gas. Had oil when growing up.
95% .. yes, if I had the money and was staying for
a while.

We had oil when I was growing up, and Mom has oil right now.

Either is susceptible to price spikes, but what has been going on with oil the last couple of years is just insane.

I'd go gas heat myself, but if I ever move back to Pennsylvania I'm going to have a coal stove.

Right now I have a heat pump, and it's not bad pricewise, it's just not warm.

I'm going to get a pellet stove this year.

#1 choice; Natural gas/forced air or hot water baseboard heat. Here.....propane is the high end alternative. OR solar panels...geothermal would be my #1 choice if money were no object.

This is interesting because NO ONE has a radiator here....any more.

With out question, I would prefer gas. I know there are pros and cons re safety, but that is true with almost everything.

Columbia gas is the supplier here and I have received a letter from them saying they will guarantee a fixed rate of 64.2¢ per CCF through November 2011, if I sign and return the form.

Haven't had them for a long time, but I love radiators.

Sue

We have had hot water baseboard heat in our old house and it was fine. Currently have oil and hate it. With what has been going on with oil the past few years, the oil companies are taken advantage of their customers, and I've read it in the local papers as well. It's happened to us but I won't go in to the lengthy details here.

So, I'd go with gas AND definitely high eff.

Check to see if the government is still offering rebates on high efficiently heat sources. It may have ended 2010, but worth looking it up.

I had oil, in 2007 we changed to gas. Cost neasrly 25 grand, but the house is warmer and we'll get our money back over the years as gas is definitely cheaper.

gas, hands down...straight into the house, no chance for a leak or spill..no running out..

btw you'll find the radiators (at least our baseboard kind) a lot cleaner than force air and a more steady heat...

saw an interesting product for those with clay tile roofs..they now have solar energy cells shaped just like them! you remove the tiles and work the solar panels into a pleasing pattern...your roof is 2 toned, but for the money saved i'd say doable...in the souther zones it would be fun to see the energy meter run backward!

I would definitely prefer gas, but assuming whatever heating system the house had was in good repair, I doubt I'd be willing to pay much more for the gas system.

Gas -- wouldn't even consider oil

But, yes -- you can have a gas leak, but not likely
in a new furnace. More likely from the source and
not the furnace itself.

Cheaper, cleaner, just no comparison. IMHO

No question gas. I have a gas hot water heater and gas stove, but heat the house mostly with wood. But the oil burner is an auxiliary source when temps go below 30. I hate oil and have an ancient inefficient furnace.

gas, nothing else... we have only used our furnace a few times in the last 2 cold years here in orlando of the 10 i've owned this home and it is natural gas. i love the heat from it, compared to friends who have electric.

you should investigate whether you are responsible for removing the tank for the oil when you sell. growing up in chicago we had oil heat at our family funeral home and in the mid 70's we had that replaced w/ a boiler. my dad is going to sell the building soon and a few yrs ago we had to pay to have that oil tank removed. the price dwarfed the cost of the new boiler he just had installed in 2010 replacing the 40 yr old one. ~ liz

no one has oil in this part of the country we have gas or electric, Have had both and both are fine but currently have gas and have a much smaller bill. I do worry about carbon monoxide now that I have the gas though. So with gas would also suggest the detectors.

YOU will be happier, but I doublt a buyer will pay you more for your house because its RADIATORS are heated by gas instead of oil.

How do you humidify your home when the heat is on? How do you cool it in summer?

Even if you had a central heating and cooling system, many people wouldn't pay more. It's kind of like roofs, walls and windows -- buyers assume a house will have these things and *heat*. You may find an 'old house' purist who will LOVE the radiators (and the gas).

Natural gas for me. No doubt. I like getting a bill for what I've *used* not what they pawn off on me. Second choice would be propane, and a close third would be oil. Although there's something about the old steam radiators I like, around here steam his hideously expensive and inefficient in most residential heating applications. I would not want to heat with electricity.

As I look at houses, gas, propane or oil are acceptable to me, though it's definitely preferred to have natural gas. I'd look at it as a future upgrade, assuming natural gas is available. A new, high-efficiency gas furnace is a selling point, but I would not pay more to get it. Just like new appliances are a potential selling point, but there too I would not pay extra for it. I factor in potential costs as part of the consideration on a house (or property) I'm looking to buy. When I bought the house I'm in, the sellers thought the "new" (6 mo to a year old) washer and dryer added so much value to the house. I did not. Basic set and couldn't have been more than $800 for the two new and that's probably being generous. I said they should go with the house, they wanted more (methinks just to get some more for the house) and I finally said enough, made a take it or leave it (and something like $1200-$1500 lower) offer where they take the washer & dryer with them and they accepted it. They then paid to haul a used washer and dryer to Michigan! LOL

Often people confuse what will increase a value of a place with making it more "sellable" A fenced yard doesn't increase the value to most, but for many, it's a selling point. Fresh paint doesn't increase the value (to me I wonder what they're covering up!) but it makes it more appealing. New carpet doesn't add value - many tear it out and replace (and repaint) anyway. However, a new roof, an additional bathroom, more bedrooms, larger garage, etc. *will* increase the value. But there's another caveat. Some people will pay more for something than others will pay if it has a value to them. But more often than not, a new furnace, water heater or the like is a selling point, not a value raiser.

I'd also be wary of what people tell you on a repay period on something. I doubt very highly that a HE furnace will pay for itself in 3 years. That's a *lot* of savings! Remember you only use the furnace part of the year. Will it *really* cost that much less to operate than a less efficient furnace? Lower efficiency furnaces today are often more efficient than the furnaces of 20 or more years ago. That's what you have to compare. I'm skeptical of the payback. You might want to investigate that a little further. They tried to sell me solar water heating once and kept telling me it'd pay for itself in 3 years. I said the math doesn't work. They argued it saved $25 every month and I asked if they'll be sending me a check! My gas bill in the summer, for pilot light on the furnace and water heating costs, were $5/month at the time. How do I save $25? And they couldn't explain to me how $25/month saving pays for a $2500 expenditure, even with the tax credit of $1000 or $1500, whatever it was. So, just be careful that you don't get caught in a sales pitch.

I have never had anything but gas for heating but I would never buy a gas cook stove.

My first choice would be geothermal. But if it's a choice between gas and oil I'd select gas; after that propane.

Buyers will not pay more just because it's gas. Especially in this market buyers are expecting a house to have an up to date mechanical system and roof. And if a particular home doesn't have that they'll expect to see a significanyly lower price.

Gas!! No debate to be had. NO ONE will pay more because of it, some may not buy due to oil at all. Cynic made all my points. "value" and "sell-able" are two different things. I am not so sure on the roof comment. No one buys a house unless it has a good roof. Oh and I would LOVE to have a gas stove!!

"Remember you only use the furnace part of the year"

That's true, but where I live it is the major part
of the year -- either heat or air. Not a lot of time
with the furnace shut completely off. Of course, I don't keep my temps in the winter where I always
have to wear a jacket, either.

But, I do agree about buyers. I wouldn't buy a house
without natural gas -- unless the sellers made the
money available for the conversion -- either by lowering
the cost by that much, or paying for the installation.

I have always had gas heat. I am looking forward to next year when I can get rid of my electric smooth top stove and get a gas one.

My first preferrence is natural gas. But if you do not have a gas line fronting your property, you gotta get something else.

Propane is more expensive and where I live, it may require a heater during the coldest time to generate enough pressure to work.

Oil is messy, but might be my second choice after gas. Easy access by the delivery truck to the tank during winter should be planned. Consider where the snow piles will be. If the tank is in the basement, there should be safety equipment to prevent overfills and oil spillage. If the tank is outdoors, consider oil flow during the coldest times. At my location, it gets cold enough to congeal the heavier heating oils. An in-ground tank helps, but it should have a moisture content monitor. Nowadays, you have to consider EPA requirements for protecting the environment.

A heat pump is practical in warmer climates provided one has a good heat source for the coils. Heat pumps are not useful in northern climes. One advantage: heat pumps can be used for both heating and cooling.

I would never buy a house that heats with oil. We looked at buying a house a few years ago that had oil heat and we quickly changed our minds when we found out about the oil heat. The house was a fairly nice house and priced great. It had a lot of major updates but stayed on the market a very long time. This was during the time when the housing market was great.

If natural gas (NOT propane) was available at the street I would choose NG over oil. But the reason most people have oil is because NG is not availble. Most houses here (Maine) heat with oil because there is NG only in the more densely populated areas. It isn't cost efficient to run NG when houses are far apart (same reason we don't have town water or sewer).

Oil heat is not messy. I've never heard of a delivery company spilling oil. No one should have buried tanks anymore. Propane would be my last choice. Very expensive (more than oil).

Our oil boiler is 91% efficient. At the time we bought it (5 years ago) I believe it was the most efficient available in the U.S. (ours is actually German made), but there may be more efficient ones now.

I know you didn't ask, but I wouldn't buy a house with radiators (or baseboards), no matter the fuel source unless the house was priced such that I could replace them all.

It also makes a big difference in the part of the country you live in. In some areas, oil is more expensive, in some areas, gas is more expensive, and in some areas electric is more expensive. In our area, electric is less expensive than gas. The house we bought, a year and half ago, does have gas and it is a heat pump. Heat pumps are the most popular type of heating unit in this area. They do a very good job. The heat pump here was new when we bought the house, or it would have been changed out to electric like our last house, which would be cheaper for us monthly than the gas, and also would make me feel a lot safer living with it, since I have seen a very bad gas explosion several years ago, and am scared to death of anything gas.

Cat's post reminds me...what is cheapest today may not be tomorrow. My parent's house was originally elettric. It was the cheapest heat at the time. Then electric became exorbitant and they eventually switched to NG. For a few years NG was more expensive than oil and my father regretted getting NG, wishing he had done oil. Now oil is more than NG.

When we moved to our home in 1974, we had oil heat. Don't remember what year to switched to propane gas (we live in the country.) Five years ago we took the plunge and got a geothermal system - heats in the winter and cools in the summer :) Wish we would have done it years ago!

"That's true, but where I live it is the major part
of the year -- either heat or air. Not a lot of time
with the furnace shut completely off."(emphasis added)
Uh, but the air conditioning doesn't run on gas or oil so that point is irrelevant.

Im scared to death of gas.when I was a child my father was in bed sick with the flu.we heard this huge explosion,my father ran downstairs to see what it was ,A house down the street blew up from gas.The whole roof just picked up and landed in the middle of the street.The house was gone.There was a woman inside she lived.But the house was totally gone.I heard alot of this I have gas stove but next one is gonna be electric.

http://www.gasairconditioning.org/

A little "article" for you Cynic (and if you google,
you will find lots of info).