Is Not Looking For Properties With Oil Heat Something To Consider When Looking For Real Estate?

July 20, 2008

It seems that with the price of oil is higher than we have ever seen it, some people are wondering if they should exclude homes that heat with oil from there search and many homeowners are switching to another source, most commonly propane or natural gas.  I don’t believe any homes should be excluded from a search.  It is easy to change systems, not much different than replacing the furnace in most cases.  It is hard enough to find a home you like.  Just to exclude it because it needs a minor change is silly.  It may even be an aid to buyers that find a home with oil heat as they may be able to leverage that to get a better price.

The question then becomes, “What do I switch to?”.  The cheapest answer is not always the best.  Sure it may seem propane or natural gas is cheaper now, but it is finite just like oil.  When will its price rise sky high?  Electric is another option via the cheapest install of all, electric baseboard.  The problem with electric baseboard is that it uses energy that you buy to generate heat, just like gas and oil.  When electric is deregulated, its price will rise considerably.

Then there is the heat pump which just uses electric to transfer heat already there either to or from you home depending on whether you are heating or cooling.  Its shortfall comes when the temperatures dip to the mid 30’s and below.   Often a backup coil comes on to supplement the heating.  Right now, I believe the best answer is a ground source heat pump, otherwise known as geothermal.  These systems use electric to transfer heat to or from the ground which maintains a constant temperature in the mid 50’s.  Since no energy is actually used to create heat, the energy costs are much cheaper.  Unfortunately these systems are not cheap until you look long term.  The payback can be rather fast if you consider the savings you will have heating and cooling, maybe 5-7 years or less.  After that it is all savings.  They can even preheat the hot water in the summer while they are cooling the home.

Perhaps the greatest benefit is the fact that you will be acting in a very “Green” and responsible way with the limited resources we all must share.

Posted by Howard Urbine | Filed Under Real Estate | Comments Off