Consumers face record winter heating costs

[CountAllVotes]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumers are expected to pay record prices for heating oil, electricity and propane to warm their homes this winter, and low-income families will need government help to cover those bills, government energy officials said on Tuesday.

Heating fuel expenses this winter will be highest for heating oil, with the average family paying $1,834 for the season, up 28 percent or $402 from last year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association.

The group expects propane costs to average $1,732, up 30 percent or $384. Consumers that rely on electricity for heat will pay $883 this winter, up 7 percent or $58.

Natural gas expenses will be the cheapest of the major heating fuels, averaging $881, up 5 percent or $50, the group said.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070925/ts_nm/energy_usa_heating_dc

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Just what I needed to read (NOT)! :mad:

[Fierce]

1. Having switched from fuel oil to wood last year...

...I sympathize.

[Warpy]

9. I have my 1946 gas floor furnace

but the first thing I did in this place was put in a wood stove.

That stove paid for itself in the first 3 years, and that was 11 years ago.

I use the gas on warmer days, usually the days pollution alerts tell us not to use wood around here. The wood stove is cranked up in the coldest months, December and January.

Neighbors say they pay $200/month and up in the coldest months. My last cord of wood was $120, and I've still got quite a bit of it left.

Wood heat isn't for everyone. It's messy and it has to be tended, unlike thermostat controlled central heat. Wood is heavy and has to be stacked. Even cut and split wood provides enough mutant logs that must be cut again to fit into the woodstove.

However, the effort makes it cheaper.

[Wcross]

17. I hope you have your own wood lot!

If you have to buy wood you are no better off for switching. Solar powered geo-thermal is the way to really tell the energy companies to pound sand. Never a price increase. Ever.

[Earth_First]

23. Depends...

If you have the time (and energy) it is still fairly reasonable to purchase whole logs and split them yourself.

[Fierce]

24. I do, thanks.

It's all free, plus the exercise chopping is great.

[Wcross]

29. Wood is the only fuel that warms you three times!

Once when you cut up the tree, once when you split it & then when you burn it!

[JeanGrey]

30. My husband wants to switch our natural gas

system over to wood. Was it expensive to do? He thinks we can do it for about $700?

[Fierce]

31. We got an outdoor wood-burning furnace

for about $7,000, I think. But I don't how much switching gas to wood would cost.

[babylonsister]

2. I read this story every year, sort of like 'this is going to be the most

powerful hurricane season ever'.

[rayofreason]

20. Not too many hurricanes so far.

We'll see how cold it gets come winter.

[Tian Zhuangzhuang]

21. And new solar panel technology is now affordable

And food x thought to cause cancer actually prevents it

While food Y thought to be healthy actually causes cancer.

As the island poet Billy Joel once said "You can't get the sound cause it's only in a magazine"

[Lone_Star_Dem]

28. The difference here is that people have been paying record amounts these past winters

And they are going to pay record amounts again this winter, because the cost of oil is higher.

Unlike the weather, this one is easy to predict.

[Rambis]

3. Congress is too busy condemning free speech

this bread and butter issue is not worth their time.

[acmavm]

4. What else is news? Food is going up. Homes are being

foreclosed on by the millions. Gas prices are unaffordable for some. And now the poor and lower middle classes will have a hard time staying warm this winter.

Hard to believe what a rich rich nation this is.

[CountAllVotes]

6. not to worry

a few more rate cuts will fix this and all other problems in the USA and the DOW will rally and the rich will get richer! :sarcasm:

Seriously, this is a major screw job once again for those on limited incomes.

In the meantime, another $150 billion for IRAQ while We the People freeze to death! :mad:

Merry &%#*%!& Xmas everyone!

:dem: :kick:

[redqueen]

7. Nah, ya just have to consider that there's only a very few hoarding most of the money.

Wonder if there's a chart showing the wealth ownership... not by quintiles, though, because once you get into real richie rich land, it's more informative to break it down by very small percentages.

[monktonman]

5. Time to buy more sweaters. n/t

[MADem]

8. Well, for the oil and propane crowd, it sounds like it's time to turn DOWN that heating source and

fill in the gaps with some e-Heat heaters....

http://www.eheat.us/

[neohippie]

13. thanks

For the link to the e-heaters.


My natural gas bills have been through the roof the last two winters, and I am remodelling my old house now to make it more energy efficient but those things look awesome, maybe I will just leave the gas off and run one of these in any room that I am using.

[MADem]

14. Don't leave the gas OFF--leave it LOW. Like, say, 50 or 55,

You don't want frozen pipes. Check your insulation (attic, especially) and plug drafts. Get thick curtains, open them when the sun shines, close them at night. Get those sand filled snakes to put up against the doors if you have a draft from below, and/or replace the rubber flidget under the door. Wrap your pipes, even the hot water--keeps the water warmer!

[sinkingfeeling]

10. And of course, all American workers got a 5-28% increase in their pay this year. Right?

[Javaman]

11. Well look on the bright side...

with global warming, the bills won't be that high...

well, not much of a bright side really.

[durablend]

12. Bush to poor Americans: "Just die already fer crissakes!"

"Sheesh what's taking so long to get rid of you people?!?!?"

:sarcasm:

[undergroundpanther]

15. last year

when I didn't have heat and it was frigging cold...I set up some candles, put them in places where drafts were blowing . Like around the windows, in front of the door/foyer part, nearby a doorway,anywhere cold air moves inside.. and believe it or not a few well placed candles made the cold bearable, not comfy tho but less intense.The candles deflected the cold.

Just those candles alone kept my nose warm enough to stand it .I was still blanket covered in layers of shirts and all but I didn't feel the chill as bad,as in I needed no gloves.

Long ago candles were put in windows to deflect the chill,later it became a decorative symbol for the holidays ,Now people put electric candles in windows..
Funny thing those candles really worked.And it made for beautiful ambient light.Felt cozier than it was.3 cats really helped ,my kitties are like furry space heaters and foot warmers.Made it so I could sleep in the cold.

[razzleberry]

16. why do people choose the most expensive fuel available?

(oops, almost the most expensive, elec is probably more)


why choose the (almost) most expensive fuel you can find?

oil is too precious, to use as boiler fuel and such

these people are effin nuts

[Wcross]

18. Often you don't get to "choose" what type of heating system.

Unless you buy a brand new home you are stuck with what you have. It is cost prohibitive for many homeowners who struggle to make the mortgage payment to drop 4-8k on a heating system replacement.

[NutmegYankee]

19. Many factors -

Regions in the North, like New England are too cold for Natural Gas. Oil or Electric are the common systems, with many newer homes using forced hot water Oil burners and the older homes a steam boiler with oil heat (the old cast iron radiators), or baseboard heaters with electric. Either is expensive, but electric is highly inefficient for a large home. Oil gets the best heat, and with the water systems most commonly used to carry the heat, has a nice stability to it.

[Tesha]

25. Huh???

> Regions in the North, like New England are too cold for Natural Gas.

Huh???

Oil is just traditional, dating back to the days before
new England had widespread natural gas service from
utilities. But very few new installations of oil-heat
are being made in areas now served by natural gas.

We converted our old house years ago and our newer house
has always been natural gas.

With the sole exception that you have that nice tank
of oil sitting there in case of a nuclear war, oil heat
has no advantages whatsoever when compared to natural
gas.

Tesha

[NutmegYankee]

33. It doesn't warm as well

Natural gas is great for central Heating and air systems, which are rare here. Those I know who have it think it doesn't warm the house enough. No kidding, that's what I keep hearing.

Glad you're happy with it.

[Tesha]

35. There's no technical reason why that would be true.

Gas hot air furnaces are far better than
oil hot air furnaces in fuel efficiency,
reliability, longevity, availability,
and installation flexibility.

For gas hot water boilers, the answer's
not quite as blatantly clear, but it still
far favors gas.

BTUs is BTUs and furnaces and boilers can
burn enough fuel to keep you warm.

Seriously, having lived with each for a
long time, except for "end-of-the-world"
survivability, there are no factors that
would make me choose oil over gas.

Tesha

[NutmegYankee]

37. That's just what I keep hearing.

You have a completely valid point, and it is likely that my co-workers are just conditioned to think that radiators are warmer since they heat after the system has shut down. They likely are not used to the forced hot air systems. I have electric heat, which just plain sucks money wise.

[Tesha]

38. Wait! You're not discussing fuel versus fuel then!

> You have a completely valid point, and it is likely that my co-workers are
> just conditioned to think that radiators are warmer since they heat after
> the system has shut down.

Ahh -- I see the problem! You're not discussing fuel versus
fuel then, but rather something like hot-water-by-oil heat
versus forced-hot-air-by-gas heat.

There, you're correct: there remains a ton of debate about
the relative benefits and deficits of forced-hot-water heat
versus forced-hot-air heat versus radiant heat from the floors
versus radiant heat from the ceilings (or rarely, the walls).

But any of those heat distribution methods can be fueled
by either oil, natural gas, or electricity.

My point is simply that natural gas is, by far, the best
fuel source for any of these heat distribution methods.

Just as a précis:

o Forced-air heat is cheap to install, fast to warm up,
and doesn't waste much wall space with radiators or
convectors that you mustn't block. It also allows the
easy installation of winter humidification systems,
excellent air filtration, outside air exchange systems,
and central air conditioning.

But it can be noisy, can produce noticeable breezes
or drafts, and probably produces the widest range of
room temperatures (or at least the effects you feel)
as the heat cycles on and off.


o Forced hot water (radiators or convectors) provides
quiet, gentle heat and with baseboards rather than
individual radiators, tends to minimize the draft
you'd otherwise get from cold exterior walls. And
yes, the room's apparent temperature doesn't cycle
as much as with forced-hot-air.

But it costs more to install, its pipes can freeze
and burst in the winter if the power fails, and it
can't accommodate any of the nice add-ons that I
mentioned for forced-hot-air. And the presence of
those radiators and/or baseboards severly limits
the layout of your furniture in your rooms.


o Radiant heat is similar to forced hot water but
removes the layout restrictions. And warm floors
are very nice to walk on in the winter.

Radiant floor heat limits your carpeting options,
though. The hot-water-based systems are probably
the most expensive of our several heating systems
to install; the electric variant is relatively
cheap to install but almost certainly the most
expensive to operate. All radiant heat is somewhat
subject to damage by a future yahoo running a nail
through your plumbing or electric heating cable.


Any of the water or air-based systems adapt nicely
to solar heat or groundwater based heat pumps.


Tesha

[Vinca]

22. We purchased a Harman pellet stove a couple of years ago

and it's cut our annual heating costs dramatically. We buy the pellets in the summer when they're cheap and store them in the garage. I love the pellet stove!

[Indy Lurker]

26. Natural Gas prices are lower than last year

And will continue to drop barring any natural disasters.


I follow this very closely, and have a good track record on this.


Right now there is an excess of natural gas in storage.

As long as there isn't a disaster, as winter approaches, natural gas prices will continue to drop.

Last year at this time, a winter strip (contract for Nov, Dec, Jan) was $6.5o per dekatherm. This year, it's under $6.00, and dropping.

[FooFootheSnoo]

27. For once I can say

Thank God I live in Florida.

[Lorien]

32. Me too-though Central Florida still gets cold

and my fuel oil furnace self destructed last year, so this year....? I have stacks of wood from the 2004 hurricanes. Might look into a wood burning stove. :shrug:

[truthisfreedom]

34. On bush's watch, of course.

All the little people suffer under bush.

[Odin2005]

36. My parents use propane and are very worried about this.

My mom is the manager of a VFW Club bar in a little rural Minnesota town and she is very worried that the public smoking ban that will come into effect in October will her business. Mix that in with high fuel prices and my parents' disposable income, which as always been quite limited, is looking to take a nosedive.