If you didn't burn wood, how much oil would you use?

BrowningBAR said:

HollowHill said:

BrowningBAR said:

I'm interested in your floor plan. I am assuming it is a traditional non-open floor plan? I hope I am wrong. Is there any chance you have a centrally located chimney like a traditional 4 square farmhouse? I don't which is why I have three stoves.

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You are right that it is not an open floor plan. Traditional federal layout - large central hall with open staircase to 2nd floor, which also has a large central hall. Rooms radiate off central hall. Interior chimney in front room off central hall, middle back of room, so about 10 feet from the center of the house. Judging how heat rises in this house, I'm not too worried about the second floor. The back kitchen and room across the hall from the stove room may have problems.

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I am interested in knowing how the new stove works out for you. I am pretty sure I will buy two at some point. (They will replace the Heritage and the Vigilant).

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Will do. I'm a newbie, tho, at woodburning, so your mileage will most likely vary to the better.

If I used only oil I would burn about 725 gal to heat my 1800ft^2 split level house. I now heat with wood (2.5-3 cords) heat pump, and 30 gal of oil. I pay about $535/year to heat the house, about 85MBTU (I think, forget the exact number). At todays prices it would be just shy of $3000/year. Thats just ridiculous!

It sure is!I know the feeling

Swedishchef said:

I wonder if/when oil prices will return, would people go back to oil or would they still be hesitant since the price fluctuates so easily. Someone farts in the middle east and we get gouged at the pumps!

Andrew

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Oil prices would have to dip below a dollar a gallon for me to consider it. To be exact, oil would have to drop to 46 cents a gallon for it to be equal to what I pay for 8 cords of wood.

I expect to be burning wood for a very long time.

Swedishchef said:

I wonder if/when oil prices will return, would people go back to oil or would they still be hesitant since the price fluctuates so easily. Someone farts in the middle east and we get gouged at the pumps!

Andrew

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I never want to be in the position again of having to depend on one type of fuel to heat my home. You are truly over the (forgive the pun) barrel then and it's not a pleasant place to be. I hope to have multiple options available to me from here on out (well, from Nov 2 on out).

Winter of 09/10 - No woodstove - Nov 1st - March 31st - 692 gallons of oil, $1767.52, Avg. price $2.55 per gallon.
Winter of 10/11 - Insert installed burning part time - Nov. 1st - March 31st - 422 gallons of oil, $1348.92, Avg. price 3.19 per gallon.
Savings - 270 gallons - or $861 based on average of $3.19 / gal.

Used just 1.5 cords of wood scrounged/c/s/s by me.

2300 sq. ft. 1971 colonial with oil used for heat and h/w

I used roughly between 600-800 gallons in my small ranch with crappy insulation and windows. Last year was the first year of burning wood for me. $900 for a stove and everything to install. Then $120 for all the wood i needed (I use thick slab wood from an amish wood mill close to me. $15 a truck load, 6 truck loads do me for a winter) I then used about 200 gallons. Since then i redid the ceiling insulation, and replaced my windows. Im hoping to maybe cut my oil used by half this year. So roughly with the oil i used and the price of the stove and accessories i paid about the same price as if i just used oil. So i figured i broke even. So this year i will really see the savings. Now i dont burn 24/7 either. We burn from 4pm till we go to bed at night. So we only burn while we are there and turn the thermostat down really low during the day.

I have a small wood stove and we only used it on occasion during the week and on weekends. That was back in 2002, then oil started going higher and higher and I would have a heart attack when I saw the oil truck coming up the driveway! So I started buying two cords of wood every year, then 3 cords and this year I bought 4 cords and I pretty much keep the fire going 24/7 during the winter months. I used to use between 600-800 gallons per winter and they are projecting oil to hit $4.00 a gallon this year. I keep an excel spread sheet for my oil usage and have been doing so since we moved in here back in 02 and the last couple of years I used less than 350 gallons for the entire year, so that's a huge savings in oil.

6 year old house, approx. 2100 sq/ft. We use 800-1000 gallons of oil per year for heat & hot water. Tank holds 275 gallons and a fill in April will last until late October so clearly the bulk of that oil is burned for heat in the cold months. Oil prices right now in my area are around $3.60/gallon. Planning on installing either an RSF Opel or KozyHeat Z42. I'm hoping to reduce my oil bill by at least 60%.

Prior to using the wood stove, we would burn approx 500 gallons of oil per year. Just heat, no DHW.
Now that wife is home all day to feed the beast, we use very little oil. I bought the 150 gal minimum back in summer 2009 and just bought 150 gal a few weeks ago. There was still some oil in the tank. I have bought wood in past years but should not need to this year.

Split foyer with addition off back of lower level. Approx 2400 sf.

I used to use a tank (250 Gallons) A month. At todays prices that would be about $925 A month in winter. Now with a small of coal stoker i heat my house all winter for less than the cost of 1 tank of oil. I also heat my rehab homes with wood i remove from the house for zero cost vs using oil or gas previously. I dont use oil anymore,but many around me still do. I see them getting new oil furnaces thinking they are going to save a fortune in oil,when they would be better off changing to a different heating fuel even NG would be cheaper than oil.
Bottom line Im saving about $750+ a month on heat in winter in my main house. My project house gets heat for free so not sure what i would spend without the wood ,when it was gas i spent about $1000+ and it was pretty cold working,now im warm and spending nothing for fuel.

Last year I heated solely with oil I ran 580 gallons of oil . . . which wasn't bad when oil was $1 and change a gallon . . . but pretty expensive when it ran up to just shy of $4 a gallon.

I live in an Atlantic marine climate so my summers are cool and chitty but my winters are mild and chitty
Summer temps range from +6C to +28C in my area. The winds blow strong and hit 100 kph on occasion. last night was good example and it hit about 110 kph. breezy night. The winter temps drop to -15C with heavy winds. It might not seem cold, but the high humidity and howling wind make it pretty bitter.
My house is a 1 1/2 story cape cod about 1400 sqft, built in the 90s so it has 2x6 walls, well insulated and little draft. I also do not have an air exchange system but no air quality issues.
I have oil fired hot water radiation heat with my domestic hot water in same system on demand. The furnace is a new energy star compliant one with 85% eff. (as tested) My thermostats are programmable to best utilize energy while the house is unoccupied or while everyone is asleep etc.
I burned 2308 liters of oil last year. Every few months my tank would be "topped up". The worst months being January through March.
This information is to show as a benchmark how much approximately you could burn with these conditions.
When were home its comfortable but growing up with wood heat, there is no comparison, and electric baseboard... been there done that!
That's my heating scenario. God help the souls heating their 5000 sqft houses out on the bluff near my place.

Perry

My house is a 70s modular with electric baseboard as the original heat source.

Electricity rates were capped in Pennsylvania for years, but the cap came off at the end of 2010. I was paying $165 a month on a budget plan. My rate was to have gone up to about $180 a month.

But... I installed a woodstove in the basement and fired it up on Nov. 2.

My electric bill went down to $115 a month, where it stayed until June.

July bill = $0

August bill = $8

I also bought an Englander NC30 in the spring, so don't anticipate using ANY electricity for heat this year.

They are crunching numbers and will reconfigure my rate on the next bill, which will arrive in about a week. I'll be curious to see what the new figure is.

Last year I saved $600 and spent $165 on wood. This year I should save even more, but I've spent $415 on wood.

So, I save some but I'm as warm as all get-out.

Nancy

And, yes, I have not figured out the ROI on my stoves/chimneys...

2000 sq ft colonial
Heating calendar Nov 2010 through Oct 2011

Before stove - 1000 gallons for forced hot water (2 zone) and tankless water heater. Programed thermostats to save fuel. Never really warm and comfy. Needed blankets and sweats.

With stove about 300 gallons a year for domestic hot water (based on 2009-2010 heating season). House is much warmer with wood.

Oil savings 700 gallons x $4.00 = $2800. Subtract wood cost of $540 and some electric ($100) fans.

Total estimated savings this year = $2160 << This assumes you are not calculating ROI. The only true way to save money every year is to figure the payoff schedule. My investment took 3 seasons to payoff the entire stove and install costs. Now I am enjoying true savings.

Pre stove, 3-4000 gallons of lp per year. With the stove, none.

jharkin said:

Swedishchef said:

Quick question: does the US have any retrofit grants? For 3 years the Canadian Government had retrofit grants. Tons of money for new windows, insulation, etc. Here is a list of the grants available.

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At the federal level there are just tax credits and its not much .... 10%.

Some states and utilities do grants. Mine does to the tune of 75% and I am taking advantage of that this year.

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Hey jharkin,how do I apply for those state and utilities grants you mention ?

jharkin said:

Swedishchef said:

Quick question: does the US have any retrofit grants? For 3 years the Canadian Government had retrofit grants. Tons of money for new windows, insulation, etc. Here is a list of the grants available.

Click to expand...

At the federal level there are just tax credits and its not much .... 10%.

Some states and utilities do grants. Mine does to the tune of 75% and I am taking advantage of that this year.

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Hey jharkin. I live in MA also. Can you PM me info on the grants you know about - VERY INTERESTED

wow them sure are some high fuel costs! i figure to keep our place at 45 deg f all winter, with oil it is about 100 gallons of oil a month. we use wood for are real heat, the oil is just for incase we cant keep the fire on.

its a 1992 place split level and 2400 sq ft.

We have a 200 year old Colonial in Central New Jersey. Last year we installed an Energy Kinetics System 2000 oil boiler that also heats our water. We went through 800 gallons from December 10th to the end of the season. We set the tempature at 67 degrees and left it there 24/7. In a 2000 sq foot house.

I have yet to purchase a wood stove. I took the advise here on Hearth.com and beefed up the insulation. I used Roxul R 15 and spray foam insulation along with 6 mil plastic for a vapor barrior. Next is the 5/8 gold bond fire shield drywall. I also added new Anderson wood windows. This was only done in the kids rooms where it really needed it. So I have more to do but it will have to wait until I get the stove.

Pre wood stove install(2003-2008) = At least 500-700 gallons a season.

Post wood stove install(2008-Present) = Burned a total of approximately 75 gallons since 2008! ;-P

Bottom line, I LOVE MY WOOD STOVE!i!i!

I'd be afraid of the plastic.That wood has to breathe.CONDENSATION!

2450 sft colonial in central mass, built in 2005. Ave room temp - 68F.

2008 oil consumption: 710 gal's (Pre-Insert)
2009 oil consumption: 625 gal's (burning weekends w/ Jotul C350 insert)
2010 oil consumption w/ Jotul C550 Insert burning some night and all weekends: 380 gal's

2011 Goal: Burn every night and all weekends, consume under 300 gal's/ $1000 oil.