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incandescent bulbs it is, but bothers me to leave

D

DENNIS MIN

Member
All,

In a previous post, propane costs versus electrical incandescent light bulbs, well I am a little put off leaving lights on in my home.

Too many years trying to reduce my electrical bill I suppose.

I got to look into return-of-investment on other heat sources. I am still unsure of heat-pump geothermal type devices in the deep colds that Minnesota receives. Really not eager for wood-burners, yet.

Keep that propane price high and my attitude may change swiftly.

D.
 
Geothermal works fine in cold, just put your pipes in deep enough.

I would drill my pipes in and put them 20' down. It got dry enough here that some stopped working last summer.
 
Geothermal is old technology. Peoples success with it or not is related to the design details.

Put in a big enough bed in your yard or pond and get a good hvac tech for your pump install and they can last a very long time.

Neighbour has a huge like 4000 sq ft house with an entire glass wall facing north and they heat on 280$ a month in the winter via geothermal. (0.10/kwhr here)

An average 2000 sq ft home on electric only here is about 600$/month.

Geothermal makes extra sense here too because all the water wells are artesian, no need for a burried bed.
 
I thought that where it was cold you drilled 200 ft wells. My daughter has hers bored in 8 ft deep. Workes good here. Southern Il. But not neer as cold as you. -10 was our coldest day. but has been 1 to 8 here almost every morning with a high of 14 to 20. My air to air heat-pump will work as soon as the sun comes up. Had to turn the gas on about 10 pm last night.
 
As I get older, I can see that at some point there'll be an end to my ability to cut firewood. I've been pondering an alternate heat source for some time, and the obvious choices had always included propane, but it's completely off of my list now. There's no way that I'll allow someone to yank me around like that. I think the propane industry is shooting their self in the foot with this mickey mouse stuff. Anyone thinking about a new heat system would surely be leery of spending big bucks on a propane fueled unit. Even before this price fiasco, there were posts nearly every week about some sort of propane horror story.
 
If you live in an area where it stays below freezing for extended periods of time, a heat pump is not very efficient. I have had one since 2001 and we have not had cold as we have had this winter. A week or so ago, when wind chill was -5F., the thing ran constantly and only maintained 60F inside.
 
Bought a set of 8 - 75 watt incandescents 1170 lumens made by GE at wally world Monday this week. We're in deep so IN. Must be left over inventory. Guess we're not "green" yet here.
 
how come it seems you midwest guys aren't into fuel oil?? In the NE here it is the main source of heat--but i have to admit the prices are very volatile---so i put in a 1000 gallon tank that i fill once a year in the summer when price is cheapest.
 
I helped build a house for my cousin, 6" walls, extra insulation all around because he was going to heat with electric but changed his mind and put in fuel oil instead. He heats with 200-250 gallons of fuel oil a year in a 2000 ft house, you can't cut wood for that.
 
I have heard that in the bottom of a 6000 foot deep Marcellus well, the temperature is pretty close to boiling.


It only costs about $2 million to drill that deep. But think about a lifetime of never having to pay for heat! hahaha
 
Must not be in a very cold climate if he only uses that much. We use to use 400-450 gal. in Jan. in central Ill. That was before fuel got high priced, wouldn't want it now.
 
(quoted from post at 11:02:08 01/29/14) how come it seems you midwest guys aren't into fuel oil?? In the NE here it is the main source of heat--but i have to admit the prices are very volatile---so i put in a 1000 gallon tank that i fill once a year in the summer when price is cheapest.
Click to expand...

We have oil heat in our 1920 sq ft home and use about 150 gal a year. We supplement with wood heat in the basement. The basement is dug into a hillside the so three walls are only exposed to ground temperature which is around 50 degrees.
 
Are you sure your price is right for geothermal, sounds a little high to me. I heat 2800 sq. feet house for $50 to $100 month depending on the wind and temp.
 
PJH,
No need to feel LP dealers yanking you around.....make sure you get a 1000 gal tank (not a 500 gal), then book/pay in summer as our dealers are then offering their best price. I booked 800 gal in June, 2013 for $1.59. I had 40% in the tank from last yr, so in Sept they deliverd 400 gal to top off my tank (they don"t fill above 80%), then they delivered the remaining 400 gal a couple weeks ago...all I had to do was wave at the driver when he left.

I"ll book again next summer. In the last 15 years I paid early only one year when the price was lower that coming winter...and I doubt that will ever happen again.

LP shortage or high price this winter??? No sweat.

LA in WI
 
Where do you live? I'm in Canada, not near the ocean so its pretty cold. My sisters old but modest sized farmhouse with insulation updates and new windows takes 12 cord of wood to heat properly. She only heats to 45-50 F and still uses 5 cord.
 
new geothermal is so much more efficient than the stuff put in 5 years ago, this fall son put it in his home in town, been as far as 35 below 0 here. His home is nice and warm. He put in a desuperheater for his gas water heater, has nice hot water, he shut off the gas for the house, hasn't needed it. He might need it to run his water heater this summer. That sounds backward to me but he says that is why they call it a desuperheater.
 
To answer your question in my opinion.
1. Oil Stinks
2. Oil gels and gas don't.
3. Propane cheaper Usually.
4. Nat gas cheaper always.
5. Nat gas piped to house so no trucks.
6. Gas furnace cheaper and more efficient.
7. Gas furnace more reliable.
 
Our propane dealers in Ohio call it prebuy. This last fall in august I got filled for $ 1.59 and prebuy was $ 1.69

Only problem with prebuy is you actually have to have some extra money laying around to buy it !

This is the first year in 15 ? years of me having propane that it would of really made a big difference to prebuy.

Just got filled a week and half ago for $ 2.39 guess I was darn lucky to get it. If this cold holds out I'll need more in a month as I only have a 330 gal tank.
 
Your talking about fuel oil stinking. We have a friend that used fuel oil and they went away for a week and while they were gone the tank sprung a leak. When they got home they had fuel oil all over basement floor. They have tried everything and can't get the smell out of house. They are now living in a large travel trailer next to their home.
 
Mike,
With 330 gal tank you might have a smaller house to heat or are in southern Ohio?

Up here in Wisconsin the truck would be making a semi-weekly run with such a small tank.

"... you have some extra money laying around", if you smoke ditch the cigs, if you drink taper off a little, if you buy things you don"t really need, well there"s the answer for that!!

Or, estimate your total dollars needed for a year of LP heat, divide by 52 and put that amount in a "heating-savings account" at your bank each week. Easy. If you can"t do that now, with prices sure to go up bigtime in the future, your problem will only get worse. (Not a lecture, just the facts of life.)

Saving this much money on LP means I can NOT pay cash in the winter and look at myself in the mirror.
LA in WI
 
Ask a local HVAC installer for what works good in your area. I personally have an electric air to air heat pump with propane back up heat. I filled up last summer and so far have used 300 gallons out of a 1000 gallon tank. I wouldn't worry too much about prices with a large enough tank that you can buy when you think its cheap. Just don't wait until winter to buy.
 
keep in mind that you don't get the full btu wattage out of a light bulb--a percentage of the wattage is lost into providing light energy and not heat--it is rather small but it's there!
 
Yeah - they're actually not yanking me around, but I don't want to set myself up for the possibility of it. We use propane for cooking, and have a propane water heater, so we burn a minimal amount, and the dealer summer fills us, so the price should be as cheap as it can get. I'm not gonna even consider it for heating fuel though. This present fiasco is just an example of what they're capable of.
 
The understanding I get is the geniuses in Washington have only outlawed specifically 40 and 60 watt incandescents. More will be added to the list.

Now if there is a demand, as in money to be made, whats to keep the manufactures from renaming them 41 watt, or 59 watt?

I really don't see them going away completely

What I have seen though is the quality diminish. They sure don't last like they used to.
 
But as soon as that light reaches an opaque surface, it's either reflected or absorbed. If it's absorbed, it's thermal energy. So the only energy from that light bulb that escapes is whatever goes thru the windows.
 
1000 sq ft house in north central Ohio. keep it at 68* also on the same tank is my tractor shed at around 1500sq ft. keep it around 45* to 50*
Shed is insulated better then the house. I feel my Lp use is pretty low compared to many for all I'm heating up. I usually get by on 2 fill ups a year. 1 before winter and 1 during.

Don't smoke.
Don't drink.
Don't waste my money hauling my tractors around to shows anymore either.
All my money seems to go to insurance companies,house payment and taxes,and energy suppliers !

Pretty boring life trying to scrap by these days ! I know I'm not alone as there are many many working poor just getting by in this country.
 

Dennis,
My bro-in-law put a geothermal heat pump in his new house of 10 years ago in northern Iowa and his heating expense is a fraction of mine and his house is much larger than my new house of 1997....I have air-to-air heat pump in Wis. and that is a big mistake this far north. Actually my furnace has a LP burner for backup so I now only use the air-to-air in late Spring and early Fall.
You are north of Iowa, but it ain"t Miami!

Are you a minister? If so, stay on this forum to keep the standards from falling more than they have!
LA in WI
 
Greg I am in Tennessee 3,000 sq ft house and like you have air to air Trane brand heat pump. When it gets below about 22 deg the propane back up pack kicks in. Have a 1000 gal tank and usually just burn 200 gallon or so in a heating season.
Looked yesterday and am still around 70% with this extreme cold spell.
 
dpend,
I have always read that the NE uses a lot of fuel oil for heating. Most everyone who used to burn fuel oil here in the Midwest have torn out those furnaces and now use LP if in rural areas and natural gas if can hook onto city lines. Wood heating is still popular if you are near woodlands; in areas of prime ag land (Iowa, Ill, etc) woodlands are often long gone.
I burned wood for my main heating for 16 years, finally got old enuf to come to my senses, sold the chain saw, the splitter, the trailer and now just move the temp lever a little higher on the switch on the wall. No fireplace either...the "romance" of a fire place is long gone for me!

Fuel oil used to gel with our temps, often plugged the lines, smelled bad, tanks would spring a leak in the basement, etc. I doubt if a house is built here nowadays with a fuel oil furnace.
LA in WI
 
LA wi,

To directly answer your question, no. I am not a minister, but I have been prone to preaching ,LOL.

My lady gets on me to read more of the good book, how can I argue with that?!

Thanks for the compliment though.

D.
 
(quoted from post at 23:51:29 01/29/14) Specialty bulbs like "rough service" are and will remain avalible.
Click to expand...

Yep a 100 watt rough service $6.87 each.
You can get up to 300 watt bulbs.
Also heat lamps.
 
(quoted from post at 10:02:15 01/29/14) As I get older, I can see that at some point there'll be an end to my ability to cut firewood. I've been pondering an alternate heat source for some time, and the obvious choices had always included propane, but it's completely off of my list now. There's no way that I'll allow someone to yank me around like that. I think the propane industry is shooting their self in the foot with this mickey mouse stuff. Anyone thinking about a new heat system would surely be leery of spending big bucks on a propane fueled unit. Even before this price fiasco, there were posts nearly every week about some sort of propane horror story.
Click to expand...

You can still get wood delivered split and ready for drying form guys with processors by the dump truck load up here. That's a lot of heat for not a lot of money.
 
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