oil vs. gas

nate13 · April 2011

OK looking to replace a oil gulper. standard baseboard is it true that a high eff gas condensing boiler will not really be as eff as it says due to the fact that it will not condense if the return water temp is above 140 now i know that w outdoor reset this will allow the boiler to run at low temp but in Maine the temp outside gets cold and in turn the water will need to be heated to 180-190 alot of days. or would a high eff oil boiler be a lot better because of the BTU in oil vs l/p, oil is 369/g and lp is 317/g for 600-800 g/yr in my area right now but oil was much less in dec and jan

Charlie from wmass · April 2011

To give a simple answer

My Father has hot water heat. He will upgrade soon to a newer oil fired boiler with an indirect water heater. He has baseboard heat. In my Fathers of Mass there is LP or oil for heat. Oil when done properly will be cheaper for us. Other costs to consider include your insurance bill for storing oil on your property and the yearly service if it is done properly. Both should be serviced but oil should cost a bit more to service. If oil costs less to service your gas boiler was messed up or your oil boiler was not properly cleaned.

NRT_Rob · April 2011

LP is never cheaper to run than oil

though high efficiency LP mod/con boilers will make the difference MUCH narrower than it would otherwise be.

I rarely see standard baseboard even here in maine that really needs 180+ water temps, ever. Usually everyone has put in so much you can top out at 160 or lower, and that amount of time is very small in the winter.

even without condensing the modulation and direct venting/sealed combustion of those boilers greatly increases the overall efficiency. typically people report something like 20% savings OR MORE vs non modulating/condensing equipment but that's without jumping fuels. so you can see if you add 50% to your fuel cost but then take 30% off of that in savings you end up in a similar cost ballpark. but quieter and cleaner and more efficient.

Jim Davis_3 · April 2011

oil vs lp

Based on your fuel cost a less efficient oil boiler would cost almost $900 a season less to operate.

NRT_Rob · April 2011

well now

you're making a large pile of assumptions there.

this goes way beyond the AFUE rating.

lchmb · April 2011

other thoughts

Some other thing's, you will also need to either get an LP supplier, or possibly increase the size of your storage. If you have LP presently you could save on the other item's you have (more usage generally equal's less cost). Or you could add cooking, hw and dryier.. Also consider the difference in noise. Although oil has improved alot in recent years it will never be as quiet as a mod/con boiler. Alot to give thought to..

One other thing, look into a prebuy or budget plan for either product. It could save you a bunch in the long run...

CMadatMe · April 2011

Heat Loss

Could you please share with us the heat loss and the total amount of footage of baseboard in the home. If you heat loss is room to room you could also give the same info by zone. This would give us the information we would need to give you a better anwser to your question.

James Day_2 · April 2011

oil vs lp

I don't know what the price is in maine, but in ny i have seen propane over a dollar a gallon cheaper than oil. So when you factor in the btu comparison and efficiency differences propane ends up being cheaper per btu than oil. Now if you add in modulation of a high efficiency boiler you could end up saving even more.

James

k_2 · April 2011

re

I have never seen propane less than oil, but at that cost, 3.50 for oil, say, and 2.5 for propane, it would make sense to do propane, but in mass, I have never seen propane cost less than oil, usually the revers of what you describe, which makes it never work for heat. The only excuse would be if you heated so little that the cost of the equipment was more important than the cost of fuel. doubtful

meplumber · April 2011

Some things to consider.

LP is on average about $.50/gal less than oil here in Maine.

Some other things to consider. Is your chimney lined? If not, it must be lined with the new boiler install. A plus for LP is the ability to direct vent the appliance. Also, the oil tank must be brought up to current code with the boiler change. Another plus for LP is that the tanks outside are owned by the oil company and "leased" to you. The price is calculated in to the per gallon price.

My $.02 worth. I do both types of systems in coastal Maine. The deciding factor for me is the heat loss vs. emitter relationship. Have your potential contractors do an actual heat loss (As required by the Maine Fuel Board for each boiler replacement.) Many contractors will simply size the new boiler by the old one or by the amount of baseboard in the house. This is not what the code says.

Have them do a real heat loss and compare that with the amount of baseboard that you have. This will give you an idea of how low you can push your water temp. In my experience, most of the houses that are close on baseboard footage don't do well with the mod/cons. In those cases I prefer an oil boiler like a Buderus or Viessmann with an outdoor reset control.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

oil vs. gas

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