Wow, what would the bill for oil be if you heat the entire house?
This was actually a good exercise as it forced me to go back through the invoices/charges for the past year and see the exact costs.
So, before getting in to the cost, it helps to have somewhat of an idea of the layout of the house, and how we normally have the thermostats set.
We have 2 zone heating on the main level of the ranch, and it's divided into 3 sections. One zone heats the 3 bedroom/2 bath area at one end of the house. The other zone is the remainder of the main level. However, between the two ends is a center section which we rarely use and keep the doors at the ends of the hallway closed during the cold months. This section has the front door foyer in the center leading in to a second family room, and off the main hallway the dining room, and 4th bedroom...and 4 skylights and a big bay window. We never use the front door to the house, only entering/exiting through the garage at the far end. The basement is the third zone, which is partially finished, and the Nest there is always off. Temperature down there will always be 50 to 55 through the winter months with no heat.
Usually, at the bedroom end of the house, during the day, I'd have the Nest set for 62 or 63. At night, it would be at 57. At the other end of the house, with the kitchen, main family room, 3rd bathroom, that Nest would be set for 50...if we were spending time in the main family room, then we'd raise the temp to 62. One last thing to consider - though those temps also seem low, it's important to remember that at the bedroom end, the Nest is in the center hallway, while the baseboard radiators are around the outside perimeter walls. So, the heat has to flow to the center of the house, through the rooms in to the hallway. Meaning that although the Nest is triggering at 62/57, while it's heating up, in the bedrooms it's actually warmer than that. DW's sewing room is in the basement, and if she's spending time down there when it's cold, she'll set it at 62 just for the time she's there.
Now with all that in mind, the costs. We have a pair of 275 gallon tanks in our basement. We usually get one fill between August and November before it gets cold, then another 2 during the winter, and one in the spring. The fill in August is not much. Once the heat is turned off in mid/late spring, the oil is only for the hot water heater, which has relatively minimal usage. That fill might be 50 to 60 gallons for the 4-6 month period. At the time of the two other winter fills, it never goes below 1/4 (oil company will generally deliver between 3/8 and 1/2), so we're usually talking about 300 gallons to fill. When we get a fill, it takes the tanks to 7/8 full. I just went down to check, and they are at 3/4, so we have not gotten a fill for the winter yet. We're on auto-delivery with the oil company, so they decide when exactly to fill.
I've pulled out the past several invoices I have, and found the other totals from my credit card statements. It will give an idea of the usage and costs we're looking at prior to now.
Aug 19, 2021 - 52 gallons @ $3.299 = $171.55
Jan 25, 2022 (billing date) = $873.77
Feb 17, 2022 (billing date) = $416.00
Mar 29, 2022 - 298 gallons @ $5.599 = $1668.50
I guess my memory was off about the price in the spring - it wasn't over $6/gallon at the time, but $5.59 - which stuck in my head as being so outrageous at the time. I'm certain it's definitely in the $6.25-$6.50 range right now considering the price of diesel at the pump.
Seeing the usage and prices over the past year makes me more confident going with the small electric space heaters just in the rooms where we're hanging out will make a big difference this season. We'll see how much it helps and if it justifies continuing with that approach vs. using the oil more.
Sorry for the long story, but I think the context and parameters are important in understanding our normal usage, how we were already really frugal, and how that translated to the costs. I can't imagine how other folks with oil who do heat the whole house manage and keep it at say 67, 70, or 72. We certainly aren't the only ones in the area with oil.
My next door neighbor, who passed away a few years ago, had the town natural gas run to his house probably 20 years ago (both our houses were built in the early 1970s). I remember him telling me that he had to pay $40,000 for the job. At the time, with the price of oil below $2/gallon, it sounded like an outrageous amount. Today, it's still expensive, but not so outrageous should oil prices stay where they are, or heaven forbid, go even higher. I may begin looking in to alternatives, not necessarily to replace the oil, but to supplement it so we don't use as much.
