What's your average gas heating bill in Winter?
GoBuild
11 years ago
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david_cary
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Geothermal heat pump vs air source heat pump vs gas
Comments (27)Air source heat pumps don't make sense in areas where winter temps frequently fall below 32 degrees. Once you get below freezing, you will be running the auxillary heat a lot. If you decide to go the air source route, you will want a second stage gas fired auxillary heat. I live in the mid-atlantic region in the mountains and selected GT. That choice was coupled with a blown cellulose insulation package. My other choice was a propane heat/electric AC with a foam insulation package. Both options were roughly the same install cost. Both would have provided similar energy efficiency. At the time we selected, propane was 3.75 a gallon and rising (with no end in sight) so we went with GT. The delta cost for the GT system (above the cost for a HE propane heat and electric AC system) was $15,000 for the heat pumps and loop plumbing (including pumps) plus $17,000 for digging the pit. The pit excavation should not have cost as much as it did but it is a 12 ton system and the hole was gigantic (120' x 48' x 6'). We live on a mountain and hit a bunch of boulders that required special equipment to get out. Rocky soil also required a 1' base of stone dust to cover the loop piping. The total cost for the GT HVAC system including all ducting was $50,000 plus the pit excavation cost of 17K. It is a large investment and I would only recommend it if you plan to live in the house a very long time. My heating bills are great - maybe 300 dollars maximum a month during peak winter for an 8500 square foot home (5900 living and the rest a condiitoned but unfinished basement). Make sure that whatever equipment you choose can be maintained by more than 1 very qualified HVAC company who has many years of GT experience. In my area there is only 1 GT company who has over 20 years of experience but I am stuck with them for maintenance. There have been times when I wanted to fire them but cannot. Local competition is a good thing. Also - if you build a tight home make sure that you consider ventilation and dehumidification in the HVAC design. I wound up adding both a whole house dehumidifier and energy recovery vent after we moved in becuase we had basement moisture issues as well as stale air in the winter. Tight homes are great for energy efficiency but can create health issues too. It is easy to deal with as long as you plan for it. Good luck with the build....See MoreElectric Heat Vs Gas Heat
Comments (4)I'll post a calculator I found below, but based on the figures you posted, it would cost $31 per million btus for electric resistance heating ( your electric furnace option), $15.50 for the same amount of heat using a heat pump, or $10.50 for natural gas. The wrinkle with using natural gas is that to fully take advantage of the available savings, you would want a gas water heater, clothes dryer, and probably a gas stove - The water heater would require a chimney, and buying a houseful of appliances doesn't sound like an option for you - keep in mind, all of those appliances would require gas pipe inside the house as well, which wouldn't be included in your $850 cost to get the gas to the house. Plus, you would likely incur permit and inspection fees for a changeover. Based on what you've posted, In your situation, I'd probably get a top-shelf heat pump for heating and cooling the house, and possibly a heat-pump water heater as well. I've posted a link below so you can run your own numbers Here is a link that might be useful: energy cost comparator - requires microsoft excel...See MoreHouse heating. Heating the house, an alternative to gas and solid fue
Comments (17)I live in central PA and am just a homeowner, but I do have an air source cold climate heat pump. Last year with a new build, I bought the following for heating/cooling: Mitsubishi - MPV AA36AA 7 36,000 BTU multi position indoor air handler Mitsubishi - MPUZHA36NHA5 (3 ton) Hyper-Heat technology variable speed outdoor heat pump Mitsubishi - MEHI0MPL (two stage) I0kw electric heat package House is two story, little over 1900 sq. ft., full glass French doors, 13 windows, two half glass exterior doors, standard insulation, unconditioned basement, and hybrid heat pump hot water heater. My first full month (electricity bill wise) living in the house was from about November 17-December 17. This period was colder than our normal temps for that time of the year, and I did a TON of laundry (electric dryer, of course -- I had stored a bunch of clothes, and washed everything when moving in). The bill was $141 (I think the electricity was around 11.5 cents, which was down from earlier in the year). Weather became milder (more average temps) I am now 28 days into the electricity bill, and the balance is $101.07. I was extremely hesitant to buy a heat pump, because I only ever knew "traditional" HP's in this area which are only used for AC and a tiny bit of heating during very mild weather. On paper, the cold climate HP's looked great, and I decided to take the leap. So far, I am VERY HAPPY with the decision! The Mitsubishi unit I have is still able to product 80% capacity at -13. Last year, I did my own figuring with current oil/electricity prices, and guessed that, in my situation, I would be: Any temps down to low 20's, saving money with HP over oil. Between low 20's and mid teens, HP and oil about the same. Low teens and below, HP costs more than oil. Of course, this varies incredibly based on oil and electricity prices, but it was one of the pros/cons lists I did. The company that installed the system said they would never expect the heat strips to ever have to kick on, but they are there, just in case....See MoreTrane S8X2C100M5PSAA furnace high gas bill
Comments (1)The Trane S8X2C100M5PSAA is a 2-stage 100K BTU input furnace with 80% efficiency. It is hard to imagine a house in Mesa, AZ would need a 100K BTU furnace. What size was the previous furnace? If the size was increased, then I suspect your duct work is too small and this is the reason it is very loud. Do you notice the furnace running in the low and high stages? What thermostat was installed? Even on coldest days I would think this furnace would only run on the low stage and rarely if ever go to the high stage. A static pressure of 0.16 is very low and I am skeptical of this reading. I believe the blower speeds need to be set for both the low and high stages. The speed is set my the temperature rise and not the static pressure. The installation tech does not appear to know what he is doing in my opinion. You need to call the installer and ask for an experienced tech to come out and review the the complete installation....See Moredoug_gb
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