What does it cost to heat your home currently ?

[Tobra]

It is crazy expensive in California. Lows in the 40's, highs in the 60's $300 a month for heat

[cabmandone]

Geothermal is gonna cost some serious coin. I'd go 2 stage heat pump with 2 stage gas furnace. I recently installed a variable speed heat pump and modulating gas furnace in my house. Since I buy at dealer cost that takes the OUCH out a bit. But my system was still pricey.

How old are ya and how long do you plan to live there? I'm beyond impressed with what my system is capable of doing. The problem is, for the average consumer the equipment alone will run North of 15K. I installed mine in two days so 2K for labor would be about right.

Is your current furnace an 80% with metal vent or 90%+ with pvc vent?

Oh and yesterday, according to my thermostat, it cost me $5.11 to heat my home at 70 degrees while the outdoor temp was around 19.

[Dixie]

I pay about $100 a year, if that, to heat my home.
I pay about $1,100 a year to cool my home.
My home is 950sq/ft

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

Geothermal is gonna cost some serious coin. I'd go 2 stage heat pump with 2 stage gas furnace. I recently installed a variable speed heat pump and modulating gas furnace in my house. Since I buy at dealer cost that takes the OUCH out a bit. But my system was still pricey.

How old are ya and how long do you plan to live there? I'm beyond impressed with what my system is capable of doing. The problem is, for the average consumer the equipment alone will run North of 15K. I installed mine in two days so 2K for labor would be about right.

Is your current furnace an 80% with metal vent or 90%+ with pvc vent?

Oh and yesterday, according to my thermostat, it cost me $5.11 to heat my home at 70 degrees while the outdoor temp was around 19.

I would love to have replaced out system with a really good heat pump about 2 years ago, but while the missus says "yes, we need to do that" when we discuss it, actually spending the money is something else. And I should have been pushing harder, but I haven't We do pretty well with our system most of the time despite it being from 1991. What really sucks is when the temp is <40º and we get rain. I've actually got the AC running right now (it's 43º outside) in an attempt to try to melt the ice that's built up on the outdoor unit after us getting 2" of rain yesterday while the temp was 38-40º. The low tonight is supposed to be 28º, but the high tomorrow is supposed to be 58º so it'll melt then.

We've spoken to a guy about replacing our unit. He's the same guy that's repaired and recharged our unit a couple of times. He's pushing hard for Mitsubishi mini-splits. I think that would mean 6-8 units which sounds expensive. We'd like to just replace the central unit that we've got with a much better heat pump. I'll probably eventually just have to find other companies to call which can be more of a pain in the country than in town.

[stevej37]

Not sure what my heating cost is per year....but I found out my electric bill had doubled a few days ago.

It was hanging near $170/month. Dec bill was $350

[peppy]

Around $400 month using oil boiler with radiators and heated floor, or heat pumps with electric back up. It costs about the same, but the boiler is more comfortable. House is about 3400 sq ft.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Not sure what my heating cost is per year....but I found out my electric bill had doubled a few days ago.

It was hanging near $170/month. Dec bill was $350

Is that just the increase due to "nice fall temps" to "sucky winter temps" or did something change, like the power company doubled the cost or you started leaving the windows open all night?

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by masraum

We've spoken to a guy about replacing our unit. He's the same guy that's repaired and recharged our unit a couple of times. He's pushing hard for Mitsubishi mini-splits. I think that would mean 6-8 units which sounds expensive. We'd like to just replace the central unit that we've got with a much better heat pump. I'll probably eventually just have to find other companies to call which can be more of a pain in the country than in town.

Give the ductless mini-split a deeper investigation. Not perfect for every situation but dead quiet, no losses that are associated with air ducting, and super efficient. Maybe a similar cost to replacing your current system but 1/2 the energy cost over time. We put one in my daughter's condo in SoCal and I could not believe how cheap it was to run, even at SDGE rates. Worth a look.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by masraum

I would love to have replaced out system with a really good heat pump about 2 years ago, but while the missus says "yes, we need to do that" when we discuss it, actually spending the money is something else. And I should have been pushing harder, but I haven't We do pretty well with our system most of the time despite it being from 1991. What really sucks is when the temp is <40º and we get rain. I've actually got the AC running right now (it's 43º outside) in an attempt to try to melt the ice that's built up on the outdoor unit after us getting 2" of rain yesterday while the temp was 38-40º. The low tonight is supposed to be 28º, but the high tomorrow is supposed to be 58º so it'll melt then.

We've spoken to a guy about replacing our unit. He's the same guy that's repaired and recharged our unit a couple of times. He's pushing hard for Mitsubishi mini-splits. I think that would mean 6-8 units which sounds expensive. We'd like to just replace the central unit that we've got with a much better heat pump. I'll probably eventually just have to find other companies to call which can be more of a pain in the country than in town.

I get the idea of a mini split since you can zone the home with mini splits. You can add a zoning system to the system I installed in my house and make it even more efficient too. But that comes with more money. I'll be installing the zoning system in my house in the next two or three years. I can't see how there would be enough savings to install multiple mini splits versus just using the existing ductwork and installing a more efficient furnace and heat pump... as long as the duct system is designed properly.

[cabmandone]

BTW Fred, if ya wanna talk HVAC shoot me a PM and I'll send you my number.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by masraum

Is that just the increase due to "nice fall temps" to "sucky winter temps" or did something change, like the power company doubled the cost or you started leaving the windows open all night?

Part is the colder weather...I'm going to check if there was a rate increase.
Other than that, I don't know. Never had an increase of 100% before.

[Crowbob]

Hundred bucks a month if I leave a window open just a crack all year long.

My house is 55° at 4 AM in the dead of winter.

At 7AM or so, it’s near 70°, when I get up. All day long it’s 65° until 10PM, when I go to bed. Then it slowly drops back down to 55.

My gas consumption is 25% per month less than the lowest cohort of efficient house of my size in my location.

Plus, I sleep pretty good.

[rfuerst911sc]

Masraum: FYI the outside mini split unit can be purchased with a multi head manifold . Meaning one outside unit can run 4-5 inside units . Many mini splits are now 24 SEER or higher which significantly lowers heating and cooling costs .

Our 18 SEER dual fuel heat pump and propane furnace is what I consider the next best option . Obviously this is a more conventional install and uses existing ductwork . We replaced an existing 10 SEER and we easily save 30 % to 40 % monthly with the newer unit .

Many installers are still stuck in the past regarding mini splits . Find a good installer and get an accurate assessment and quote . Likewise do the same for a more conventional heat pump . Be prepared for sticker shock as prices have jumped up due to new refrigerant requirements .

[masraum]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

I can't see how there would be enough savings to install multiple mini splits versus just using the existing ductwork and installing a more efficient furnace and heat pump... as long as the duct system is designed properly.

LOL! I don't think so. The system looks like an octopus. There are 8 insulated flexible round duct hoses connected to the unit. I think they are all 8". 5 go downstairs and the other 3 are upstairs.

This kind of thing.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Hundred bucks a month if I leave a window open just a crack all year long.

My house is 55° at 4 AM in the dead of winter.

At 7AM or so, it’s near 70°, when I get up. All day long it’s 65° until 10PM, when I go to bed. Then it slowly drops back down to 55.

My gas consumption is 25% per month less than the lowest cohort of efficient house of my size in my location.
Plus, I sleep pretty good.

I set mine at 72 for winter and 75 for summer....year around.
I can stand heat easily....cold, not so much.


.

[VINMAN]

My house is 3900 sq ft. Gas forced hot air. Usually keep it around 72 during the day, 68 at night. On the average it is about $225-300, dependent on outside temp. Its been cold here the last month so its been on the high end

I also have an attached 3 car garage that I heat with gas forced hot air. If I'm spending a lot of time in it, you can add another $100-150 a month to the bill

.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Masraum: FYI the outside mini split unit can be purchased with a multi head manifold . Meaning one outside unit can run 4-5 inside units . Many mini splits are now 24 SEER or higher which significantly lowers heating and cooling costs .

Our 18 SEER dual fuel heat pump and propane furnace is what I consider the next best option . Obviously this is a more conventional install and uses existing ductwork . We replaced an existing 10 SEER and we easily save 30 % to 40 % monthly with the newer unit .

Many installers are still stuck in the past regarding mini splits . Find a good installer and get an accurate assessment and quote . Likewise do the same for a more conventional heat pump . Be prepared for sticker shock as prices have jumped up due to new refrigerant requirements .

We've got 5 rooms downstairs that would need HVAC. I suspect we'd need minimum 2 units upstairs, but maybe 3.

Upstairs, we've got 2 bedrooms attached to one central room, a small bathroom, and 4 closets. The bathroom and 3 of the 4 closets have small ducts otherwise they get very hot/cold based on outside temps. They have all now been insulated. Now I need to make access doors for all of them to allow access into the attic from the 3 closets. The doors will be insulated.
I think we'd need a lot of mini-split units to cover the upstairs and downstairs. And then you're mostly stuck with the big unit up on the wall.

Yep, I've heard/read about the new refrigerant which is causing higher costs. Although I've heard that they don't require as much space for the indoor units because the new refrigerants are more efficient or something like that.

The good news is that I think our existing unit is 8 SEER, so the difference should be huge if/when we get it replaced.

[pwd72s]

Small House, around 1,500 sq. feet. Natural Gas heat and water heater. Around $200 for December bill. Up quite a bit from last year. This I'm chalking it up to the Oregon legislature bumping both taxes and regulations, thus increasing costs, to Northwest Natural Gas.

[Evans, Marv]

3.200 s.f. house w/ one 4 ton and one 3 ton HVAC units. With solar panels, it cost just under $45/mo, for heating and cooling this past year - along with charging an EV.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by john70t

Now that it's nice and cold...
Take a piece of paper. Draw a basic blueprint.
Infrared thermometer is ~$30 and available anywhere.
Walk around the perimeter measuring wall temps. Especially around windows and doors.
Don't forget the ceiling and basement rim joists. Most important actually.

Also feel for drafts or use smoke/candle. They will negate two feet of insulation.

=Energy audit in half an hour.

Here is the solution to reducing home heating costs.