# 2006 Home Heating Oil Prices



## Triffin (Apr 20, 2005)

Just got my first Fall top off of Home heating Oil ..
Yipes $2.79 per gallon :grump: :grump: 

My supplier is offering a "cap" price of $2.89 or 
market price; whichever is lower from now thru next May ..

Crude oil prices have been dropping like a rock lately
from $75.00 to $58.00 per barrel .. yet this is the highest
HHO price I've ever had to pay 

We use a little over 1100 gallons in a typical winter ..
At these prices I'd be better off switching to an electric
boiler even at $0.14 per KWH ( what I'm paying for electricity )
I think I'd come out ahead ..

Triff ..


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## cowboy joe (Sep 14, 2003)

Amazing what they are charging for #2 heating fuel oil considering the price per gallon is less now (157.88) than last year at the same time (196.26). (Reference http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/hopu/hopu.asp ).

Supposedly prices are falling:

Sept 27, 2006 ( http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/statewide.aspx?articleid=141075&zoneid=500 )

"Greater Portland oil dealers surveyed by Maineoil.com were selling heating oil Friday for $1.79 a gallon to $2.35 a gallon, with the average slightly above $2.06 a gallon. On Sept. 5, the average statewide price for heating oil was $2.48 a gallon, according to the stateâs weekly oil price survey."

Have to figure that some of the distributors are trying to get even for any inventory they purchased when prices were up. I was lucky and topped off in the spring. I've cut my consumption down last year by 25% by insulating, sealing leaks & turning down the thermostat. Putting in a new woodstove this year should help even more.


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

Diesel (same as #2) has remained high even though gasoline prices have fallen. Our house has a nice big Oil fired furnace... that sits unused. We are heating with wood because of the price.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i heard the prices are supposed to drop over the next month and then inch higher again. i am waiting for 3 weeks to see what happens. i have enough wood cut to last for a little while and plan to cut more.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Same here Meloc, definately worth the wait.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Triffin do some hard thinking before switching. If you use 1100 gallons or so you will end up with a dog gone big electric bill.
Every "chart" I've seen puts electric heating far and away above everything else for costs.


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Triffin said:


> Just got my first Fall top off of Home heating Oil ..
> Yipes $2.79 per gallon :grump: :grump:
> 
> My supplier is offering a "cap" price of $2.89 or
> ...


I'd stick with oil:

Cost per 100K BTU of heat to the house with oil in an 80% eficient furnace:
(100000 BTU) ($2.89/gal)/(140000 BTU/gal) (0.8 efic) = $2.58

Cost per 100K BTU of heat to the house with electricity at 14c/kwh, 100% eficient furnace:
(100000 BTU)($0.14/KWH)/(3412 BTU/khw) = $4.10 

Electricity still about 60% more expensive.

Electricity from a coal fired plant also puts out about 4 times as much green house gas per BTU delivered as oil burned in a descent furnace.

Spend the money on more insulation 

Gary


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

Folks, I just read that OPEC is up to their old deeds.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/05/markets/oil.reut/?postversion=2006100511

Supposedly gasoline will be up 1.50... don't know, just what I read on one of the links.

Around here that would put it around 3.50/gallon.

So just saying, not so sure about the price dropping.


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## james dilley (Mar 21, 2004)

What I used to do when I lived up north, Was to take 2 ,55 gallon drums to A place that sold Diesel #2 and I saved about 30% of the cost. You might think on that.


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## ecbreed (Jun 13, 2006)

I just had a delivery of oil on Wedns. It was $2.03/gal.


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## perennial (Aug 23, 2004)

Someone that lives near MA/east coast should think about getting into
geo-thermal heat systems. We put one in our new place here in va so
we won't have to buy fuels. In MA it gets so much colder, i wonder
how a business would do there? They can do open loop systems in which they do a well for it.  

When we lived there, i had never really heard about it. It seemed not to be
too hard for the guys installing it.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Yes those things are great.
But could you post here what the whole system cost ... ??


there ain't no free lunches...........


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i am curious as to the electric usage of a geothermal unit. i mean the technical specs and not the cost. perhaps coupled with small scale power production intended just for the geothermal unit it would be an option.


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## Kevingr (Mar 10, 2006)

Around here you can put in an electric air-to-air unit (I forget what they're called, but work like an air conditioner in reverse) in addition to your regular heating unit. They work down to around 40 degrees F. You can get those at 3 cents kwh. Or, like in my case, I can put in an electric boiler in addition to my propane boiler at 3 cents a kilowatt. Costs around $6000 to have installed.

I go through about 1200 gallons of propane and I contracted for a cap of $1.54/gal. I pay the current cash price but never more than $1.54. 

I haven't run the numbers but $6000 sure seems like a lot of money, but maybe it's cheaper. The local outdoor wood boiler guy quoted me a price of $8000 for a boiler installed. Other than my time and equipment to cut wood, the wood would be free. Lot's of options.


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Kevingr said:


> ...You can get those at 3 cents kwh. Or, like in my case, I can put in an electric boiler in addition to my propane boiler at 3 cents a kilowatt.


Hi,
Wondering where you live to get electricity for 3 cents a kwh?

Gary


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

in south central pa, my rate was 3.8 cents until just a couple months ago when it jumped to 4.7 cents.


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## Kevingr (Mar 10, 2006)

Gary, it's off peak rates. If you have two heat plants (i.e. propane and electric) they can shut off the power to the electric unit if demand is high and you fall back to the second unit, which in my case is propane. I think the actual rate is 3.4 cents/kwh. I live in central MN and I get my electricity from a co-op. If I just had one unit and it's electricity then I would pay 8.5 cents/kwh in the winter and 10 cents/kwh in the summer.


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## Kevingr (Mar 10, 2006)

Which, I should add. I have two electric hot water heaters, 80 gallons each on their own meter. The unit's are on overnight and off during the day. I've never paid more than $6/month to heat the water in those two units. We are a family of 2 kids and 2 adults. At that rate I think electric is my best choice. Can't hardly buy gas and oil for a chain saw at that price if I heated my water with wood.


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