I live in the Virginia Beach area and converted from oil to gas 6 years ago. My final year with oil heat cost about $1,400 and with gas, my average annual heating bill is less than $500. Keep in mind my final year with oil was high because of a spike in price but had I stuck with oil my current heating cost would now be about $1,000 annually.
My investment in gas will pay for itself in about 2 years.
I am surprised that so many of you have such unqualified approval of radiators. I won’t be refitting the house for that.
But natural gas seems to be the best choice and I will switch over as soon as I am able.
It is bound to help the resale value of the house as well.
Thank you all
Do you have one or more fireplaces in your home? Since you have decided to have the gas line run to your house, you might want to think about converting a wood-burning fireplace to gas.
Yes, the wood-burning one has a nicer fire, with that wood fire smell and the crackle of the logs. But, gee, the gas one is awfully convenient. No ashes to deal with. No flying cinders to be a concern. We’ve been know to light a fire before dinner to enjoy an aperitif, turn it off, go have dinner, come back to the fireplace and turn it back on for an after-dinner drink. Then turn it off and go to bed with no worries about a smoldering fire in the fireplace.
This. I’m in MA, we have a dedicated gas line (my house was gas when my parents bought it – they converted it back to oil because my mother was deathly afraid of leaks and fire), and it’d be no problem converting back to gas.
Yes, there are rebates galore but the initial $ you’d have to put down on the conversion, not including oil tank removal, etc., is considerable. I can’t afford it, so I’ve been staying with the oil on budget billing. The price fluctuates wildly, but at least with budget billing the amount you pay is locked and depends on how many gallons @ what price you used the previous year.