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2006 Home Heating Oil Prices

1K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  Kevingr 
#1 ·
Just got my first Fall top off of Home heating Oil ..
Yipes $2.79 per gallon :grump: :grump:

My supplier is offering a "cap" price of $2.89 or
market price; whichever is lower from now thru next May ..

Crude oil prices have been dropping like a rock lately
from $75.00 to $58.00 per barrel .. yet this is the highest
HHO price I've ever had to pay

We use a little over 1100 gallons in a typical winter ..
At these prices I'd be better off switching to an electric
boiler even at $0.14 per KWH ( what I'm paying for electricity )
I think I'd come out ahead ..

Triff ..
 
#2 ·
Amazing what they are charging for #2 heating fuel oil considering the price per gallon is less now (157.88) than last year at the same time (196.26). (Reference http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/hopu/hopu.asp ).

Supposedly prices are falling:

Sept 27, 2006 ( http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/statewide.aspx?articleid=141075&zoneid=500 )

"Greater Portland oil dealers surveyed by Maineoil.com were selling heating oil Friday for $1.79 a gallon to $2.35 a gallon, with the average slightly above $2.06 a gallon. On Sept. 5, the average statewide price for heating oil was $2.48 a gallon, according to the state’s weekly oil price survey."

Have to figure that some of the distributors are trying to get even for any inventory they purchased when prices were up. I was lucky and topped off in the spring. I've cut my consumption down last year by 25% by insulating, sealing leaks & turning down the thermostat. Putting in a new woodstove this year should help even more.
 
#4 ·
i heard the prices are supposed to drop over the next month and then inch higher again. i am waiting for 3 weeks to see what happens. i have enough wood cut to last for a little while and plan to cut more.
 
#7 ·
Triffin said:
Just got my first Fall top off of Home heating Oil ..
Yipes $2.79 per gallon :grump: :grump:

My supplier is offering a "cap" price of $2.89 or
market price; whichever is lower from now thru next May ..

Crude oil prices have been dropping like a rock lately
from $75.00 to $58.00 per barrel .. yet this is the highest
HHO price I've ever had to pay

We use a little over 1100 gallons in a typical winter ..
At these prices I'd be better off switching to an electric
boiler even at $0.14 per KWH ( what I'm paying for electricity )
I think I'd come out ahead ..

Triff ..
I'd stick with oil:

Cost per 100K BTU of heat to the house with oil in an 80% eficient furnace:
(100000 BTU) ($2.89/gal)/(140000 BTU/gal) (0.8 efic) = $2.58

Cost per 100K BTU of heat to the house with electricity at 14c/kwh, 100% eficient furnace:
(100000 BTU)($0.14/KWH)/(3412 BTU/khw) = $4.10

Electricity still about 60% more expensive.

Electricity from a coal fired plant also puts out about 4 times as much green house gas per BTU delivered as oil burned in a descent furnace.

Spend the money on more insulation :)

Gary
 
#8 ·
#11 ·
Someone that lives near MA/east coast should think about getting into
geo-thermal heat systems. We put one in our new place here in va so
we won't have to buy fuels. In MA it gets so much colder, i wonder
how a business would do there? They can do open loop systems in which they do a well for it.

When we lived there, i had never really heard about it. It seemed not to be
too hard for the guys installing it.
 
#13 ·
i am curious as to the electric usage of a geothermal unit. i mean the technical specs and not the cost. perhaps coupled with small scale power production intended just for the geothermal unit it would be an option.
 
#14 ·
Around here you can put in an electric air-to-air unit (I forget what they're called, but work like an air conditioner in reverse) in addition to your regular heating unit. They work down to around 40 degrees F. You can get those at 3 cents kwh. Or, like in my case, I can put in an electric boiler in addition to my propane boiler at 3 cents a kilowatt. Costs around $6000 to have installed.

I go through about 1200 gallons of propane and I contracted for a cap of $1.54/gal. I pay the current cash price but never more than $1.54.

I haven't run the numbers but $6000 sure seems like a lot of money, but maybe it's cheaper. The local outdoor wood boiler guy quoted me a price of $8000 for a boiler installed. Other than my time and equipment to cut wood, the wood would be free. Lot's of options.
 
#17 ·
Gary, it's off peak rates. If you have two heat plants (i.e. propane and electric) they can shut off the power to the electric unit if demand is high and you fall back to the second unit, which in my case is propane. I think the actual rate is 3.4 cents/kwh. I live in central MN and I get my electricity from a co-op. If I just had one unit and it's electricity then I would pay 8.5 cents/kwh in the winter and 10 cents/kwh in the summer.
 
#18 ·
Which, I should add. I have two electric hot water heaters, 80 gallons each on their own meter. The unit's are on overnight and off during the day. I've never paid more than $6/month to heat the water in those two units. We are a family of 2 kids and 2 adults. At that rate I think electric is my best choice. Can't hardly buy gas and oil for a chain saw at that price if I heated my water with wood.
 
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