Oil Industry Propaganda?

[DBNH22]

I live in New Hampshire where the winter heating bills using oil can be pretty scary. I have recently decided to purchase a pellet boiler.

I have been doing a lot of online research and most sources I see say that switching to pellets from oil will you save you money.

However, every once in awhile I will come across something like this:

http://voices.yahoo.com/buying-pellet-stove-save-money-think-again-4194391.html

Is it just me or does this article seem like it was written by someone working for the oil industry? the article claims that it will take 50 years to recoup the initial costs of installing a pellet system after switching from oil. Is that not downright wrong?

What do you think?

 

[iceguy4]

I think 1 ton of pellets = 120 gallons of heating oil. for me the math is simple,....and my house is 72 degrees

 

[Hoot23]

50 years to get back $6000? I'm saving $1200 a year in heating with pellets. In 50 years I'm gonna be $60,000 on the plus side if prices of pellets stay the same.

$60,000
- $6,000
-----------
$54,000 in my pocket.

 

[bill3rail]

Bull chit! There are some valid points.
In my situation...
I am in a milder climate so I sue it for primary heat.
I self installed the stove, with a total cost about $2,000.
The maintenance is MUCH higher than my oil burner! I would service THE BURNER once a year...Quite a bit more with pellets.
I pick up pellets maybe twice a year, about 1/2 mile door to door, so the gasoline cost is just about nothing.

My stove has probably paid for itself after about one year of fuel oil savings.

Bill

 

[iceguy4]

50 years to get back $6000? I'm saving $1200 a year in heating with pellets. In 50 years I'm gonna be $60,000 on the plus side if prices of pellets stay the same.

$60,000
- $6,000
-----------
$54,000 in my pocket.

I'm at $1680/year and thats gonna go up next year when I heat more space...my payback will be under 5 years

 

[imacman]

So in essence, he's trying to say that you'll only be saving $10 a month burning pellets vs oil? Don't think so.

 

[boo boo]

That article was written in 2009 I have been burning pellets since the beginning of December and almost at my three ton mark. $627.00 for three months in NH to me is pretty damn cheep.to heat 1800 sq foot home and be happy at 72 degrees not 68 or 69 . Its a no brainer now with the oil at almost 4 dollars a gallon

 

[Shaw520]

Burning only oil it cost me $2k - $2300 to heat my 2000 sq ft for one yr.... all said and done I will burn 4 ton = $836. and another 350 in oil for DHW,.. still saving about 1k a year,... I paid $400 for my Englander used,.. self installed into an existing masonry chimney,.. burning pellets for 1-1/2 yrs and Im already way ahead.

 

[heat seeker]

Hmmm….that article is right off the stable floor. I bought my stove used, had it installed, and in less than two years I'm ahead, plus the house is warmer, plus we love having a fire going all the time.
I, too, call B.S. on that article.

 

[moey]

Wow 2 grand for a stove installation. I think its more a case of just a uninformed individual as to what alternatives really cost. Theres a new house by me they put a oil boiler in it. I thought to myself they could have gotten a geothermal system for a couple thousand more after tax credits in my area, yes they really could have. They also could have put in a electric boiler would have been cheaper to install and operated at the same price. I suspect its what the builder did so its what he offered the owner who did not know any better.

 

[AlaskaAviator]

What a crock of chit. That guy is an idiot. If anybody pays 6K for a pellet stove installed their an idiot.

 

[briansol]

I went from 3800 on oil for everything to 1600 a year for oil + pellets for oil driving 1 floor, hot water, and the rest on pellets. So, my stove ROI'ed in mid year 2.... 3 at the latest (this was peak $5 a gallon costs... but pellets were 300+ too, so it may be a wash).

and that went form 60* to 66* inside to boot.

warmer, nicer, everyone loves to sit araound it, cheaper, better for the enviro, better for local non-terrorist industry.

there's little downside besides some manual labor.

 

[tigerjeb]

Just an FYI -- this appears to be from 2009. Some things have changed since then.

 

[Mr. Spock]

"A pellet stove can cost up to $4,000 in up front costs. Add in an additional $2,000 for installation and you are nearing $6,000. What can you expect for the initial investment? If you are currently using electricity to heat your home, the energy savings of a pellet stove will pay for itself in about 20 years. "

Poppy cock. Even it it was $6000 in 2009 which seems a stretch for average, I would still have an ROI in 5 years figuring electric cost. In 2012 I paid 4000 after rebates including venting + 2 tons free pellets. This seasons heat was free so my ROI will be 3 years. Not to be dismissed is the fact that everyone is now very warm and cozy. Not something reserved for guests back in the electric days.

 

[iceguy4]

What a crock of chit. That guy is an idiot. If anybody pays 6K for a pellet stove installed their an idiot.

Geez my pb105 was $6500.00 before tax...my bin was $1950 with tax. and even though I self installed it would be my guess with tax, I have around $9500 im my boiler. I can assure you I'm NOT an idiot. Good stuff costs $$$ and if you cant self install your gonna pay$$$ on top. So I don't agree

 

[moey]

Geez my pb105 was $6500.00 before tax...my bin was $1950 with tax. and even though I self installed it would be my guess with tax, I have around $9500 im my boiler. I can assure you I'm NOT an idiot. Good stuff costs $$$ and if you cant self install your gonna pay$$$ on top. So I don't agree

$boiler > $stove

The article seems to be talking about pellet stove cost rather then a central heating system.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

$boiler > $stove

The article seems to be talking about pellet stove cost rather then a central heating system.

Even at that the figures are a bit out of date and just plain incorrect for a lot of folks even at that time.

Here are some #2 residential oil prices from Pennsylvania : http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=W_EPD2F_PRS_SPA_DPG&f=W

 

[BrotherBart]

The last thing the oil industry has to do is try to get people to buy petroleum products.

 

[skibumm100]

$boiler > $stove

The article seems to be talking about pellet stove cost rather then a central heating system.

I could see someone being into a pellet stove plus install at $6000. Harman Accentra is $3900, give or take and not on sale. I paid almost $900 for the materials alone for the 4" ICC vent and cleanout tee, appliance adapter, vent cap, flex adapters, flex pipe, wind skirt, fittings and misc stuff. Add in a Harman ZC box, the rails, yada yada yada and you've got to be another $600? Figure demo'ing out a prefab fireplace so you can install that "special" ZC box and you'll be over 6 large before your done, easy. I would never pay that, but I'll bet many, many have. There are ways to do it all cheaper but a lot of stove shops aren't interested in cheaper. Sometimes if you want to do it right, it's gonna cost ya. Just sayin'.....

 

[skibumm100]

As far as payback, energy prices are all over the place. Try heating with electric in CA. Gas is much cheaper in some regions than others. Oil is expensive everywhere. Our electric prices in the northeast are quite high. In Quebec, it's dirt cheap. As we all know, pellet prices vary quite a bit, too. I have no idea where that guy get's his payback numbers. It doesn't matter anyway because it's so outdated.

 

[lock&load]

ct is now thinking of puting a tax on heating oil and propane????

 

[heat seeker]

ct is now thinking of puting a tax on heating oil and propane????

If so, another reason for me to leave.

 

[AddictiveStew]

I've been paying $600ish a month since November to heat my 1800 sq ft home with an ancient oil boiler. I call BS. That's close to $3k to heat for the winter (if I make it to spring on my current tank). I plan to be able to see my ROI within a year no problem.

 

[tbuff]

I know this is pellet world, but wanted to share some wood input...

Years ago, I was told the same thing by our oil company when they pi$$ed me off and I told them I wood burn wood as my primary heat. They laughed and said "this is 2009, cords of wood are much more expensive then oil.."

Well, March 10, 2013 (4 years later) I finally ran out of the 100 gallons of oil I bought from them four years earlier and after calculating all the money spent on free firewood, I think I won!

FU Oil man!

 

[ScotL]

I know this is pellet world, but wanted to share some wood input...

Years ago, I was told the same thing by our oil company when they pi$$ed me off and I told them I wood burn wood as my primary heat. They laughed and said "this is 2009, cords of wood are much more expensive then oil.."

Well, March 10, 2013 (4 years later) I finally ran out of the 100 gallons of oil I bought from them four years earlier and after calculating all the money spent on free firewood, I think I won!

FU Oil man!

Great avatar picture you have! That little boy looks like he's having a blast.