Dissaponting Money savings

Well. . . . Before anyone can comment intelligently we'd have to know more about your setup.

For instance; What stove do you have? Where is it located? What is the layout of your house? What pellets do you use? How do you burn the stove? How do you use the heat pump and coil? What temp are you trying to maintain?

somdpellethead said:

I have an englander pdv 25 . My home is two floors and a full basement. The stove is located on the main floor so it's only really heating 2 floors about 1900 sq ft.and my basement stays fairly cold. That factors in to my Disappointment because the heat pump supplies heat there and now my wife is freezing doing laundry. I'm running the stove on a programmable t stat set for 68-72 degrees and run mostly round the clock except for mild weather we ll shut it down . The heat pump is set for 64 deg just in case the stove shuts down or something so it rarely if ever ran during December . I'm burning Old Dominions mostly and Hamers during the colder spells. Hope this helps thanks for replies

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If it is all as you say something is screwy. What else could be using electricity? And where is your Tstat?

T

somdpellethead said:

My stove t stat is in an opposing room about 20' away . 72 on first floor equals 68 or so on 2nd floor. Open foyer staircase so heat distributes well. Heating 900 sq ft less and breaking even ? Maybe the cold basement has the elec water heater working harder ? Could try wrapping that in an insulation blanket but the basement is still usually in the mid to high 50,s . I do HVAC test and balance for a living so I have a good understanding of heating/ cooling and efficiency. I know the stove itself doesn't use a ton of elec so I'm kinda baffled..

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That makes two of us. You are doing g pretty much everything right. What is your pellet consumption? Yeah, wrap the heater. What other major electrical appliances have you?

For me, oil heat and pellet heat are neck and neck. I'll still give a slight edge to pellets but mostly because I already have 2 season's worth on hand so I might as well burn them. Plus there's nothing better than the glow of the fire when the weather outside is nasty.

some situations it may not be worth running a stove, come March it will b cheaper for me to run the heat pump. YMMV

The stove can't be using that much electricicy; my two stoves together add $40-50 / month to my standard bill of $50-$60. there has got to be an electric hog like a freezer that is about to die, a dehumidifier that someone forgot to turn off for winter, and air conditioning unit or something that just isn't right.

To be fair, you're not factoring in that your home is substantially warmer with the pellet stove (68-72 per your above response) as compared to 64 with the heat pump. What would your electric bill be with similar temperatures?

Granted, the heat pump is heating the entire home (including the basement as mentioned), but it seems when it comes to price point you're comparing apples to oranges. To me, even if you were spending the same amount with the pellet stove ($500/month) you're saving money because it would cost you more than $500/month to keep the house at 68-72 degrees with the heat pump.

On a side note, does the heat pump run at all when the pellet stove is running? It is either really efficient compared to the pellet stove (which it may be, especially in a more mild climate than what we get in New England) or something is draining power. I would think you would see a bigger savings than $100/month with the pellet stove.

Just my 2 cents

After buying lugging stacking sifting and transporting 4 tons and over 3000$ for the stove and install i am now saving 15$ a month on my bill due to central hudson rates raise I mean ****. So smile its not that bad on your end

Weird .... Last year for heating for various reasons burned but a cord of wood after more years than I care to count of using wood as a primary heat source. Our heating bill was

LP gas --- 440 gallon @ 3.48 on a contract price -- 1521.00
Elect ------ 3700 KW @ about .18 average 665.00 (electric heat KW's were monitored)

Total --- 2186 and we were less than comfortable in our home at 65 degree average temp where rooms were occupied.

This year to date 120 = or - bags pf pellets @ 5.70 average cost 684.00
20 Gallons of LP @ 2.63 53.00
Electric cost for stove to date - 68.00
ZERO electric

Total to date 805.00

Projected for heating season 1450.00 for a projected savings of 736.00 (a two year pay back on stove investment) AND the area we use is 74 degrees give or take.

IF I was younger and not retired with an eye to moving South we most likely would have gone with coal. The chimney situation for a short term horizon made pellets the better choice.

With the current cheap prices of #2 fuel oil and high prices for pellets delivered $298/ton, my savings is under $400 for the season. No worries though. My pellet stove is paid off years ago. Keeps living room where we spend most of our time at 73 degrees. Kitchen and dining rooms at 69 degrees. Bathroom is probably around 66 degrees. Bedrooms around 62 degrees.

Are you sure your electric bill was not an estimated bill?

Your savings just got better. Price of oil and LPG has jumped up. All is good now. Its kind of like the Weather in the Adirondacks. If you don't like it just wait. It will change.

I was thinking that's what's going to happen to the folks switching to NG. They'll make their investment and then the price will shoot up. When Seabrook, NH nuclear power plants were being built, it was said that electricity produced would be "too cheap to meter" and contractors building homes then installed electric heating systems. Look where we are now with rates.