Natural Gas Heating Costs

[cortsmommy]

I just bought an old house and moved in and am using gas heat for the first time. I know my furnace is older than dirt, so just wondering how this compares to other people.

For those of you who use natural gas to heat your homes. How much is your cost per month?

I have an 820 sq foot home and my bill from 11/4 to 12/6 was $152. Is that normal or do I need to have my heating stuff looked at?

[mandib50]

how much was your gas per gigajoule? your heating cost has alot to do with the fixed gas charges along with the fluctuating gas rates. change out your filters regularly.

[cortsmommy]

I'm not sure I was just wondering how that compares to other people's bills.

[traixa2]

We just got our gas bill, $190 for 11/1-12/1. My sisters gas bill, $40. We both have gas furnaces, she has a gas water heater, gas fireplace and a gas range. She lives in an area that has nuclear power that ends up subsidizing natural gas costs. Like PP said, you need to know what your cost per gigajoule is to compare rates/cost. Your gas company should be able to give you an estimate of what average usage for your area is.

[rgarlough]

Our house has an older furnace from 1973 that is cleaned and serviced regularly and it good shape overall, despite all the work we do on it, its still only 75% efficient. Not bad I don't think compared to our single pane double hung windows from 1945... with storms over them...

Our latest bill has winter natural gas prices on it at $1.28/gigajule. We have a combined electric + natural gas bill. Our total bill was $158 which is outstanding! We had a refund from some pipe line of $16 which helped too. The gas portion of the bill came to $57.

Our water heater and furnace are the only natural gas appliances in our home. We have electric stove, range, & dryer. We have a woodburning insert like a wood stove that we use as supplemental heat this year.

Last year, for Dec and Jan, our total bills for each month with electric and gas combined were over $400 EACH month. Feb was a little better but still $350. At least half of each bill was gas.

Like the PPs said, change your furnace filter monthly. If your furnace is older, you probably don't want to stress it out with a pleated filter. Go with the cheapies since they will allow the best airflow which doesn't put added strain on the older furnaces. If you can, get a service call so it can be checked for carbon monoxide which isn't something you want to toy around with. They will measure the air quality around your furnace and make sure its at an appropriate level. They will also clean the furnace and tune it up all for about $100 or less. $100 is a very good deal when you look at the cost of a new unit which often start around $1800. The more you can baby your antique, the better.

[cortsmommy]

Thanks so much Rhianna those are great tips and just what I needed! I don't have any idea where the filter is even located. I will call someone to come out and have a look. What are those services called? Thanks!

[rgarlough]

If you look in the yellowpages or sometimes the furnace has a sticker on it from the last company that serviced it just look for a heating company that is licensed and bonded and hopefully a member of the Better Business Bureau. You can just tell them you moved into a house with a gas furnace, you have no idea when the last time it was looked at and schedule a 'cleaning and inspection'. That should be enough for them to understand what you need. It will probably take a good 30 minutes to an hour for them to do all they need to your furnace.