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Your heat and hydro costs this winter?


npt1

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3 year old house, extreme well insulation incl basement inside and outside, 1200 sqf, near Blind River Northern Onatrio

A house with sunshine from sunrise until sunset.


Day temperature between 20 and 21 degC.

Night temperature goes down at 22:00, not more than 16 degC, temperature rise between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning to 20 degC


High efficient hot water on demand with gas no hotwater tank, high efficient gas heating forced air.

Dryer and cooking hydro. Baking and cooking every day. During the summer laundry drying outdoors.

Continuously electrical fresh air exchange, radon pump 8 hours a day.


Gas average over 3 years 68$ a month, hydro average 51$ a month. All is incl. tax

Edited by Bluegill
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Rod Caster, 13 to 15 chords of wood is a lot. Are you talking full chords? 16 inch length by 4ft high by 24 ft long stacked row. What type of wood stove do you use. I have used 2 chords this winter and am about to run out. My gas is about 40 bucks a month for hwt, and hydro is 80 mth. My woodstove runs 24 hrs a day from nov till april.

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That has to be face cords. I've burned almost 4 bush cords so far this year. Used 6 last winter, and had to buy two of those. I've never burned more than 4 until last year. Thats a lot of wood. I have a pacific energy airtight insert that works amazing. Very efficient.

 

S.

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No, single cords. 4 feet high, 8 feet wide, 16 inch logs. Sounds like your piles are 3 single cords? 6 cords for a year is good, if not a bit low for the Ottawa Valley?

 

I use a Pacific Energy airtight. It's a great stove, but we have a tall house with odd angles and a basement master bdrm, so it takes a lot for the heat to warm up the entire house. Also, when we are not home all day, I'm constantly restarting the fire and catching up on a cold house. That, imo, uses up a lot of wood.

 

Another factor is that I gather my own wood, so it's not all hardwood or even good maple. Probably 30% poplar, 20% white birch, 20% yellow, 20% maple, 10% other (cherry, ash..)

 

I have a new huge wood shed, which will help me manage everything a bit better this year. This was only my second year burning, still honing things.

 

IMG_1471_zpsslwbujlz.jpg

 

IMG_1338_zpsd0d2nagp.jpg

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Rod Caster, nice looking property. To be honest it kinda makes me jealous! City life blows.

City life can be expensive too! Taxes, water, high housing costs...I would barely be able to afford a decent house in North Bay.

 

I counted 13 cars driving on that road last year (dead end)...doesn't get any quieter.

 

Back to the power consumption question.... am I the only person left in Ontario who is not on time-of-use????

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I sold me house in the summer, and I rent now. Inclusive, so I don't know the costs to run the house.

 

But my house last year... 2400 sq-ft cape code with vaulted ceilings. Poorly sized furnace and duct work. Junky windows. I went go through almost 4 tanks or oil last winter. My total last year was almost $4000. Jan and Feb where about $750 each month.

 

Hence, once reason why I sold that house!!! Just absolutely brutal. Brutal.....

Edited by N.A.W
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House is 1300 sq ft raised bungalow with a fully furnished basement. Sue and I upstairs, two teanage tennants downstairs.

 

Average hydro cost for the past 12 months $168.00/month

Average propane cost for the last 5 months $333.00/month

 

Propane furnace, fireplace, kitchen range (upstairs) electric range down stairs and propane hot water tank.

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House is 1300 sq ft raised bungalow with a fully furnished basement. Sue and I upstairs, two teanage tennants downstairs.

 

Average hydro cost for the past 12 months $168.00/month

Average propane cost for the last 5 months $333.00/month

 

Propane furnace, fireplace, kitchen range (upstairs) electric range down stairs and propane hot water tank.

YIKES! Over $300/month is crazy for propane. Wow.

 

S.

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propane prices have fluctuated wildly over the past 3 years in S.Ont. when we filled our old tank in Aug 2012, it was 39/c liter, it was around 60/c feb 2013. I hear it nudged 1.00/liter last winter? Don't know about this year. glad to be on wood and NG this year.

 

But over 300 / month still sounds like a lot unless you're heating a tent.

Edited by Raf
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Well, that is for the last 5 months , Dec. to March. From April to Nov. last year it averaged $152.00/ Month so the overall average isn't that bad and that does include the kitchen range and gas hot water heater as well as the BBQ and fireplace.

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1200 sq foot ranch home with full basement. House is about 50 years old but I have all new energy efficient windows and doors, extra insulation in the walls when I had the place sided 30 years ago.

 

NO balanced budget billing on anything. But I do burn 3-4 face cords of wood at $60 per cord using a high tech Lopi air tight stove. House temps with the wood burner is always between 72-75 degrees. Thermostat is only set to 68 but rarely comes on, mostly at night.

 

With that all said my gas bill averages $60-$65 per month in the winter with hydro averaging about the same every month except in the summer when we run central air........then it bumps up to $100-$120 per month. Water bill is always about the same, $14 per month year round. We use gas for the furnace, hot water tank, drier, kitchen stove and outdoor BBQ.

 

I really think the wood burn stoves saves me a ton of money but it's a LOT of work and the older I get the less I really want to do it. Years ago I used wood day and night and burned 6 face cords per year.

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