Ouch! Propane Heating Cost in the Kawartha's

[4x4bassin]

Had my propane tank filled last week and according to my previous 5 year schedule I'm burning it up a lot faster this winter (usually fill first week of Feb.) I am lucky though , my contract price is only

54 cents/L . Not looking forward to the next contract though

[Big Cliff]

Just be glad you can even get the propane right now. A friend delivers propane in Lindsay area and they can not even get it from their regular source, he has to drive from Lindsay to Belleville every morning to get his truck filled up. Our propane cost went from $0.55 last winter up to $0.95 last week. I feel sorry for the people on a fixed income that have no alternatives.

 

As for the fire wood; we use to have an airtight down stairs. I sat down a couple of years ago and figured out what wood was costing me in time and labor, fuel to haul it, maintaining equipment, etc.. I was getting my wood for free because I cleared fence lines and things for local farmers and things like that. Even at todays prices propane is still less expensive.

[Rod Caster]

My first ever top-up last week at 1.05/L. Furnace, cooking stove and hot water, since July would be about $250...reaaally can't complain.

 

On the other side of things, I just had to make a deal with my dad to procure some more wood. I'm about a month away from relying solely on Propane. Instead of fishing, I'll be chainsawing today. I'll have burned what I'm guessing is 10 cords by the end of next month. Next year, I'm preparing 15 cords. Live and learn.

 

I keep the house quite cool (14-16 deg) and the place is very well insulated with new windows. with the wood stove, the basement is warm and we typically hang out down there anyway.

[lew]

Just be glad you can even get the propane right now. A friend delivers propane in Lindsay area and they can not even get it from their regular source, he has to drive from Lindsay to Belleville every morning to get his truck filled up. Our propane cost went from $0.55 last winter up to $0.95 last week.

 

I called my propane company in Peterboro earlier this week Cliff to see if they had any shortages or problems getting propane and was told that no, there aren't any problems and no shortages are foreseen.....for now anyways. They get it from Sarnia and have it trucked up here.

 

I mentioned earlier in this thread that my tank was topped up yesterday at $1.05/litre so if your getting it for $0.95 you're getting a good deal, but maybe it's better to pay the premium and be assured of delivery.

 

As for my thermostat setting, I keep it at 74F as that's a temperature I like and find comfortable and even in the hot summer days I set the AC at 74 also. When I'm outside in the summer months I find low to mid 70's most comfortable so I keep the house the same.

 

No way I want to sit in the house all winter wearing a sweater and long pants with the thermostat set in the low 60's to save a few $$$$

 

I have an airtight downstairs in the family room and run that alot thru the winter and when it's burning it sends enough warm air up the stairs that it exceeds the thermostat setting and shuts the furnace down. It's nice sitting in the house on a cold day with the furnace off and the temperature around 75F.

[Beans]

 

Had my tank topped up today Shawn and the price was $1.05

My last fill-up was on 31 Dec 2013...$0.885...

 

Going to need another soon...

[Lunatic]

my townhouse is electric heat and my bill is 550.00. and i am always making sure everything like laundry ect gets done on off peak hours. this cold snap is just brutal.

[lookinforwalleye]

although I miss my house when I get the 75 dollar utility bill for my apartment that helps ease the pain somewhat!!!!

[GBW]

apple wood is good to burn and smells good too. I love to use apple and black cherry (when using a smoker).

I keep my place at 68*F and I'm good to go! It also gives the lady folk a reason to cuddle...

[bigbuck]

Wayne, I wish I had a copy of that issue. I saw it as a kid waaay back when.

[bigugli]

my townhouse is electric heat and my bill is 550.00. and i am always making sure everything like laundry ect gets done on off peak hours. this cold snap is just brutal.

Got to seal up all those places where cold air is coming in. I have hydro heat and pay 1/2 what my neighbours pay.

[aplumma]

Not sure what type of heat pump you have experience with but mine was great cooled the air in the summer and provided heat in the shoulder seasons and still provided heat down to minus 20 celsius.

The great thing that I found is that in the shoulder seasons it provided great efficiency of 4 to 1 and of course as the temp drops so does the efficiency. Best money I ever spent.

The cooling aspect of a heat pump is excellent it is the heating season that is it's downfall. There is a finite amount of heat available for it to scavenge from the air. The process of scavenging the heat produces heat from the compressor and the small amount it gets from the air then needs to be supplemented with aux heat. Once the unit get to cold it goes into a defrost cycle where it uses electricity to thaw out the coil and this heat is lost for the most part as it is in defrost cycle but a small amount is recovered as it starts the cycle of savaging heat. They are no worse than a gas furnace but the laws of physics has made the efficiency of them not the first choice in areas that see temperatures below 34F . At 32 F you have only 160 btu available to change of state ice to water 20 C you are getting little to no heat from the outside air. Even if you get 100% efficiency from a system(so far not possible) physics work against you in the colder regends. If the price of electricity is less expensive than gas (not the case down here in the USA) then I could see it as a wash scenario with the negative of more moving parts to break and trained technicians for a system that I suspect is not sold that often. Don't get me wrong it is wonderful technology and it has come far from even units 10 years old but would not be my first choice as we move North.

 

 

Art

[crappieperchhunter]

The cost for fuel is brutal these days. 25 years ago, electric heat was the way to go, 10 years ago, oil was very cheap (40 cents/ltr, now 1.10), propane a few years ago and even that has skyrocketed. This is why we decided to close the cottage for the winter. It has electric baseboards and a woodstove, it is ok when you are burning wood but when the baseboards are going, the meter spins outrageously fast. Our neighbours laid in 3 bushcords of firewood in the fall to help defray the cost of oil in their furnace, they are almost 3/4 the way through their firewood already. stay warm folks and hopefully we all have a few bucks stashed under our old playboy mags like Lew to help pay for the added cost of fuel during this 1970's type winter.

I hear you about the electric baseboards. Our 640 square foot one floor cottage is baseboard only....$642.06 for the last 30 days Mind you I know it isn't very well insulated either.

[Steve Piggott]

Use propane in my truck ,went from 69.9 to 94.9 in a month at the pumps.Still cheaper then gas for now.

[wkrp]

Bit the bullet last year and had a geothermal system installed.60% savings on heating bills and free ac in summer. Expensive but worth it.

[lookinforwalleye]

The cooling aspect of a heat pump is excellent it is the heating season that is it's downfall. There is a finite amount of heat available for it to scavenge from the air. The process of scavenging the heat produces heat from the compressor and the small amount it gets from the air then needs to be supplemented with aux heat. Once the unit get to cold it goes into a defrost cycle where it uses electricity to thaw out the coil and this heat is lost for the most part as it is in defrost cycle but a small amount is recovered as it starts the cycle of savaging heat. They are no worse than a gas furnace but the laws of physics has made the efficiency of them not the first choice in areas that see temperatures below 34F . At 32 F you have only 160 btu available to change of state ice to water 20 C you are getting little to no heat from the outside air. Even if you get 100% efficiency from a system(so far not possible) physics work against you in the colder regends. If the price of electricity is less expensive than gas (not the case down here in the USA) then I could see it as a wash scenario with the negative of more moving parts to break and trained technicians for a system that I suspect is not sold that often. Don't get me wrong it is wonderful technology and it has come far from even units 10 years old but would not be my first choice as we move North.

 

 

Art

I am sure you have some basis for your numbers but in my case the new technology from Mitsubishi worked wonderfully right down to minus 20c.

This winter has seen some extreme temperatures but the historical average temperature in my neck of the woods averages -8c or so in the winter and the Mits was giving heat quite comfortably. In the case of Mr. Crappieperchunter with a small one floor cottage the Mits would be a no brainer in my opinion.

The Europeans have been using this technology for some time but we in North America are a little slow at grasping new technology as is usually the case.

Interestingly when I bought mine the main reason I bought the unit was for AC as the house was a little sweat box and with no ducting it was the only real choice. This unit was incredible for cooling the house just put the unit on dehumidify and Bob`s your uncle, far more efficient than a central unit trying to push cold air where it does not want to go!

In our case a small two storey well insulated with good windows we never turned on the baseboards, we had a gas fireplace in the basement which radiated heat up which helped in heating the first floor. Our utility costs all in were in the 225/month range.

Everybody's situation is different but it is a technology that people should start looking at....if I had a 1000 sq.ft. or so bungalow/cottage it would be a no brainer, if your paying the kind of numbers that some people are throwing around here the unit would pay for itself in no time!!!

[Raf]

crazy the propane price fluctuation

 

last year around this time, it was about 600 to fill my old, nearly empty ~1300 liter tank. so just under 50 cents / liter. when i filled it the time before that in the august before the winter, i remember it being 39 c/liter. that's just 18 months ago!

 

glad we moved into a place with NG and an airtight woodstove. really like the wood this year and i dont understand big cliff's issue with it.. though as I get older I may change my mind. (the work required).

Edited January 26, 2014 by Raf

[Sinker]

crazy the propane price fluctuation

 

last year around this time, it was about 600 to fill my old, nearly empty ~1300 liter tank. so just under 50 cents / liter. when i filled it the time before that in the august before the winter, i remember it being 39 c/liter. that's just 18 months ago!

 

glad we moved into a place with NG and an airtight woodstove. really like the wood this year and i dont understand big cliff's issue with it.. though as I get older I may change my mind. (the work required).

Doing the work with firewood keeps you in shape. I actually think its good for you. I enjoy it. I'd rather do that than sit on the couch and watch the guy fill my propane tank anyday. That may change when I'm old and grey, but my grandfather cut his own wood until he was 90 years old, so I have a while to go yet. I swear, it kept him healthy, and prolonged his life just by being out side and doing a bit of work at his own pace. Its good for ya! IMO, you can't beat wood heat.

 

I know I'm not saving any money by burning wood, but I enjoy it. Its kind of a lifestyle I guess. Had wood heat my whole life.

 

S.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Sinker

[captpierre]

Do what they do in Europe where energy is way more expensive.

 

Heat only the space you spend time in.

 

Spare bedrooms, laundry rooms etc -close vents or shut off baseboards. And close the door.

 

Just don't let the pipes freeze.

 

Remember electricity is significantly cheaper at night.

 

When we run the dryer, I close the door to the laundry room and open the window. Keeping the dryer from sucking heated room air out.

 

We are empty nesters in a 5 bedroom house. Only the master has the heating vent open.

Edited January 26, 2014 by captpierre

[Big Cliff]

crazy the propane price fluctuation

 

last year around this time, it was about 600 to fill my old, nearly empty ~1300 liter tank. so just under 50 cents / liter. when i filled it the time before that in the august before the winter, i remember it being 39 c/liter. that's just 18 months ago!

 

glad we moved into a place with NG and an airtight woodstove. really like the wood this year and i dont understand big cliff's issue with it.. though as I get older I may change my mind. (the work required).

I did it until I was 64, but working full time, spending all my free time cutting and splitting wood, hauling it home, stacking it then having to haul wood in every night in the cold after working all day and stoking the fire.... well, it just got to be too much for me and when I crunched the numbers that made the decision easy!

[Beans]

I did it until I was 64, but working full time, spending all my free time cutting and splitting wood, hauling it home, stacking it then having to haul wood in every night in the cold after working all day and stoking the fire.... well, it just got to be too much for me and when I crunched the numbers that made the decision easy!

Amen to that Cliff...we only get the odd bush cord for an emergency fire or an entertainment one...even chopping kindling is too much of a chore these days...

 

Don't get old guys...it hurts too much...

[smitty55]

We can thank the Ontario gov for our hydro prices and the federal National Energy Board giving out export permits for the propane prices.The huge demand is from Asia and if a supplier can sell his product for way more overseas it's not hard to figure out why we end up the losers. Poloticians just plain don't care about it's citizens that much or they would regulate prices to minimize the hardships we are going through now. And it's the poor folks that get hit the worst. it's a real shame. I switched from oil to propane like the gov and insurance companies were pushing and now I'm really ticked off at the price increase since this summer. I'm sure glad I heat with wood mostly.

 

Around here where I am in the country most people burn wood. It's the cheapest heat by far. It's about $300 a full cord delivered. Myself I buy a tandem load of 16ft logs for $1000, which gives me 7-8 full cords and that will do me 2 years. That's $500 a year plus labour. Now my back doesn't like it as much anymore but it is still the most excersize I get all year. After a few weeks of working at it my back actually starts to improve as the muscles develop. Nothing beats wood heat IMO. Everyone just loves to stand beside the wood stove and soak it in.

 

Cheers

[Entropy]

We can thank the Ontario gov for our hydro prices and the federal National Energy Board giving out export permits for the propane prices.The huge demand is from Asia and if a supplier can sell his product for way more overseas it's not hard to figure out why we end up the losers. Poloticians just plain don't care about it's citizens that much or they would regulate prices to minimize the hardships we are going through now. And it's the poor folks that get hit the worst. it's a real shame. I switched from oil to propane like the gov and insurance companies were pushing and now I'm really ticked off at the price increase since this summer. I'm sure glad I heat with wood mostly.

 

Around here where I am in the country most people burn wood. It's the cheapest heat by far. It's about $300 a full cord delivered. Myself I buy a tandem load of 16ft logs for $1000, which gives me 7-8 full cords and that will do me 2 years. That's $500 a year plus labour. Now my back doesn't like it as much anymore but it is still the most excersize I get all year. After a few weeks of working at it my back actually starts to improve as the muscles develop. Nothing beats wood heat IMO. Everyone just loves to stand beside the wood stove and soak it in.

 

Cheers

 

 

Agree 100%

[lew]

I payed $1.05 / litre for my home propane on January 24th and just had my tank filled this morning and it's dropped to $0.96 so at least we're heading in the right direction for a change.

Edited February 28, 2014 by lew

[Lape0019]

LOL,

 

Last year, our fill ups were between $0.67 a litre and $0.79 a litre. This year, January's bill was $1.09 a litre and six weeks later, we are at $0.99 a litre. I agree it is great it is going down, but I sure hope it drops more than that for my next fill up.

 

The sad thing is at $1.09 a litre, I was only 3 cents cheaper than my buddy who heats with oil! And for some reason, I have always found houses heated with oil feel warmer and stay warmer longer. My funrace seems to kick on at least twice as much as his does.

[Big Cliff]

Just had mine filled testerday $0.999