Oil vs. natural gas for heating??

[3M TA3]

You shouldn't have to replace the entire system, just the boiler. That should not be as expensive as what some think. Certainly an entire replacement is not in order.

[port1042]

I converted from oil to gas last fall. Mine was a forced air system. Although we had a pretty mild winter and the overall efficiency improvement, the savings were terrific. My power company (Alliant) installed the gas at no cost because I was within 50 feet of the line.

You may want to get rid of the electric stove but I can't wait to get rid of my electric water heater. That's going to add to the savings but it's only 3 years old!

Go for it!

[Wade B AKA: Ruger2506]

Originally Posted by JayM5209

The thread about drilling through a stone wall for new furnace installation got me thinking about the ongoing debate in my head - - - should I convert my oil fired boiler to natural gas? Bought the house six years ago. It has a very high quality oil fired boiler, installed just a year or two before we purchased the property. The boiler and all components of the four zone system are in very, very good condition. With the price of #2 fuel oil being what it's been for the last two or three years, I really want to convert to natural gas. I'm betting there are some engineers and/or heating pros on WC who can tell me whether the conversion is wise, and how many years it might be to recoup the cost of the conversion.

Incidentally, an added benefit would be that I could buy a new gas range!! I do 90% of the cooking here, and I HATE electric stoves. The house does not have natural gas in it. My understanding is that in this city, the utility is required to get gas to the house if I request it (probably 50' from the street to the foundation) so that won't be a cost to me.

Wise or not??

Convert. No question. Fuel Oil would have to be $0.90/gallon to be the same price as Natural Gas right now.

[Mike Kansas]

Originally Posted by JiMinneye

You have a gas main in front of your house and your still burning oil? I just checked in my area and you would have to be buying oil at 94 cents a gallon to be equivelent to the price of natural gas. Oil is well over $3.00 a gallon around here. I live 5 miles out of town and I have to burn propane and I would have to buy it at 54 cents a gallon to be the same as natural gas and I just did a pre-buy for the winter at $1.40 a gallon. Unless you don't plan to live in the house very long you'ld have to be NUTS not to convert. Natural gas has been a deal for a long time and will continue to be well into the future with all that they are finding in this country. I know that most gas companies will give you so many feet free of service line and then so much a foot after that. So your expense would be a new boiler and most gas or energy companies offer rebates for high efficiency equipment that you install so you could even reduce your payback even more.
I would be on the phone tomorrow to the gas company to get all the details if it was available to me. Good Luck. Jim

This guy is 100% right.