how-to block ads
|
| reply to SwedishRider
Re: CT Energy Price Patrol- Oil, Propane, Pellets, Alt. Fuels I filled up my oil tank in June 2010. Skipped 2011.. Had about 1450 gals left as of last summer. This winter, so far, have used about 45 gallons of oil in the furnace. Normally by this time, a couple hundred. Some factors: finished the roof, which has super insulation now. Installed vent dampers in the furnace and hot water heater flues. They keep the heat in the boilers after they shut down. Really saves on having to reheat the boiler from zero, next call for heat. But this winter's been fairly mild. When the temp is above 30F, the furnace doesn't have to run, as the sun does a pretty good job heating the upstairs. The computers heat the downstairs effectively. I'm still waiting for this peak in oil prices to pass, before ordering again. Depending on how much oil is left when this June rolls around, I will have to decide on whether to buy or wait until we have an oil-friendly president in the Oval Office. | |
| said by disconnected :The computers heat the downstairs effectively. You are aware that resistive heating is the most expensive here, right???? | |
 SwedishRiderRider on the StormPremium
join:2006-01-11
Connecticut
kudos:1 | reply to disconnected
disconnected, do you get a discounted rate because of the size of your tank(s)? How much capacity do you have? I'm curious as propane is priced in large part on capacity of the tank at your home... I'm curious if you can get better prices with larger oil orders for your large tank. | |
| Yes, the PCs in my studio editing suite use about 1490 watts, according to Kill-A-Watt P2, when rendering h.264 streams for BD production. About 1100W idling. The studio is about 980sq ft and it stays about 66F in there without the main heating system's help. Yes, expensive indeed. $430 a month for utility bill. Used to be $590 until I switched all the lighting over to LED.
Our oil tank is 2000 gallons. Back in the day, we used to burn 1200 gallons a season. Then I moved to more efficient oil burner in 2007, smaller nozzle size, flame retention, etc. Then put on a Intellicon Heat Manager. That got us down to 450 gallons a season, both hot water heater and furnace combined.
This past fall, I finished my roof, which is now super insulated. The difference is dramatic. Furnace only comes on if the outside temp is below 30F. This fall, I installed a Field Controls Oil Vent Damper. One of the best investments ever. The cellar stays warm now without the air being sucked up the chimney constantly, which was happening before this change. Furnace jacket stays hot between firings and osmosis seems to keep the radiators upstairs hot for hours.
I'm thinking of putting an hour meter on the Bock 32E hot water heater, so I can calculate the approx oil usage (hours x GPH) on that. I have a hunch the hot water heater uses the most oil because of the family's heavy use of hot water. It runs several times a day, whereas the furnace may run in the morning on a very cold day and late at night before the setback. The Heat Manager shows low hours for this season's burner run time so far.
Anyway, yes, I get significant discounts on large purchases, usually saving 20 cents a gallon or more. I have a list of 20 or so local oil companies and call each one every time I need a delivery. The policies and discounts vary from year to year. With the large tank, I hedge my fuel purchases and buy only when I see the price bottoming out. My neighbors must be panicking every time they buy oil, at these prices. I see the oil truck go down our private road twice a month in January and I know that can't be a modest bill. We originally got the large tank because the road is unmaintained and impossible to negotiate in winter. So need to have enough to last through the winter. | |
 orion940No longer a burden on societyPremium
join:2001-12-23
Windsor, CT
 ·Comcast
| reply to cowboyro
said by cowboyro:said by disconnected :The computers heat the downstairs effectively. You are aware that resistive heating is the most expensive here, right???? Heat from computers has been used before for heating purposes. With the old bi-polar mainframes throwing off the heat they did, that heat often supplemented heating the office building. Since the computing has to be done to begin with, the heat is essentially free.
O.
--
Windsor, Home of the Decorative Zamboni | | |
|
|
