How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

How much do you pay for gas heat? Aren't the prices getting pretty similar considering gas is up so much?

ETA: I had 2 oil deliveries this past winter. One was $1200 and the other was around $850 and I am due for another oil delivery within the next month. Would it be worth the $$$ to convert to gas?

Message edited 5/22/2008 1:44:13 PM.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

My gas bill was very high this winter. monthly ranged from 200-450 depending on how cold the month was.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

we have a 2 family house and our gas bill for the months of Oct-April was around $1200. We all work...so the heat it at a minimal during the day and it never goes above 72 when we are home

we spend $1500 our first winter in the house....5 years ago and oil prices are NOT what they are now

it was the best thing we did for our house!!

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

we thought about converting and had at Keyspan's referral, we had a few companies come out and give us a quote. They flat out told me that the #s would work out to more or less the same. Although you feel more of a hit in your pocket when you get drops, if you factor in the monthly payments you make for gas, it's almost the same. Don't know if that helps, but I think that with gas (I have it in my new house now), it's cleaner and generally more convenient because it's always available and you don't have to worry about running out. With oil, it kills you because you're getting these large drops and have to shell out alot of money in one shot.

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

My parents switched from oil to heat a couple of years ago but given the cost of gas, the monthly costs are very similar.

The biggest benefit for them was the cleaner burning fuel and not having to deal with deliveries.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

Our bill with natural gas (this is not the same as the gas you put in your car so don't go by the prices at the pump) was 50% cheaper than with oil. I highly recommend converting if you have the option.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

over the winter months our bill for gas heat at most was $250 per month. We work all day and it's down to 62 I believe and when we get home not over 72, over night around 65. We are only 2 people right now and we use gas to cook also. We just converted in Sept and we moved in the house in Nov. I know a lot of people on here talk about $500+ oil bills every month (I believe that is what I have read) and we are burning cleaning because it's more efficient. GL with your decision. Our last gas bill was about $150 and it will go down even more once we turn the heat off completely. It was worth it to us to spend the money on the conversion.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

I use gas to cook, heat and dry my clothes and our bill was no more than $300 this winter. The heat is at about 62-65 when we aren't home and 68-69 when we are home plus we have a fireplace that we used alot during the winter.

I can't give exact numbers because we get an estimated bill every other month and the highest ($300) bill was duirng an estimated month. I think it shoudl have been less.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

my gas bills are rarely over $250 for the month and that is for cooking, dryer and heat.

if you look at the numbers, natural gas went up 50% this year, but crude oil is up almost 100%

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

This chart is from 2005, but it does demonstrate past trends...

I have gas, and I like the convenience, and the monthly usage payment, instead of buying the huge tank worth at one shot.

http://www.oregonoilheat.com/modernChoice-economical.html
Today's Oil Heat is Economical

When adjusted for inflation, heating oil prices have remained virtually unchanged over the past 30 years. Compare that trend to any other fuel source and home heating oil is the obvious winner for the most economical fuel source around. In addition, since 1995, the average price for heating oil has been lower than natural gas. Natural gas just doesn't seem to adhere to the old adage "What goes up must come down." Unlike home heating oil, once prices for natural gas increase, they almost never go down.

The tricky part for homeowners is to find a common language for cost comparison. BTU, short for British Thermal Unit, is a standard measurement for heat. Let's look at how home heating oil stacks up.

Message edited 5/22/2008 3:29:36 PM.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

A newer chart, however...



http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2007/07/oil-versus-gas.html



http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2007/10/15/2007-10-15_heating_oil_prices_spike_but_should_you_-2.html



And these sites aren't oil company websites, like my previous post.

Message edited 5/22/2008 3:38:08 PM.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

We are on a budget and play 113. a month.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

We are on the budget plan too with meenan....we were going to switch to gas until we saw how much it would cost us....

we instead updated our oil burner & put ourselves on a budget plan.

Re: How much cheaper is it to have gas vs. oil to heat your home?

When we had oil the cost was 500.00 a month, now I have gas and pay less than 200.00 during the winter, I am an accountant but I dont think you need to be to figure this one out.

I have gas heat, gas range, gas hot water and a gas dryer.

Have a great day.

Message edited 5/22/2008 4:18:35 PM.