth it for people to plug in an nice electric heater in the bedroom to get through a cold night?

[alokin]

electric heating is the worst in terms of efficiency. You need roughly 3 kWh to produce 1 kWh of electricity (burning coal or gas or whatever).
This is unsustainable.
I don't know how low electricity prices are in the US, that electric heating can be economic.
The first thing to save on heating is turning the temperature down (1 °C is roughly 6% saved, in European standards i.e. with highly insulated houses).
We live in the subtropical Queensland, but winter nights can get down to frost, we have no heating at all, we simply use nice woolen sweaters.

[Cloud9]

I suppose I am one of the five. I charged LP gas on a credit card. I'll pay it off when the bill comes due.

[jbeckton]

Electric heaters are horribly inefficient unless you are talking about keeping one very close to you and keeping the thermostat down, which is where the real savings come in.

My friend was complaining that his heating bill was higher than his car payment. I told him that he could cut his bill way down by buying a programmable thermostat. He could program it to go down to 59 degrees at night when its very cold and his family was sleeping under covers anyways, come up to 65 degrees in the morning, then go back down while he and the Mrs. were at work for the day and the kids were at school.

He said, "That seems like a lot of work and we need it to be warmer than 65 while we are home".

That is what it all comes down to, what do we need?

If he needs to be warm, then he will borrow, but he doesn't need to borrow. He borrows because he needs to be warm.

I on the other hand bought the thermostat for $30, programmed it in 10 minutes, and wear a sweater, robe, and slippers around the house.

This has cut my bill nearly in half.