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Thread: What type of heating system do you use in your house?

  1. #1

    What type of heating system do you use in your house?

    What type of heating system do you use for saving electric energy? Currently I am using electric stove, but it is too costly. So I am looking energy efficient heating system.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    I heat the house, heat water, and dry clothes with natural gas but cook with electricity. I prefer to cook with natural gas but the combustion of natural gas in the open creates combustion residue that collects on everything as a greasy film.

    George

  3. #3
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    We used to have a wood stove in the basement, but I got REAL tired of hauling/using 2-3 cords per season. Removed the inefficient wood stove and replaced it with a more compact (practically sits against the wall instead of the middle of the room), significantly more efficient (93%), nicer to look at, and higher functionality (it has a timer, like most home thermostats these days, and I can even turn it on with my cellphone if I'm coming home early) pellet stove.

    Depending upon the winter, we go through 2-3 pallets of pellets, but those things are much easier to move, not to mention the lorry driver can bring the pallets down to our backyard... the wood could only be dumped in our driveway.
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  4. #4
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    We have gas heat and hot water, electric cooking.

    PHM

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    The house I am buying is currently heated with electric baseboard heaters and has no air conditioning. I talked to the electric utility and the electric bill for the last 12 months was just about $3,600. The house is on the wrong rate plan and the bill should have been closer to $5,000 for the past year. Mind you, this house has probably been vacant for over a year so I have no idea how the bank spent as much as $500 on electricity in a single month this past winter.

    I plan to put in forced air heating/air conditioning with natural gas after I buy the house. The utility bill should drop in half once that is done. Less than a 10 year payback for the entire system including duct work.

  6. #6
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    Rutherford Co., NC
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    We have a heat pump and and a natural gas furnace mounted in ceiling.

    A couple of years ago we had to replace our A/C unit so when we looked at the options we realized that it would be much more cost effective to go to a heat pump. We do get some cold snaps that would tax a heat pump so we elected to go to a duel-fuel system, which meant replacing the furnace with one that is compatible. When the outdoor temp gets down to around 37°F the system switches to the furnace instead of the heat pump.

    We also have a fireplace insert in the basement. I try to keep a fire going on nights when the temperature is supposed to get low enough to kick over to the furnace. We leave the basement door open with a fan going at the top of the stairwell to help the warm air along. I can get plenty of firewood free, but I have to cut it, split it, and dry it, so it can be pretty labor intensive.
    "Live like no one else, so later, you can LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE!"
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  7. #7
    Natural gas. Costs me about $1200 to heat 1600 SF each year, kids and wife home all day.

    If I lived by myself, it'd cost a lot less.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Weaver View Post
    Natural gas. Costs me about $1200 to heat 1600 SF each year, kids and wife home all day.

    If I lived by myself, it'd cost a lot less.
    If you had it your way you would probably be like the working class folks who die with $3 million in the bank because they never spent any money. I prefer to be reasonably comfortable at 69 to 70 degrees in the winter rather than save $10 a month and be cold all winter. My previous house I spent about $1,100 on gas for heat and hot water from June 2013 through May 2014. It is colder in Minnesota, but there is nobody home during the day so I turn the heat down.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    Upland CA
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    In SoCal, most homes are heated with natural gas, some older homes have NG floor furnaces, or wall units, while most have forced air NG.

    In our house (two family) we have two separate NG forced air units which are rated around 92% efficient. We have an enclosed patio room, where one grandkid spends all her time, with a NG fireplace which is rated as a 75% efficient furnace. Two of the grandkids bedrooms have always been very hot or cold, even after putting in special zones to address the issue, so we are now arranging to get a two station electric heat pump setup to augment those two rooms.

    Oh yeah, we also have a 220V electric heater in the shop, along with a small AC/heater in the attached office (man cave).

    If that doesn't confuse you, be assured it confuses me .

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    SE South Dakota
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    I heat with wood (like Dan used to til he "girlied out")
    I also have an efficient heat pump-(things like these should be outlawed here in South Dakota-non-stop run when temps get into the low 20's, below 0 most of the winter so are COMPLETELY USELESS!!!!)
    I'm in my 60's and hate handling wood soooo many times but, I have lots of it and it is essentially free.....

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  11. #11
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    We have a hot water baseboard system fed by a NG-fired boiler. It didn't take us long after moving in to figure out that we didn't have enough radiator footage for our house size so a few years ago, we had Slant/Fin high-output commercial baseboards installed. This doubled the footage with the same number of baseboards. Now we hardly use our supplemental wood stove.
    Brett
    Peters Creek, Alaska

    Man is a tool-using animal. Nowhere do you find him without tools; without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all. — Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

  12. #12
    We started out with a scary massive wood stove in the 1900's farmhouse rental we are in. It still has the original windows and was originally built without power or plumbing. After 1 winter with that deteriorating stove, we pulled that out and installed a pellet stove that has a hopper large enough for 2+ bags of pellets. We go through roughly 2 pallets of pellets a month during the winter or 2-3 bags per day. We're really looking forward to finally having a house of our own again that has "real" windows, insulation and heating!
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  13. #13
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    We heat and cool our house with a geothermal heat pump. For electric only it is the lowest cost system you can get once you get past the initial investment. Our pay back on the initial investment was about 5 years when we switched from base board electric heaters to geothermal. It is clean, quiet and cheaper by far than conventional heat pumps, propane or oil and generally gives natural gas a run for its money.
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Hintz View Post
    Depending upon the winter, we go through 2-3 pallets of pellets for the season!
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Chance in Iowa View Post
    We go through roughly 2 pallets of pellets a month during the winter or 2-3 bags per day.
    Hooooolyyyyyy schnikees... 2-3 pallets/month?! That's mucho expensive!
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  15. #15
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    Alex,

    Welcome to the Creek. Your profile doesn't list a location. That would have a lot to do with determining what may be best for your need.

    My home is in rural southwest Washington state. We have gas to the greenhouse, but not the residence. We mostly use our wood stove to heat the house in the winter.

    Last year we mostly burned mill ends from a local supply. The bill came to about $70. This year we removed a few trees and may have enough firewood for two winters.

    When you cut your own firewood it actually provides you with heat more than once... When you cut it, when you split it, when you stack it, when you carry it in and when you finally burn it.

    EDIT: I may have misunderstood since you are asking what type of heating. Are you talking house heating or kitchen cooking?

    We have an electric stove. Here in Washington electricity is cheap compared to gas.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 07-29-2014 at 10:12 PM.
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