Heating costs

Some of you may remember me talking about converting to a natural gas furnace and water heater last fall. It seemed like a good time to do it because the federal and provincial governments were both offering rebates for switching to high efficiency units. I also took advantage of rebate offers for insulation and low flush toilets. I added another 9" of insulation to the attic and insulated the headers in the basement. I needed a new furnace anyway and was counting on a significant saving in heating and electricity. I had been advised that it would pay for itself within a few years.

Just to put things into perspective, I did need the furnace and my AC was at least 35 years old, and not working that great. My equal billing for heating oil was $330 a month for 10 months. The highest oil use was December to March when I would go through a tank of oil per month, at $600-700 per filling. I am not on equal billing for gas, paying monthly instead. Instead of those $600 plus months, my gas bills have been running in the range of $110-125.

That means that my monthly heating costs for the coldest months is less than 1/4 what I had been paying. Even better, that amount includes my hot water. My electrical bills were $130- 150 per month, but they are now down in the $80 range. The way things are going, it looks like I will be saving close to $2500 a year in heating and at least $400 in electricity.

Total expenses for the work was $8700. I will be getting back $3100 from the government and $525 from my electricity company... $3625, dropping my cost to $5075. That means the work will have paid for itself within 2 years. The house is a lot warmer now. We have the thermostat (in the living room) set at the same level, but it is now a lot warmer upstairs in the bedroom.


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