[Travis1222]

Im going to be building my house in Maine, a 24x28 cape. I was just wondering about a couple things. One; whats the best to heat a house, Oil or wood/electric. Two; would it cost to much to run electric baseboard heat during the day and to run a wood or a pellet stove at night, then to run just oil all day. Thank you for your time. If you need any more info, just ask.

 

[beenthere]

The answer depends on your electric rate, and your cost for oil. It varies by the area.

 

[Travis1222]

The answer depends on your electric rate, and your cost for oil. It varies by the area.

Oil is around 3.29 and elec is $0.060278 kWh. If this helps.

 

[beenthere]

With your cheap electric rate, its cheaper then oil.

 

[Travis1222]

With your cheap electric rate, its cheaper then oil.

Thats what i was thinking, but ive read else where that it can be rather costly. but that was if it ran all day and that was your primary heat source. But i also plan on insulating the wall rather well too. that that will help.

 

[beenthere]

Yes it will.

 

[bubbler]

Oil is around 3.29 and elec is $0.060278 kWh. If this helps.

Double check that rate... make sure that you're including both the generation and transmission rates.

Just to get a reasonable estimate you might want to take a few months worth of bills, subtract any truly fixed costs (ones that are fees which are identical month to month w/o use) then divide the number of kW's used that month by the previous result.

6c/kW seems astoundingly low... though I know that some locations, particular where there are a lot of hydro plants or transmission lines will get lower costs then others...

I was at 23c/kW in my last town and now in the new town (with a local PoCo) it's at about 17c/kW and I was happy to have it!

 

[Travis1222]

Service Charge:
$7.08

kWh Charges:


​On-Peak
$ 0.094838/kWh
​Shoulder
$ 0.081540/kWh
​OffPeak
$ 0.039318/kWh


Not a huge difference. Off from my power company website. Cmpco.com if u wanna check for yourself and see if I'm getting the right rate.

 

[gregzoll]

BASIC RATE PER MONTH
$8.53* for the first 100 kWh or less
$0.060278* per kWh for all kWh in excess of above

*Includes transmission charges in accordance with Subsection 44.1 of the Terms & Conditions and includes conservation assessment charges in accordance with Subsection 49.1 of the Terms & Conditions.

http://www.cmpco.com/MediaLibrary/3/6/Content%20Management/Suppliers%20And%20Partners/PDFs%20and%20Doc/a.pdf

I would say that you are pretty cheap. I would still have some form of back up heat & generator incorporated into the build.

 

[bubbler]

Good deal... I just checked mine, I was mistaken before--I'm $0.139/kW--about double yours I suppose.

Anyway, one big advantage to a fuel source like propane or oil is that you can keep the heat on with minimal electric requirement and no outside supply functioning.

My oil-fired boiler uses only about 300W when running, so I can have hot water and heat while using a relatively small generator (I have a 3000W that I use to keep the heat, a couple of lights and the fridge running).

 

[Travis1222]

I would say that you are pretty cheap. I would still have some form of back up heat & generator incorporated into the build.

Yes I was planing on having a wood stove either way. And have a generator backup. Just not to sure about the primary heat source yet. Just looking for some alternatives to oil where it's so high, same as propane.

 

[gregzoll]

Primary, Hybrid Heat pump, and same for hot water heating.

 

[Travis1222]

Primary, Hybrid Heat pump, and same for hot water heating.

I was going to do a electric tankless water heater.

 

[beenthere]

I was going to do a electric tankless water heater.

Takes a lot of electric to run one of them.

 

[Travis1222]

Primary, Hybrid Heat pump, and same for hot water heating.

I can already tell thats expensive. What make should i look for? Is it ideal for northeastern weather?

 

[gregzoll]

I can already tell thats expensive. What make should i look for? Is it ideal for northeastern weather?

Depends on what your income is. With you asking about costs, sounds like you can not afford even the cheap rates that your electric provider charges.