Cost of oil forced air furnance?

[rosie_plus_one]

Hello!

We live in Western Washington and are looking at moving into a home that has an oil forced air furnance. I've never lived with one before and have no idea what the cost is. Any help would be much appreciated!

[baileyandmikey]

Depending on the price of gas on avg. the cost of 150 gallons can be anywhere from 750 to 350 dollars. We do about four or five fills a winter at 150 gallons.

[polyhymnia]

Originally Posted by baileyandmikey

Depending on the price of gas on avg. the cost of 150 gallons can be anywhere from 750 to 350 dollars. We do about four or five fills a winter at 150 gallons.

I'm going to guess in western Washington the OP will need a lot less oil than you do out in Ohio. I grew up in NH where oil heat is much more common (it's not that common where I am in western Washington) and we used a lot more heat there than I ever do here.

Can you talk to the current owners of the house and see how much oil they go through?

[rosie_plus_one]

Originally Posted by polyhymnia

I'm going to guess in western Washington the OP will need a lot less oil than you do out in Ohio. I grew up in NH where oil heat is much more common (it's not that common where I am in western Washington) and we used a lot more heat there than I ever do here.

Can you talk to the current owners of the house and see how much oil they go through?

Unfortunately the property is rented through an agency, and is a new property for them. They are trying to contact the owners to get information, but I am anxious!

[Alyantavid]

I live in Idaho and we have oil heat. We usually have to fill up twice (no idea on the gallons though) and its around $300 to fill the tank.

[gentlemango]

We have a large drafty farmhouse in New Hampshire and we burn 2200-2400 gallons of oil per year. We keep the house cold (under 65) and try to be sparing with hot water. It's a very big, very old house. :

[mamayarn]

I live in a slightly more temperate area of NY than you might imagine (no lake snow), and the past two winters we have gotten 450 gallons of oil to cover the entire winter in our ~1200 heated sqft home with new windows. The price of heating oil sort of follows the price of gasoline, so for the past two years and this year we're hovering around $1500 for oil for the season. We keep the thermostat around 65 day and night.

We found that oil deliveries have a minimum number of gallons (here 150) so we have to keep an eye on the gauge and not call until we have room for 150 gallons. Forced air can be a bit dry so you may have to consider ways to humidify the air a bit.

Good luck! Having oil is really not such a big deal. Call around for cost per gallon though, as it varies just as much as gasoline and find out if prices include sales tax.

[SleeplessMommy]

You can find a cost comparison chart here:
http://www.earthfriendlymoms.com/fuel.html

If your oil cost is around $2.40 a gallon or less, you should be OK for heating costs - assuming the furnace is in good condition and not too old. And assuming the house is not too leaky.

Oil furnaces should be serviced and cleaned once a year - make sure they have done this!