Harleysville-Lansdale Real Estate and More

With fuel oil climbing to $3 a gallon, propane inching up, and electricity deregulation in PA, coupled with an especially cold winter, the cost of heating your home is hitting families hard this winter.  There are many options available to homeowners to try to mitigate the impact.  Of course, everyone would love to have solar panels to generate electricity and geothermal heating, but for many people these green options are prohibitively expensive.  However, most homeowners would benefit from considering additional heating options in their home.

We ourselves are in the process of updating our heating and cooling systems.  Scott and I explored many options for updating or replacing our fuel oil furnace.  Previously, we were locked into using fuel oil for all our heat and hot water.  There are a few things that we have decided to do to provide our home with more options and efficient options.

First, we had a wood burning insert with a blower put into our existing fireplace.  Now wood may not be ideal for everyone (Scott is an expert at building and maintaining a fire; I however encounter great difficulty with it), but propane and pellet inserts are available alternatives. 

With our new insert, we have been able to shut off the oil burner for the first floor of our home (we have two-zone heating, one thermostat for the 1st floor and a 2nd thermostat for the 2nd floor).  We still run the heat to the 2nd floor, but even with our PA temperatures only reaching highs of 30F in the daytime, our new insert has kept the first floor ranging from 67F in the room furthest from the fireplace to probably 75F+ in the room with the fireplace.  This is much warmer than where we used to set the thermostat.  I no longer have to go for a ride in the car to get warm!

We have seen a marked decrease in our oil usage and with a cord of wood running $200 (we haven't made much of a dent in that cord yet), we are already saving money.  Installed, the insert cost $3,600, but since we had the insert installed prior to new year's, we will get $1000 back on our taxes.

Our next plan is to replace our aging boiler with either another oil boiler or a propane boiler (unfortunately, natural gas is not available on our street).  Either way, we will get an indirect water heater which is estimated to save 30% alone in fuel usage over our current system which utilizes a summer/winter hookup.  We are leaning toward propane to get away from oil completely, but we have not made a final decision yet.

Lastly, when the time is right, we will replace our AC units with high efficiency heat pumps.  Again we have two units for two cooling zones.  Both units are aging (~14 years old).  So when these units are ready for replacement (maybe sooner), we will upgrade and have the luxury of using a heat pump in the milder temperatures (50F - 60F) in the spring and fall and not resort to using an oil/propane burner.  Heat pumps are extremely efficient at these mid-range temperatures.  The incremental cost to go from a new AC unit to a heat pump is only about $500.  It will be well worth it in the long run.

We would encourage you to talk to an HVAC contractor and explore the possibilities.  Knowing your options and planning ahead can save you a lot in the long run.  We believe that having multiple options for heating your home is the wave of the future.  More and more consumers want the efficiency and the flexibility.

Maybe someday we will get those solar panels.... by the time we need a new roof, maybe the costs will have come down.

~Lisa

Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.

Multiple Heating Options - A Real Plus in Today's Economy Copyright © 2011, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.