quick question

[cookin2night]

What would you consist the shoulder months? Is it cheaper to run a space heater or two during the shoulder months than using the propane?

 

[begreen]

Depends on the location. We have a temperate climate with a very long spring and sometimes a long fall here. That means many days in the high 40's and 50s. Electric costs are reasonable so a space heater or heat pump works very well. I used to burn earlier but now use the heat pump until temps are steadily in the mid to low 40's. Propane here is very expensive so almost anything is cheaper. In other parts of the country it can be the reverse.

 

[TimfromMA]

It really depends on how well your house is insulated, how warm you like it, how cold it is outside where you are etc.

I assume that electric heat is generally more expensive than propane. I've always thought the notion of turning on electric heat just long enough to take the chill off is less expensive that doing the same heating job with your other fuels source whether it be oil, propane or pellets to be silly. However much electric you use to warm the house will be more expensive than the amount of oil / propane / pellets to do the same heating job.

 

[begreen]

Here it is the opposite, electric is much less expensive than propane. East coast and midwest propane pricing is still fairly reasonable as long as a refinery doesn't go down and supply gets restricted.

 

[TimfromMA]

Here it is the opposite, electric is much less expensive than propane. East coast and midwest propane pricing is still fairly reasonable as long as a refinery doesn't go down and supply gets restricted.

Ok, take what I said before and flip it.

 

[begreen]

Yes, our bill goes up maybe $8-10 a month for the heat pump to warm the house during weather in the 50s. We had propane heat many years back when it was still affordable ($1.35/gal) and that bill would still have been closer to $60. It's up over $3/gal in bulk delivery now and over $4/gal in smaller amounts.

 

[TimfromMA]

For me, pellets are the cheapest heat source I can get. NG is cheaper but there's no service on my street. My boiler is oil.

 

[firefighterjake]

What would you consist the shoulder months? Is it cheaper to run a space heater or two during the shoulder months than using the propane?

Depends ... on location, how well a home is insulated and a person's own sense of what is cool and what constitutes cold. Until this year my neighbor said he wouldn't turn on his heat or start a fire in his woodstove until November.

For me ... shoulder season starts up around now when temps dip into the 40s or 50s at night and day time temps are in the 60s or 70s. Shoulder season ends when I start burning full time sometime in November. In the spring shoulder season for me starts in March and may last until late April or May.

I have plenty of wood ... I run the woodstove whenever I am cold.

 

[fossil]

All depends on where you live, as far as the timing is concerned. What you do about it depends on your comfort level and the costs involved. Lots of folks run alternate things like space heaters or the central system when needed, lots of other folks will burn wood for an hour or whatever to get the chill off. Here in the PNW, our electric rates are reasonable, and I don't have gas or propane...so if I'm not going to burn wood, I'm going to use some electricity. Rick

 

[Poindexter]

Shoulder season is when I load the stove once a day after work so the house is warm enough for my wife to wear shorts.

Winter is when I run the stove 24/7 to save money on boiler fuel.

 

[cookin2night]

All depends on where you live, as far as the timing is concerned. What you do about it depends on your comfort level and the costs involved. Lots of folks run alternate things like space heaters or the central system when needed, lots of other folks will burn wood for an hour or whatever to get the chill off. Here in the PNW, our electric rates are reasonable, and I don't have gas or propane...so if I'm not going to burn wood, I'm going to use some electricity. Rick

Here in New Jersey propane is about 2.50/lb. I love in a higher elevation for New Jersey. 1000 feet. I am starting to burn a small load at nights just to get the living room toasty. I have two oil filled electric space heaters, one in my son's room one in my daughter's room. I have a thousand pound tank. I'm trying to find the most economic way to survive the winter. Electric rates are very reasonable in New Jersey.

 

[cookin2night]

Shoulder season is when I load the stove once a day after work so the house is warm enough for my wife to wear shorts.

Winter is when I run the stove 24/7 to save money on boiler fuel.

Pretty similar the way I am trying to run things in my household. I want to have it warm enough so that my wife can walk around barefoot. That means she is comfortable.

 

[TimfromMA]

Gotta keep the old battle axe happy.