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throwaway69107 t1_j7koge7 wrote

Reply to comment by AssistantPretty5947 in Trying to budget out utilizes. What do you pay? by [deleted]

Haven’t picked a house yet, just budgeting right now. Most of what I’m seeing though either seems to be oil, propane, gas or gas pellet stoves. I refuse to buy a home with electric heat haha

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Dartmeth t1_j7l2kkv wrote

Electric heating comes in two major formats. Resistance heating is garbage due to extreme costs. Electric heat pumps on the other hand are amazing.

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hardsoft t1_j7ncrcn wrote

At very cold temps they're not much better than resistive heating...

Most installers want you to have a backup system for colder temps so it's a lot more cost and maintenance for somewhat lower overall energy costs.

Though you do get AC with it if you were planning on that anyways.

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Dartmeth t1_j7r2qvf wrote

It rarely gets cold enough to tax the new cold weather systems. They run well until even in freezing conditions.

With that said, anything in the negatives is going to be hard even on a new cold weather module. Always better to have a back up system that can tackle a polar vortex. Even better if the back up does not require electricity or if it can be run off a small generator. (Wood, pellet, petrol)

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invenio78 t1_j7lk2d8 wrote

This could vary from house to house, even if they use the same heating sources. Things like quality of windows and insulation can make a huge difference.

Best way is to find the place you are interested in, and then ask for the previous 3 month utility bill amounts. That will get you a realistic and fairly accurate estimate.

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zeeke42 t1_j7piq49 wrote

You want the previous year, because past 3 months doesn't tell you every season.

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invenio78 t1_j7pnt6x wrote

I presumed this was for heating so the last three months would be fine as most people don't heat their homes during the summer. General electric usage is personal so he can look at his own utility bill, see how many kwh he uses a month and the just use local rates to calculate the expected cost.

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