................

[rascalmom]

There are probably more natural gas wells in Oklahoma now than oil wells. Therefore, in this part of the country natural gas pipelines are common, which reduces the transportation costs of the NG. We've had a mild winter thus far this year & have a gas water heater year 'round, but last month's gas bill was less than $50. December, January & February are about the only months that it runs that much - I think I remember it being about $80 dollars one time when we had a long run of very cold weather.

During most months, my bill runs from $12 to $25 dollars.

Now my electric bill in the summer - you would not want to see that. This girl likes to stay nice and cool!

 

[MerryPoppins]

In Oklahoma gas and electric are the most common. I don't know anyone who heats with wood here. We have fireplaces, but don't use them as a primary heat sourse. We usually use a heating/cooling system here as well. I've never known anyone with an oil heater. Some folks in rural areas use propane. Until recently, I'd always heard that electric heat was more expensive. Now I'm not sure since gas prices shot up.

 

[vivilasvegas]

No choice. We have one gas company here. People's gas. That's it!!

 

[DMRick]

Oh okay - Thanks for the explanation . I wonder what I saw at Sam's in those barrels .

Maybe that was the hugh containers of cooking oil they sell for those fry turkey outdoor thingys. You fill them with oil and get it hot and dunk the turkey and let that baby fry LOL!

 

[disykat]

We switched from an old oil furnace to gas at our previous house in 1993. It was cheaper to have gas and also good for resale value. Our tank was underground and we had to make sure it was pumped out and then filled with cement to make it up to code for sale.

 

[LadyBears]

As far as I know from when I lived in MA, natural gas is not available for heating in New England (there is some propane available, but it is very expensive). Heating oil and electric are the primary means of heat there, with most older homes almost exclusively oil heat (boiler with hot water system). The natural gas pipelines do not run to New England, so getting gas is very difficult and expensive. However, when I had my condo in MA, it had electric heat that could be turned off and on at each individual heating element. That made it very, very efficient and also very inexpensive as it turned out. For example, I would leave the heat off in the bathroom (interior rooms stayed fairly warm anyway) and then turn it on as I got into the shower so it was toasty when I got out. Then I just turned off that heating register when I got done drying off and didn't waste the heat. I could also heat unused rooms by just turning one heating register on, and even most occupied rooms would stay quite warm with very little in the way of heating elements on.

I have lived in MA my whole life & where I grew up, we had natural gas, too. One of the biggest things in the news for the last few years has been the fight against LNG (liquified natural gas)!!

As far as oil - I know a lot of people here still use it. The last house I rented used it, too.

 

[Doctor P]

I stand corrected. That was the explanation I was given, which was obviously wrong.

 

[froglady]

I grew up in RI, and we had oil heat, natural gas stove and hot water, electric dryer (when we finally got one in 1969) DM would NOT live in a house heated by NG as a house in her neighborhood exploded when she was a teenager.

When we purchased our N Florida house in 1982, the previous owners had just installed a heat pump, but left the furnace and radiators in place, "In case we ever wanted to switch back" Right. We found out the real reason when we did a major remodel a decade or so later. (We had removed radiators as we repainted rooms) We had removed the exterior oil tank while doing landscaping shortly after moving in. We had the furnace removed in 1995; it required sealing it because of asbestos, and the EPA had to oversee the removal..cha-ching. Then, when the contractor was digging for footings, he found a BURIED oil tank that we never knew existed. Time for EPA again...cha-ching.

That being said, there are still many homes in the neighborhood that still have, and use, oil furnaces. Many people have natural gas stoves and HW heaters (thank God my neighbor does; it was handy when we lost power for 10 days) and many have LP tanks.

Newer homes all have heat pumps, which are definitely the most effecient form of heating/cooling for this area...unless the temperature drops into the teens, which has happened.

So the fact that most Texas homes don't have oil or gas furnaces may have more to do with the age of the home. I would be interested in knowing if people renovating older (pre-1920) homes removed them.

 

[KathyTX]

So the fact that most Texas homes don't have oil or gas furnaces may have more to do with the age of the home. I would be interested in knowing if people renovating older (pre-1920) homes removed them.

That's a very interesting observation and question...

But since more than 95% of the homes in my area were built after 1980, I wonder how we'd investigate that.

 

[pumba]

we remodeled our 100 plus year old home....and still kept natural gas and an energy efficient furnace.......it is a small thing and it heats three apartments and also on demand hot water.....it is amazing and our bill is not any different then any other year........we will not be cold and we only rent to my mother on second floor.....she is almost 92 and I do not want her to be cold....we keep our apartment at 72 all the time and I like it......OH YAH.......I cook with gas too..got this stove instead of the ceramic top electric one...I had choices at least.
we are one of many in our city and state that has natural gas

maine

 

[golfgal]

Around here fuel oil is about twice as much as natural gas. We rented a home in the early 90's that used oil. We filled the tank 4 times at $250/time, so $1000 for heat from about late Oct to Late April or so, about 6 months worth. Last year our total natural gas bills for the entire year were less then $1000 and we have a natural gas water heater, which we didn't have in that rental. So 14 years later it is STILL less expensive to use natural gas then it was in the early 90's. This year we will probably spend slightly more then $1000, maybe $1200 for the year because of the higher gas prices.

Last year our highest single month bill was $140, our first bill this year was $150. We haven't gotten our Dec bill yet.

Some of the cost differential you are noticing CAnn is different houses. Square footage doesn't always tell the story. Some houses are tighter then others, more insulation, what have you. Even new construction isn't always "better" unless you put in quality windows, insulation, etc.

Our old house our highest heating bill was $70 for a month. Square footage wasn't that much different then what we have now but it was a single story vs a 2 story (both with finished basements).

 

[froglady]

That's a very interesting observation and question...

But since more than 95% of the homes in my area were built after 1980, I wonder how we'd investigate that.

I suspect you would have to look at older meighborhoods in older cities. Surely there are still homes in say, Austin, that were built before the 30s?

 

[lsyorke]

-------------------------

See - I don't get any of this.. We never had odor problems and I've never seen a gas heating bill that was less costly than my oil bills.. Maybe I was just lucky?

I'm with you C.Ann!!! Oil all the way for us. Never had any smell, and if you do it's due to something not being done correctly. MUCH cheap for us using oil here in N.J. I had gas in my previous house and it cost me a fortune.

 

[disneyfanforever]

We heat with gas mainly because that what was in our house when we bought it. I think most of the homes around our area in Arkansas heat with natural gas but some are electric. I really have never even heard of heating with oil. I may need to look into that since gas prices are rising so much this winter.

 

[lsyorke]

Wow, I didn't realize how few states heat with oil.. learn something new everyday!!!

 

[jfulcer]

Maybe that was the hugh containers of cooking oil they sell for those fry turkey outdoor thingys. You fill them with oil and get it hot and dunk the turkey and let that baby fry LOL!

Our local TV Station did a segment on those fryers - about how easy it is to have an accident with them. They had the local fire department try experiments where someone would knock it over, or dunk a frozen turkey, or overfill the container with oil. All resulted in rather spectacularly huge fires. It was scary.

 

[jfulcer]

When we purchased our N Florida house in 1982, the previous owners had just installed a heat pump, but left the furnace and radiators in place, "In case we ever wanted to switch back" Right. We found out the real reason when we did a major remodel a decade or so later. (We had removed radiators as we repainted rooms) We had removed the exterior oil tank while doing landscaping shortly after moving in. We had the furnace removed in 1995; it required sealing it because of asbestos, and the EPA had to oversee the removal..cha-ching. Then, when the contractor was digging for footings, he found a BURIED oil tank that we never knew existed. Time for EPA again...cha-ching.

Ok, I know this is a while ago, but did you have a home inspection? I'm surprised a home inspector missed the furnace/oil tank problem. When we boughtour house 8 years ago, our inspector went over the house with a fine tooth comb. The inspection came with a guarantee that we wouldn't encounter hidden surprises like yours - I suppose maybe we must have paid more because of that end guarantee, but it certainly gave us peace of mind.

 

[DMRick]

One of the fire houses in Western NY did that several years ago. And started their firehouse on fire..with the camera rolling.

That said, we camp with several people who use them. You do have to be very careful when using it, and follow directions. The turkey from one of those is just awesome.

Our local TV Station did a segment on those fryers - about how easy it is to have an accident with them. They had the local fire department try experiments where someone would knock it over, or dunk a frozen turkey, or overfill the container with oil. All resulted in rather spectacularly huge fires. It was scary.

 

[mickeyfan2]

We heat with gas mainly because that what was in our house when we bought it. I think most of the homes around our area in Arkansas heat with natural gas but some are electric. I really have never even heard of heating with oil. I may need to look into that since gas prices are rising so much this winter.

To change to oil will require a new boiler and if you have forced air, new pipes. I have only seen oil used in hot water systems.

 

[BuckNaked]

I grew up in Florida, in an old home, and we had an oil furnace that had been installed in the fireplace, and there was electric heat available in each bedroom. In Alabama, we had gas heat, and we loved it.

And when I was very young, in Ohio, we had a coal furnace in the basement.